Object of Golf
Golf is a game in which the player tries to get a small resilient ball (called a golf ball) around a golf course. The golf ball moves around the golf course through the impact of a golf club on the golf ball where the objective is to minimize the number of strokes that the player takes to get around the golf course.A typical golf course is composed of 9 or 18 holes in which there are three distinct pieces. The first piece is the starting point, called the tee. The second part is the finishing point called the green. The green is composed of closely cut grass in which a hole is placed somewhere so the ball can be hit in it. And the third part is called the fairway. The fairway is an area of shorter grass connecting the green and the tee.
Golf Is A Distinctive Game
There are several sports that hit a ball with a club or stick, but golf has three factors that make it a unique sport. First, it is played over large areas of land, rather than a prepared surface of specified size and shape, and no two courses are exactly the same. Secondly, the objective of the game is to get the ball into a hole with the fewest number of strokes. Thirdly, an opponent has no influence over a rival's play, only over his own score.Basic Rules of Golf
Because golf is an international game, the rules of golf have become somewhat standardized. Players are allowed to carry a selection of no more than 14 clubs or varying size, shapes and lengths. According to the USGA, a golf ball can have a diameter no greater than 1.68 inches (4.26 cm). The British ball on the other hand is slightly smaller than its US counterpart.A golf course generally has 18 holes spread over a landscaped area that customarily includes a number of hazards--water, rough, sand traps (also known as bunkers), trees--that are designed to make the game more difficult. Difficulty is also increased by the varying distances among holes. Play on each hole is begun at the tee area, from which players "tee off" or "drive" the ball into the fairway. At the end of the hole--which can vary in length from about 150 to 600 yards (135 to 550 m)--is the putting green, which surrounds the actual hole, or "cup," into which the ball must be putted in order to complete the hole.
Golf is usually played by groups of two to four people who move throughout the course together, each participant taking a turn to play his or her ball. The ball must be played as it lies, except in unusual circumstances when the rules allow for the ball to be moved to a slightly better position. In stroke competition the total number of strokes used to move the ball from the tee to the hole is recorded as the player's score for that individual hole. The player who uses the fewest strokes to complete the course is the winner. In match play scores are compared after every hole, and a player wins, loses, or halves (ties) each hole.
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