GOLF COURSE

The game of golf is played in an area of land designated as a 'golf course.' A course consists of a series of holes, which consist of a teeing area, fairways, rough and other hazards, and the green with the pin and cup. A typical golf course consists of eighteen holes, but many only have nine.

Contents

Teeing area

Fairway and rough

Hazards

Putting green

Par

Other areas

Driving range

Teeing area

The very first section of every hole consists of what is known as the teeing area or tee-box. There are usually more than one available box to place your ball, each one a different distance from the hole. The most common number is three, the ladies' tee being the closest, followed by the men's tee, and the championship or medal tee. Men's tournaments will hit off the championship tees, and Ladies' golf tournaments will often hit off of the men's tee. Usually if more than three tee boxes exist, men's tournaments will go off the very back tee and ladies' tournaments will go off the next back tee. Sometimes the norm is not followed, especially when a relatively short par-five is turned into a relatively long par-four.
Once the teeing area is picked, the golfer will find two marks showing where the ball may be legally placed. A golfer may place his ball directly on the teeing ground (called hitting it "off the deck"), a wooden manufactured stick known as a tee, or any natural substance placed on the teeing surface. The teeing surface consists of the area from two-club lengths behind the markers up to the markers. The markers themselves mark the vertical extremities. A golfer may play the ball from outside the teeing area, but the ball itself must be shot from within the area^[1].

Fairway and rough

After teeing off, the player again hits the ball to the green from where it came to rest, either from the fairway or from the rough. Exceptions are short par three holes, where the second shot may lie directly on the putting green or in the rough. Playing the ball from the fairway is advantageous, because fairway grass is very short and even, allowing the player to cleanly strike the ball, while playing from the rough is disadvantageous, because the grass in the rough is generally much longer, which may affect the flight of the ball.
While many holes are designed in a straight line from the tee-off point to the green, some of the holes may bend either to the left or to the right. This is called a "dogleg", in reference to a dog's knee. The hole is called a "dogleg left" if the hole angles leftwards, and vice versa; rarely, a hole's direction can bend twice, and is called a "double dogleg."

Hazards

Many holes include hazards, which may be of three types: (1) water hazards such as lakes, rivers, et cetera; (2) man-made hazards such as bunkers; and (3) lateral hazards such as dense vegetation, bushes, and gardens. Special rules apply to playing balls that fall in a hazard. For example, a player must not touch the ground with his club before playing a ball, not even for a practice swing. A ball in any hazard may be played as it lies without penalty. If it cannot be played from the hazard, the ball may be hit from another location, generally with a penalty of one stroke. The strict rules govern exactly from where the ball may be played outside a hazard. Bunkers (or sand traps) are hazards from which the ball is more difficult to play than from grass. As in a water hazard, a ball in a sand trap must be played without previously touching the sand with the club.

Putting green

To putt is to play a stroke using the putter club. Usually, this stroke is played on the green where the ball does not leave the ground. Once on the green, the ball is putted (struck with the eponymous flat-faced club to roll it along the ground) towards the hole until the ball falls into the cup.

The grass of the putting green (more commonly just ''green'') is cut very short so that a ball can roll distances of several yards. The growth direction of the blades of grass affects the ball's roll and is called the grain of the green. The slope or break of the green also affects the roll of the ball. The cup is always found within the green (at least ten feet from the edge), and must have a diameter of 108 mm (4.25 in.) and a depth of at least 100 mm (3.94 in.). Its position on the green is not fixed and may be changed from day to day. The cup usually has a flag on a pole positioned in it so that it may be seen from a distance, but not necessarily from the tee; this flag-and-pole combination is called the pin.
Putting greens are not all of the same quality. Generally, the finest-quality greens are well kept so that a ball will smoothly roll over the closely-mowed grass. Golfers describe a green as fast if a light stroke to the ball makes it roll a long distance; conversely, a slow green is one where a stronger stroke is required to roll the ball the required distance. The exact speed of a green can be found with a stimp meter. By collecting sample measurements, golf courses can be compared in terms of average green speed.

Par

Most courses have only 3, 4, and 5 par holes although some courses, but not all courses, include par 6 holes. The average distances for the various holes are as follows.

★ Par 3 300 yards and below

★ Par 4 301 - 500 yards

★ Par 5 500 - 650 yards

★ Par 6 651 yards and up
Harder or easier courses may have longer or shorter distances, respectively.

Other areas

Some areas of the course are designated as ground under repair ("G.U.R."), where greenskeepers are effecting repairs or where the course is damaged. A ball coming to rest in this spot may be lifted, then played from outside the G.U.R. without penalty. Certain man-made objects on the course are defined as obstructions (i.e. distance posts, gardens, et cetera), and specific rules determine how a golfer may proceed when the play is impeded by these.

Driving range

Often, there is a practice range or driving range, usually with practice greens, bunkers, and driving areas. Markers showing distances are usually included on a practice range to benefit the golfer. There may even be a practice course (often shorter and easier to play than full scale golf courses), where golfers practice to measure how far they can hit with a specific club or to improve their swing technique.