Sports

Golf is slowly becoming more and more popular. It is not a grueling sport, but it still is one with some importance and standing among most people. Every game of golf is based on playing a number of holes in a given order. A round typically consists of 18 holes that are played in the order determined by the course layout. On a nine-hole course, a standard round consists of two successive nine-hole rounds.

The first stroke on each hole is hit from the Tee (officially, teeing ground), where the player can use a tee (a small wooden or plastic peg), which makes the tee shot easier. Before the modern tee came into use, early golfers often used a small pyramid or block of sand to hold the ball. Most courses offer a range of Tee boxes to play from depending on a player’s skill or handicap, making the hole longer or shorter depending on which Tees the player starts at.

In addition to a difference in distance, the different Tees may also eliminate or reduce the danger of some hazards for the “Forward” tees, such as water hazards. Teeing grounds on most golf courses are relatively flat, in order for the golfer to have a perfect lie for the first shot on a hole.

After teeing off, a player hits the ball towards the green again from the position at which 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 an advantage because the fairway grass is kept very short and even, allowing the player to cleanly strike the ball, while playing from the rough is a disadvantage 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 somewhat to the left or right. This is called a “dogleg,” referencing the partial bend at the knee of a dog’s leg. The hole is called a “dogleg left” if the hole angles to the left, and vice versa. On rare occasions, a hole’s direction can bend twice. This is called a “double dogleg.”

Many holes include hazards, which may be of three types: 1) Water hazards such as lakes, rivers, etc. 2) Man made hazards such as bunkers and 3) Lateral Hazards such as dense vegetation areas, bushland or gardens. Special rules apply to playing balls that come to rest in a hazard. For example, in a hazard, a player must not touch the ground with his club before playing a ball, not even for a practice swing.

A ball in any type of hazard may be played as it lies without penalty. If it cannot be played from the hazard for any reason, the ball may be hit from another location, generally with a penalty of one stroke. Exactly where the ball may be played outside a hazard is governed by strict rules. 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.

To putt means to play a stroke using the club called the Putter. Usually, but not always, 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 a flat faced club which makes the ball roll along the ground) towards the hole until the ball comes to rest in the cup. The grass of the putting green (or more commonly the green) is cut very short so that a ball can roll easily over distances of several yards. The slope of the green, called the break 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 static 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 some distance, but not necessarily from the tee. This flag and pole combination is often called the pin.

Putting greens are not of all the same quality. Generally, the finest quality greens are well kept so that a ball will roll smoothly over the closely mowed grass. Golfers describe a green as being “fast” if a light stroke of the ball allows it to roll a long distance. Conversely, a green is termed “slow” if a stronger stroke is required to roll the ball the required distance. The exact speed of a green is measured with a stimp meter. More than one green is measure. The average of the measured greens is used to say how fast or slow a Golf Course’s greens are.