Golf

Golf is a club and ball sport in

which players use various
clubs to hit balls into a series
of holes on a course in as few
strokes as possible.
Golf

A golfer in the nishing position

after hitting a tee shot
Highest R&A
governingbody USGA
International
Golf Federation
First played 15th century,
Kingdom of
Scotland
Characteristics
Contact No
Type Outdoor
Equipment Golf clubs, golf
balls, and others
 Presence
Olympic 1900, 1904,
2016,[1] 2020[2]

Golf, unlike most ball games,

cannot and does not utilize a
standardized playing area, and
coping with the varied terrains
encountered on dierent
courses is a key part of the
game. The game at the highest
level is played on a course with
an arranged progression of 18
holes, though recreational
courses can be smaller, usually
9 holes. Each hole on the
course must contain a tee box
to start from, and a putting
green containing the actual
hole or cup (4.25 inches in
diameter). There are other
standard forms of terrain in
between, such as the fairway,
rough (long grass), sand traps
(or "bunkers"), and various
hazards (water, rocks, fescue)
but each hole on a course is
unique in its specic layout
and arrangement.

Golf is played for the lowest

number of strokes by an
individual, known as stroke
play, or the lowest score on the
most individual holes in a
complete round by an
individual or team, known as
match play. Stroke play is the
most commonly seen format at
all levels, but most especially
at the elite level.

Origin
The MacDonald boys playing golf,
attributed to William Mosman. 18th
century, National Galleries of Scotland.

While the modern game of golf

originated in 15th-century
Scotland, the game's ancient
origins are unclear and much
debated. Some historians[3]
trace the sport back to the
Roman game of paganica, in
which participants used a bent
stick to hit a stued leather
ball. One theory asserts that
paganica spread throughout
Europe as the Romans
conquered most of the
continent, during the rst
century BC, and eventually
evolved into the modern
game.[4] Others cite chuiwan
("chui" means striking and
"wan" means small ball) as the
progenitor, a Chinese game
played between the eighth and
14th centuries.[5] A Ming
Dynasty scroll dating back to
1368 entitled "The Autumn
Banquet" shows a member of
the Chinese Imperial court
swinging what appears to be a
golf club at a small ball with
the aim of sinking it into a hole.
The game is thought to have
been introduced into Europe
during the Middle Ages.
Another early game that
resembled modern golf was
known as cambuca in England
and chambot in France.[6] The
Persian game chaugn is
another possible ancient
origin. In addition, kolven (a
game involving a ball and
curved bats) was played
annually in Loenen,
Netherlands, beginning in
1297, to commemorate the
capture of the assassin of
Floris V, a year earlier.

Four gentlemen golfers on the tee of a

golf course, 1930s
The modern game originated in
Scotland, where the rst
written record of golf is James
II's banning of the game in
1457, as an unwelcome
distraction to learning
archery.[7] James IV lifted the
ban in 1502 when he became a
golfer himself, with golf clubs
rst recorded in 1503-1504:
"For golf clubbes and balles to
the King that he playit with".[8]
To many golfers, the Old
Course at St Andrews, a links
course dating to before 1574,
is considered to be a site of
pilgrimage.[9] In 1764, the
standard 18-hole golf course
was created at St Andrews
when members modied the
course from 22 to 18 holes.[10]
Golf is documented as being
played on Musselburgh Links,
East Lothian, Scotland as early
as 2 March 1672, which is
certied as the oldest golf
course in the world by
Guinness World Records.
[11][12] The oldest surviving
rules of golf were compiled in
March 1744 for the Company
of Gentlemen Golfers, later
renamed The Honourable
Company of Edinburgh Golfers,
which was played at Leith,
Scotland.[13] The world's
oldest golf tournament in
existence, and golf's rst
major, is The Open
Championship, which was rst
played on 17 October 1860 at
Prestwick Golf Club, in
Ayrshire, Scotland, with
Scottish golfers winning the
earliest majors.[14] Two
Scotsmen from Dunfermline,
John Reid and Robert Lockhart,
rst demonstrated golf in the
US by setting up a hole in an
orchard in 1888, with Reid
setting up America's rst golf
club the same year, St.
Andrews Golf Club in Yonkers,
New York.[15]

Golf course

Aerial view of the Golfplatz Wittenbeck

in Mecklenburg, Germany

A golf course consists of either

9 or 18 holes, each with a
teeing ground that is set o by
two markers showing the
bounds of the legal tee area,
fairway, rough and other
hazards, and the putting green
surrounded by the fringe with
the pin (normally a agstick)
and cup.

