Golf

I

Introduction

Golf, outdoor game in which individual players use specially designed clubs to propel a small, hard ball over a field of play known as a course or links. The object of the game is to advance the ball around the course using as few strokes as possible.

II

The Golf Course

A golf course is divided into 18 sections, called holes. The standard course is about 6,500 to 7,000 yd (about 5,900 to 6,400 m). The individual holes may vary in length from 100 to 600 yd (about 90 to 550 m). Each hole has at one end a starting point known as a tee and, imbedded in the ground at the other end and marked by a flag, a cup or cylindrical container (also called a hole) into which the ball must be propelled to complete the hole. The cup is usually made of metal or plastic, 4.25 in (10.8 cm) in diameter, and at least 4 in (10 cm) deep.

Play begins at the first tee, a level area of turf generally raised slightly above the surrounding terrain. From here each player tries to drive the ball onto the fairway, or main part of the golf course, a carefully tended strip of land, 30 to 100 yd (about 27 to 90 m) wide, on which the grass has been cut low to provide a good playing surface for the ball. On either side of the fairway is the rough, which consists of areas covered with long grass, bushes, or trees, and which sometimes contains sandy, rough, or marshy areas that force golfers to use additional skill and judgment in playing their shots. In the absence of such natural obstacles, artificial hazards may be constructed. These include bunkers, also known as traps, which are hollows dug in the earth and usually filled with loose sand; mounds and other earthen embankments; and water hazards, such as ditches, creeks, ponds, or lakes. At the far end of the fairway from the tee is the putting green, an area of closely cropped grass surrounding the hole or cup. The smooth surface of the putting green is designed to provide a consistent path after the ball has been given a tap or gentle stroke known as a putt.

III

Golf Strokes and Golf Equipment

In addition to the putt, the specialized stroke used on the green, two main types of shots are used in playing each hole: the drive, which is a long shot from the tee onto the fairway; and the approach shot, which is the shot used to hit the ball onto the green. Shots of various lengths are played with different clubs, according to the distance to be covered and the lie (position) of the ball. A standard set of 14 golf clubs (the maximum that one player may carry in tournament play) is divided into two main types: woods and irons. Woods have larger heads and are so called because for many years the heads were made of wood, but today they are almost exclusively made of metal. Irons have heads made of forged steel, sometimes chrome plated. The shafts of both types usually are made of steel or cast graphite. Formerly, each club was known by a distinctive name, but today most are designated by numbers. The woods are customarily numbered 1 through 7 and the irons 1 through 9, though usually a player only carries some of these clubs during a round. The putter, an iron, has retained its distinct name. Another class of clubs that retains its name is the wedges, including the pitching wedge, sand wedge, and lob wedge, which are used on short-range shots in an attempt to place the ball on the green.

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Different clubs are used to achieve varied distance, height, or accurate placement of the ball; the angle of the club face determines the trajectory of the ball. For making drives and distance shots on the fairway, golfers use the woods (the most popular of which are No. 1, or driver; No. 3; and No. 5) and the so-called long irons (No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3). For the initial shot on each hole, the ball is teed up—that is, placed on a small wooden, rubber, or plastic peg, known as a tee. This action lifts the ball off the ground, making it easier to hit cleanly. For long, low shots on the fairway, the No. 2 wood is often used, and for shorter, higher shots the higher-numbered woods are employed. Approach shots to the green are generally played with irons. For even shorter approaches, known as chip shots, the clubs with more loft—high irons and wedges—are used. The putter normally is used only on the green or the apron (a fringe of less smooth grass) of the green.

The game was originally played with a ball made of feathers tightly packed inside a leather cover. About 1850 a ball made of gutta-percha (a crude form of rubber) came into use. At the start of the 20th century a two-piece ball with a rubber core enclosed in gutta-percha, similar in design to the ball in use today, was developed. After much experimentation, the pitted, or dimpled, surface of modern golf balls was adopted to stabilize flight. Most golf balls today have a cover made of a plastic resin called Surlyn and a rubber core. All golf balls must have a diameter of no less than 1.68 in (4.27 cm) and weigh not more than 1.62 oz (45.93 g).

IV

Forms of Competition

Two basic forms of competition exist in golf: match play and medal play (also known as stroke play). In match play the player (or, if more than one player, the team) taking the fewest strokes to sink the ball into any particular hole—called holing out—is the winner of the hole; the contest (match) is won by the player or team winning the most holes. If each player or team takes the same number of strokes on any hole, the hole is said to be halved (tied). A final score of 9 and 8 in match play means that the winner was 9 holes ahead with only 8 left to play, sufficient to clinch victory in the match. When the match goes tied until the last hole, the winning score is 1 up. If each player wins the same number of holes the match is halved, or play can be extended until one player emerges victorious.

In medal or stroke play, now the more popular kind of play in major tournaments, the winner of the contest is the team or player taking the fewest strokes over the total number of holes agreed upon. Although a round usually consists of 9 or 18 holes, the play in championship contests may cover 18, 36, 54, or 72 holes. In stroke play, ties are decided by playoff holes or rounds.

The term par refers to the number of properly played strokes an expert golfer would be expected to use in completing a particular hole without mishap. The combined par for all of the holes is called par for the course. Par is based primarily on the number of strokes necessary to reach the green, plus two putts. For a single hole, par is generally three strokes for a hole of 250 yd (229 m) or less for men, and 210 yd (192 m) or less for women; four strokes for a hole from 251 to 475 yd (230 to 434 m) for men, and 211 to 400 yd (193 to 366 m) for women; and five strokes for a hole of 476 yd (435 m) or more for men, and 401 yd (367 m) or more for women. In addition, for women, par is six strokes for a hole of 576 yd (527 m) or more. Occasionally, on a par-three hole, a player makes a hole in one—that is, drives the ball from the tee into the cup in one stroke—although this is rare. A score of one less than par is referred to as a birdie, and two less than par (for example, a score of three on a par-five hole) is called an eagle. Three strokes less than par is known as a double eagle. One stroke over par is called a bogey; two over par is a double bogey.