The levels of grass are varied

to increase diculty, or to
allow for putting in the case of
the green. While many holes
are designed with a direct line-
of-sight from the teeing area to
the green, some holes may
bend either to the left or to the
right. This is commonly called
a "dogleg", in reference to a
dog's knee. The hole is called a
"dogleg left" if the hole angles
leftwards and "dogleg right" if
it bends right. Sometimes, a
hole's direction may bend
twice; this is called a "double
dogleg".

A regular golf course consists

of 18 holes, but nine-hole
courses are common and can
be played twice through for a
full round of 18 holes.[16][17]

Early Scottish golf courses

were primarily laid out on links
land, soil-covered sand dunes
directly inland from
beaches.[18] This gave rise to
the term "golf links",
particularly applied to seaside
courses and those built on
naturally sandy soil inland.

The rst 18-hole golf course in

the United States was on a
sheep farm in Downers Grove,
Illinois, in 1892. The course is
still there today.[19]
Play of the game

1=teeing ground, 2=water hazard,

3=rough, 4=out of bounds, 5=sand
bunker, 6=water hazard, 7=fairway,
8=putting green, 9=agstick, 10=hole

Every round 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. Each hole
is played once in the round on
a standard course of 18 holes.
The game can be played by
any number of people. Though
a typical group playing will
have 1-4 people playing the
round. The typical amount of
time required for pace of play
for a 9-hole round is two hours
and four hours for an 18-hole
round.

Playing a hole on a golf course

is initiated by putting a ball
into play by striking it with a
club on the teeing ground (also
called the tee box, or simply
the tee). For this rst shot on
each hole, it is allowed but not
required for the golfer to place
the ball on a tee prior to
striking it. A tee is a small peg
that can be used to elevate the
ball slightly above the ground
up to a few centimetres high.
Tees are commonly made of
wood but may be constructed
of any material, including
plastic. Traditionally, golfers
used mounds of sand to
elevate the ball, and containers
of sand were provided for the
purpose. A few courses still
require sand to be used
instead of peg tees, to reduce
litter and reduce damage to
the teeing ground. Tees help
reduce the interference of the
ground or grass on the
movement of the club making
the ball easier to hit, and also
places the ball in the very
centre of the striking face of
the club (the "sweet spot") for
better distance.

When the initial shot on a hole

is intended to move the ball a
long distance (typically more
than 225 yards (210m)), the
shot is commonly called a
"drive" and is generally made
with a long-shafted, large-
headed wood club called a
"driver". Shorter holes may be
initiated with other clubs, such
as higher-numbered woods or
irons. Once the ball comes to
rest, the golfer strikes it again
as many times as necessary
using shots that are variously
known as a "lay-up", an
"approach", a "pitch", or a
"chip", until the ball reaches
the green, where he or she
then "putts" the ball into the
hole (commonly called "sinking
the putt" or "holing out"). The
goal of getting the ball into the
hole ("holing" the ball) in as
few strokes as possible may be
impeded by obstacles such as
areas of longer grass called
"rough" (usually found
alongside fairways), which
both slows any ball that
contacts it and makes it harder
to advance a ball that has
stopped on it; "doglegs", which
are changes in the direction of
the fairway that often require
shorter shots to play around
them; bunkers (or sand traps);
and water hazards such as
ponds or streams.[16]

In stroke play competitions

played according to strict
rules, each player plays his or
her ball until it is holed no
matter how many strokes that
may take. In match play it is
acceptable to simply pick up
one's ball and "surrender the
hole" after enough strokes
have been made by a player
that it is mathematically
impossible for the player to win
the hole. It is also acceptable
in informal stroke play to
surrender the hole after hitting
three strokes more than the
"par" rating of the hole (a
"triple bogey" - see below);
while technically a violation of
Rule 3-2, this practice speeds
play as a courtesy to others,
and avoids "runaway scores",
excessive frustration and
injuries caused by
overexertion.
The total distance from the
rst tee box to the 18th green
can be quite long; total
yardages "through the green"
can be in excess of 7,000
yards (6,400m), and when
adding in the travel distance
between the green of one hole
and the tee of the next, even
skilled players may easily
travel ve miles or more during
a round. At some courses,
electric golf carts are used to
travel between shots, which
can speed-up play and allows
participation by individuals
unable to walk a whole round.
On other courses players
generally walk the course,
either carrying their bag using
a shoulder strap or using a
"golf trolley" for their bag.
These trolleys may or may not
be battery assisted. At many
amateur tournaments
including U.S. high school and
college play, players are
required to walk and to carry
their own bags, but at the
professional and top amateur
level, as well as at high-level
private clubs, players may be
accompanied by caddies, who
carry and manage the players'
equipment and who are
allowed by the rules to give
advice on the play of the
course.[20] A caddie's advice
can only be given to the player
or players for whom the caddie
is working, and not to other
competing players.

Rules and regulations

Arnold Palmer in 1953

The rules of golf are

internationally standardised
and are jointly governed by
The R&A, spun o in 2004
from The Royal and Ancient
Golf Club of St Andrews
(founded 1754), and the
United States Golf Association
(USGA).[21][22]
The underlying principle of the
rules is fairness. As stated on
the back cover of the ocial
rule book:

Play the ball as it lies, play

the course as you nd it, and
if you cannot do either, do
what is fair.

There are strict regulations

regarding the amateur status
of golfers.[23] Essentially,
anybody who has ever received
payment or compensation for
giving instruction, or played
golf for money, is not
considered an amateur and
may not participate in
competitions limited solely to
amateurs. However, amateur
golfers may receive expenses
that comply with strict
guidelines and they may
accept non-cash prizes within
the limits established by the
Rules of Amateur Status.

In addition to the ocially

printed rules, golfers also
abide by a set of guidelines
called golf etiquette. Etiquette
guidelines cover matters such
as safety, fairness, pace of
play, and a player's obligation
to contribute to the care of the
course. Though there are no
penalties for breach of
etiquette rules, players
generally follow the rules of
golf etiquette in an eort to
improve everyone's playing
experience.

Penalties

Penalties are incurred in

certain situations. They are
counted towards a player's
score as if there were extra
swing(s) at the ball. Strokes
are added for rule infractions
or for hitting one's ball into an
unplayable situation.

A lost ball or a ball hit out of

bounds result in a penalty of
one stroke and distance (Rule
271). A one-stroke penalty is
assessed if a player's
equipment causes the ball to
move or the removal of a loose
impediment causes the ball to
move (Rule 182). A one-
stroke penalty is assessed if a
player's ball results into a red
or yellow staked hazard (Rule
26). If a golfer makes a stroke
at the wrong ball (Rule 192)
or hits a fellow golfer's ball
with a putt (Rule 195), the
player incurs a two-stroke
penalty. Most rule infractions
lead to stroke penalties but
also can lead to
disqualication.
Disqualication could be from
cheating, signing for a lower
score, or from rule infractions
that lead to improper play.[24]
Equipment

A wood positioned ready to be swung

and to strike a golf ball

Golf clubs are used to hit the

golf ball. Each club is
composed of a shaft with a
lance (or "grip") on the top
end and a club head on the
bottom. Long clubs, which
have a lower amount of degree
loft, are those meant to propel
the ball a comparatively longer
distance, and short clubs a
higher degree of loft and a
comparatively shorter
distance. The actual physical
length of each club is longer or
shorter, depending on the
distance the club is intended to
propel the ball.

Golf clubs have traditionally

been arranged into three basic
types. Woods are large-
headed, long-shafted clubs
meant to propel the ball a long
distance from relatively "open"
lies, such as the tee box and
fairway. Of particular
importance is the driver or "1-
wood", which is the lowest
lofted wood club, and in
modern times has become
highly specialized for making
extremely long-distance tee
shots, up to 300 yards
(270m), or more, in a
professional golfer's hands.
Traditionally these clubs had
heads made of a hardwood,
hence the name, but virtually
all modern woods are now
made of metal such as
titanium, or of composite
materials. Irons are shorter-
shafted clubs with a metal
head primarily consisting of a
at, angled striking face.
Traditionally the clubhead was
forged from iron; modern iron
clubheads are investment-cast
from a steel alloy. Irons of
varying loft are used for a
variety of shots from virtually
anywhere on the course, but
most often for shorter-
distance shots approaching
the green, or to get the ball out
of tricky lies such as sand
traps. The third class is the
putter, which evolved from the
irons to create a low-lofted,
balanced club designed to roll
the ball along the green and
into the hole. Putters are
virtually always used on the
green or in the surrounding
rough/fringe. A fourth class,
called hybrids, evolved as a
cross between woods and
irons, and are typically seen
replacing the low-lofted irons
with a club that provides
similar distance, but a higher
launch angle and a more
forgiving nature.

A maximum of 14 clubs is
allowed in a player's bag at
one time during a stipulated
round. The choice of clubs is at
the golfer's discretion,
although every club must be
constructed in accordance with
parameters outlined in the
rules. (Clubs that meet these
parameters are usually called
"conforming".) Violation of
these rules can result in
disqualication.
The exact shot hit at any given
time on a golf course, and
which club is used to
accomplish the shot, are
always completely at the
discretion of the golfer; in
other words, there is no
restriction whatsoever on
which club a golfer may or may
not use at any time for any
shot.

Golf balls are spherical, usually

white (although other colours
are allowed), and minutely
pock-marked by dimples that
decrease aerodynamic drag by
increasing air turbulence
around the ball in motion,
which delays "boundary layer"
separation and reduces the
drag-inducing "wake" behind
the ball, thereby allowing the
ball to y farther.[25] The
combination of a soft
"boundary layer" and a hard
"core" enables both distance
and spin.

A tee is allowed only for the

rst stroke on each hole,
unless the player must hit a
provisional tee shot or replay
his or her rst shot from the
tee.

Many golfers wear golf shoes

with metal or plastic spikes
designed to increase traction,
thus allowing for longer and
more accurate shots.

A golf bag is used to transport

golf clubs and the player's
other or personal equipment.
Golf bags have several pockets
designed for carrying
equipment and supplies such
as tees, balls, and gloves. Golf
bags can be carried, pulled on
a trolley or harnessed to a
motorized golf cart during play.
Golf bags have both a hand
strap and shoulder strap for
carrying, and sometimes have
retractable legs that allow the
bag to stand upright when at
rest.

Stroke mechanics
A golfer takes an approach shot on the
fairway.

The golf swing is outwardly

similar to many other motions
involving swinging a tool or
playing implement, such as an
axe or a baseball bat; however,
unlike many of these motions,
the result of the swing is highly
dependent on several sub-
motions being properly aligned
and timed, to ensure that the
club travels up to the ball in
line with the desired path, the
clubface is in line with the
swing path, and the ball
impacts the centre or "sweet
spot" of the clubface. The
ability to do this consistently,
across a complete set of clubs
with a wide range of shaft
lengths and clubface areas, is
a key skill for any golfer, and
takes a signicant eort to
achieve.

Golfers start with the non-

dominant side of the body
facing the target (for a right-
hander, the target is to their
left). At address, the player's
body and the centerline of the
club face are positioned
parallel to the desired line of
travel, with the feet either
perpendicular to that line or
slightly splayed outward. The
feet are commonly shoulder-
width apart for middle irons
and putters, narrower for short
irons and wider for long irons
and woods. The ball is typically
positioned more to the "front"
of the player's stance (closer
to the leading foot) for lower-
lofted clubs, with the usual ball
position for a drive being just
behind the arch of the leading
foot. The ball is placed further
"back" in the player's stance
(toward the trailing foot) as
the loft of the club to be used
increases. Most iron shots and
putts are made with the ball
roughly centered in the stance,
while a few mid- and short-iron
shots are made with the ball
slightly behind the centre of
the stance to ensure consistent
contact between the ball and
clubface, so the ball is on its
way before the club continues
down into the turf.

The golfer chooses a golf club,

grip, and stroke appropriate to
the distance:

The "drive" or "full swing" is

used on the teeing ground
and fairway, typically with a
wood or long iron, to
produce the maximum
distance capable with the
club. In the extreme, the
windup can end with the
shaft of the club parallel to
the ground above the
player's shoulders.
The "approach" or "3/4
swing" is used in medium-
and long-distance situations
where an exact distance and
good accuracy is preferable
to maximum possible
distance, such as to place
the ball on the green or "lay
up" in front of a hazard. The
windup or "backswing" of
such a shot typically ends up
with the shaft of the club
pointing straight upwards or
slightly towards the player.
The "chip" or "half-swing" is
used for relatively short-
distance shots near the
green, with high-lofted irons
and wedges. The goal of the
chip is to land the ball safely
on the green, allowing it to
roll out towards the hole. It
can also be used from other
places to accurately position
the ball into a more
advantageous lie. The
backswing typically ends
with the head of the club
between hip and head
height.
The "putt" is used in short-
distance shots on or near
the green, typically made
with the eponymous
"putter", although similar
strokes can be made with
medium to high-numbered
irons to carry a short
distance in the air and then
roll (a "bump and run"). The
backswing and follow-
through of the putt are both
abbreviated compared to
other strokes, with the head
of the club rarely rising
 above the knee. The goal of
the putt is usually to put the
ball in the hole, although a
long-distance putt may be
called a "lag" and is made
with the primary intention of
simply closing distance to
the hole or otherwise placing
the ball advantageously.

Having chosen a club and

stroke to produce the desired
distance, the player addresses
the ball by taking their stance
to the side of it and (except
when the ball lies in a hazard)
grounding the club behind the
ball. The golfer then takes their
backswing, rotating the club,
their arms and their upper
body away from the ball, and
then begins their swing,
bringing the clubhead back
down and around to hit the
ball. A proper golf swing is a
complex combination of
motions, and slight variations
in posture or positioning can
make a great deal of dierence
in how well the ball is hit and
how straight it travels. The
general goal of a player
making a full swing is to propel
the clubhead as fast as
possible while maintaining a
single "plane" of motion of the
club and clubhead, to send the
clubhead into the ball along
the desired path of travel and
with the clubhead also pointing
that direction.

Accuracy and consistency are

typically stressed over pure
distance. A player with a
straight drive that travels only
220 yards (200m) will
nevertheless be able to
accurately place the ball into a
favourable lie on the fairway,
and can make up for the lesser
distance of any given club by
simply using "more club" (a
lower loft) on their tee shot or
on subsequent fairway and
approach shots. However, a
golfer with a drive that may go
280 yards (260m) but often
doesn't y straight will be less
able to position their ball
advantageously; the ball may
"hook", "pull", "draw", "fade",
"push" or "slice" o the
intended line and land out of
bounds or in the rough or
hazards, and thus the player
will require many more strokes
to hole out.

Musculature

A golf stroke uses muscles on

core (especially erector spinae
muscles and latissimus dorsi
muscle when turning),
hamstring, shoulder, and wrist.
Stronger muscles on wrist can
prevent wrists from being
twisted at swings, while
stronger shoulders increase
the turning force. Weak wrists
can also deliver the impacts to
elbows and even neck and lead
to injury of them. (When a
muscle contracts, it pulls
equally from both ends and, to
have movement at only one
end of the muscle, other
muscles must come into play
to stabilize the bone to which
the other end of the muscle is
attached.) Golf is a unilateral
exercise that can break body
balances, requiring exercises
to keep the balance in muscles.
[26][27]
Types of putting

Putting is considered to be the

most important component of
the game of golf. As the game
of golf has evolved, there have
been many dierent putting
techniques and grips that have
been devised to give golfers
the best chance to make putts.
When the game originated,
golfers would putt with their
dominate hand on the bottom
of the grip and their weak hand
on top of the grip. This grip
and putting style is known as
"conventional". There are
many variations of
conventional including overlap,
where the golfer overlaps the
o hand index nger onto o
the dominant pinky; interlock,
where the ohand index nger
interlocks with the dominant
pinky and ring nger; double
or triple overlap and so on.[28]
Recently, "cross handed"
putting has become a popular
trend amongst professional
golfers and amateurs. Cross
handed putting is the idea that
the dominant hand is on top of
the grip where the weak hand
is on the bottom. This grip
restricts the motion in your
dominant hand and eliminates
the possibility of wrist
breakdowns through the
putting stroke.[29]

Other notable putting styles

include "the claw", a style that
has the grip directly in
between the thumb and index
nger of the dominant hand
while the palm faces the
target.[30] The weak hand
placed normally on the putter.
Anchored putting, a style that
requires a longer putter shaft
that can be anchored into the
players stomach or below the
chin; the idea is to stabilize
one end of the putter thus
creating a more consistent
pendulum stroke. This style will
be banned in 2016 on the
profession circuits.[31]

Scoring and
handicapping
Par
A par-3 hole in Phoenician Golf Club,
Scottsdale, Arizona

A marker stone indicating that this hole

is a par-5 hole

A hole is classied by its par,

meaning the number of strokes
a skilled golfer should require
to complete play of the
hole.[16] The minimum par of
any hole is 3 because par
always includes a stroke for
the tee shot and two putts.
Pars of 4 and 5 strokes are
ubiquitous on golf courses;
more rarely, a few courses
feature par-6 and even par-7
holes. Strokes other than the
tee shot and putts are
expected to be made from the
fairway; for example, a skilled
golfer expects to reach the
green on a par-4 hole in two
strokesone from the tee (the
"drive") and another, second,
stroke to the green (the
"approach")and then roll the
ball into the hole in two putts
for par. Putting the ball on the
green with two strokes
remaining for putts is called
making "green in regulation"
or GIR.[32] Missing a GIR does
not necessarily mean a golfer
will not make par, but it does
make doing so more dicult as
it reduces the number of putts
available; conversely, making a
GIR does not guarantee a par,
as the player might require
three or more putts to "hole
out". Professional golfers
typically make between 60%
and 70% of greens in
regulation.[33]

The primary factor for

classifying the par of a
relatively straight, hazard-free
hole is the distance from the
tee to the green. A typical
par-3 hole is less than 250
yards (225 m) in length, with a
par-4 hole ranging between
251 and 475 yards (225434
m), and a par-5 hole being
longer than 475 yards (435
m). The rare par-6s can stretch
well over 650 yards (590m).
These distances are based on
the typical scratch golfer's
drive distance of between 240
and 280 yards (220 and
260m); a green further than
the average player's drive will
require additional shots from
the fairway. However, other
considerations must be taken
into account; the key question
is "how many strokes would a
scratch golfer take to make the
green by playing along the
fairway?". The grade of the
land from the tee to the hole
might increase or decrease the
carry and rolling distance of
shots as measured linearly
along the ground. Sharp turns
or hazards may require golfers
to "lay up" on the fairway in
order to change direction or hit
over the hazard with their next
shot. These design
considerations will aect how
even a scratch golfer would
play the hole, irrespective of
total distance from tee to
green, and must be included in
a determination of par.[34]
However, a par score never
includes "expected" penalty
strokes, as a scratch player is
never "expected" to hit a ball
into a water hazard or other
unplayable situation. So, the
placement of hazards only
aect par when considering
how a scratch golfer would
avoid them.

Eighteen-hole courses typically

total to an overall par score of
72 for a complete round; this is
based on an average par of 4
for every hole, and so is often
arrived at by designing a
course with an equal number
of par-5 and par-3 holes, the
rest being par-4. Many
combinations exist that total to
par-72, and other course pars
exist from 68 up to 76, and are
not less worthy than courses
of par-72. Additionally, in some
countries including the United
States, courses are classied
according to their play
diculty, which may be used to
calculate a golfer's playing
handicap for a given
course.[35]

The two primary diculty

ratings in the U.S. are the
Course Rating, which is
eectively the expected score
for a zero-handicap "scratch
golfer" playing the course (and
may dier from the course
par), and the Slope Rating,
which is a measure of how
much worse a "bogey golfer"
(with an 18 handicap) would
be expected to play than a
"scratch golfer". These two
numbers are available for any
USGA-sanctioned course, and
are used in a weighted system
to calculate handicaps (see
below).

Scoring

The goal is to play as few

strokes per round as possible.
A golfer's score is usually
expressed as the dierence
between the player's number
of strokes and the par score. A
hole in one (or an "ace")
occurs when a golfer sinks
their ball into the cup with
their rst stroke from the tee.
Common scores for a hole also
have specic terms.[16]

Numeric term Name Denition

4 Condor four strokes under par

3 Albatross (Double Eagle) three strokes under par

2 Eagle two strokes under par

1 Birdie one stroke under par

E Par equal to par

+1 Bogey one stroke over par

+2 Double bogey two strokes over par

+3 Triple bogey three strokes over par

In a typical professional
tournament or among
"scratch" amateur players,
"birdie-bogey" play is
common; a player will "lose" a
stroke by bogeying a hole, then
"gain" one by scoring a birdie.
Eagles are uncommon but not
rare; however, only 18 players
have scored an albatross in a
men's major championship.

Basic forms of golf

There are two basic forms of

golf play, match play and
stroke play. Stroke play is more
popular.

Match play

Two players (or two teams)

play each hole as a separate
contest against each other in
what is called match play. The
party with the lower score wins
that hole, or if the scores of
both players or teams are
equal the hole is "halved" (or
tied). The game is won by the
party that wins more holes
than the other. In the case that
one team or player has taken a
lead that cannot be overcome
in the number of holes
remaining to be played, the
match is deemed to be won by
the party in the lead, and the
remainder of the holes are not
played. For example, if one
party already has a lead of six
holes, and only ve holes
remain to be played on the
course, the match is over and
the winning party is deemed to
have won "6 & 5". At any given
point, if the lead is equal to the
number of holes remaining, the
party leading the match is said
to be "dormie", and the match
is continued until the party
increases the lead by one hole
or ties any of the remaining
holes, thereby winning the
match, or until the match ends
in a tie with the lead player's
opponent winning all
remaining holes. When the
game is tied after the
predetermined number of
holes have been played, it may
be continued until one side
takes a one-hole lead.[16]

Stroke play

The score achieved for each

and every hole of the round or
tournament is added to
produce the total score, and
the player with the lowest
score wins in stroke play.
Stroke play is the game most
commonly played by
professional golfers. If there is
a tie after the regulation
number of holes in a
professional tournament, a
playo takes place between all
tied players. Playos either are
sudden death or employ a pre-
determined number of holes,
anywhere from three to a full
18. In sudden death, a player
who scores lower on a hole
than all of his opponents wins
the match. If at least two
players remain tied after such
a playo using a pre-
determined number of holes,
then play continues in sudden
death format, where the rst
player to win a hole wins the
tournament.

Other forms of play

The other forms of play in the

game of golf are bogey
competition, skins, 9-points,
stableford, team play, and
unocial team variations.

Bogey competition
A bogey competition is a
scoring format sometimes seen
in at informal tournaments. Its
scoring is similar to match
play, except each player
compares their hole score to
the hole's par rating instead of
the score of another player.
The player "wins" the hole if
they score a birdie or better,
they "lose" the hole if they
score a bogey or worse, and
they "halve" the hole by
scoring par. By recording only
this simple win-loss-halve
score on the sheet, a player
can shrug o a very poorly-
played hole with a simple "-"
mark and move on. As used in
competitions, the player or
pair with the best win-loss
"dierential" wins the
competition.

Skins

What's known as the skins

game is a variation on the
match play where each hole
has an amount of money
(called "skin") attached to it.
The lump sum may be prize
money at the professional level
(the most famous event to use
these rules was the "LG Skins
Game", played at Indian Wells
Golf Resort in California until
2008), or an amount wagered
for each hole among amateur
players. The player with the
lowest score on the hole wins
the skin for that hole; if two or
more players tie for the lowest
score, the skin carries over to
the next hole. The game
continues until a player wins a
hole outright, which may (and
evidently often does) result in
a player receiving money for a
previous hole that they had not
tied for.

If players tie the 18th hole,

either all players or only the
tying players repeat the 18th
hole until an outright winner is
decided for that hole - and all
undecided skins.

9-Points

A nine-point game is another

variant of match play typically
played among threesomes,
where each hole is worth a
total of nine points. The player
with the lowest score on a hole
receives ve points, the next-
lowest score 3 and the next-
lowest score 1. Ties are
generally resolved by summing
the points contested and
dividing them among the tying
players; a two-way tie for rst
is worth four points to both
players, a two-way tie for
second is worth two points to
both players, and a three-way
tie is worth three points to
each player. The player with
the highest score after 18
holes (in which there are 162
points to be awarded) wins the
game. This format can be used
to wager on the game
systematically; players each
contribute the same amount of
money to the pot, and a dollar
value is assigned to each point
scored (or each point after 18)
based on the amount of money
in the pot, with any overage
going to the overall winner.
[36][37]

Stableford
The Stableford system is a
simplication of stroke play
that awards players points
based on their score relative to
the hole's par; the score for a
hole is calculated by taking the
par score, adding 2, then
subtracting the player's hole
score, making the result zero if
negative. Alternately stated, a
double bogey or worse is zero
points, a bogey is worth one
point, par is two, a birdie three,
an eagle four, and so on. The
advantages of this system over
stroke play are a more natural
"higher is better" scoring, the
ability to compare Stableford
scores between plays on
courses with dierent total par
scores (scoring an "even" in
stroke play will always give a
Stableford score of 36),
discouraging the tendency to
abandon the entire game after
playing a particularly bad hole
(a novice playing by strict rules
may score as high as an 8 or
10 on a single dicult hole;
their Stableford score for the
hole would be zero, which puts
them only two points behind
par no matter how badly they
played), and the ability to
simply pick up one's ball once
it is impossible to score any
points for the hole, which
speeds play.

The USGA and R&A sanction a

"Modied Stableford" system
for scratch players, which
makes par worth zero, a birdie
worth 2, eagle 5 and double-
eagle 8, while a bogey is a
penalty of -1 and a double-
bogey or worse -3. As with the
original system, the highest
score wins the game, and
terrible scores on one or two
holes won't wreck an entire
game, but this system rewards
"bogey-birdie" play more than
the original, encouraging
golfers to try to make the
riskier birdie putt or eagle
chipshot instead of simply
parring each hole.[16]

Team play
Junn Golf Club, in Junn, Argentina

Foursome: dened in Rule

29, this is played between
two teams of two players
each, in which each team
has only one ball and players
alternate playing it. For
example, if players "A" and
"B" form a team, "A" tees o
on the rst hole, "B" will play
the second shot, "A" the
third, and so on until the
hole is nished. On the
second hole, "B" will tee o
(regardless who played the
last putt on the rst hole),
then "A" plays the second
shot, and so on. Foursomes
can be played as match play
or stroke play.[38]
Fourball: dened in Rules 30
and 31, this is also played
between two teams of two
players each, but every
player plays their own ball
and for each team, the lower
score on each hole counts.
 Fourballs can be played as
match play or stroke play.[39]
Unocial team variations

Scramble: also known as

ambrose or best-shot; each
player in a team tees o on
each hole, and the players
decide which shot was best.
Every player then plays their
second shot from within a
clublength of where the best
shot has come to rest (and
no closer to the hole), and
the procedure is repeated
until the hole is nished.
This system is very common
at informal tournaments
such as for charity, as it
speeds play (due to the
reduced number of shots
taken from bad lies), allows
teams of varying sizes, and
allows players of widely
varying skill levels to
participate without a
profoundly negative impact
on team score.
Champagne scramble: a
combination of a scramble
and best-ball, only the rst
shot of each hole is a
scramble; all players tee o,
decide on the best tee shot,
then each player plays their
own ball starting at that
point until they hole out,
without deciding any further
"best shots". The best score
amongst the team's players
is counted.[40]
Better ball or best-ball: like
fourball, each player plays
the hole as normal, but the
lowest score of all the
players on the team counts
as the team's score for the
hole.[41]
Greensome (also known as
Scotch Foursomes): also
called modied alternate
shot, this is played in pairs;
both players tee o, and
then pick the best shot as in
a scramble. The player who
did not shoot the best rst
shot plays the second shot.
The play then alternates as
in a foursome.[42] A variant
of greensome is sometimes
played where the opposing
team chooses which of their
opponent's tee shots the
opponents should use. The
player who did not shoot the
chosen rst shot plays the
second shot. Play then
continues as a greensome.
Wolf (also known as Ship,
Captain & Crew, Captain,
Pig): a version of match play;
with a foursome an order of
play for each player is
established for the duration
of the round. The rst player
hits a ball from the tee, then
waits for each successive
player to hit (2nd, 3rd and
4th). After each player hits
the 1st player has the option
of choosing a partner for the
hole (the 1st player is the
Wolf for that hole) usually by
calling Wolf before the next
player hits. Once a partner is
picked, each two-some (the
Wolf and his or her partner
vs the remaining two
players) scores their total
strokes and the winning two-
some is awarded 1-point
each for winning a hole and
zero points for tying. The
next hole, the rotation
moves forward (e.g. the 2nd
player is now hitting 1st and
the Wolf and the previous
Wolf hits last). A Wolf can
decide to go alone to win
extra points, but they must
beat all other players in
stroke play on that hole. If
alone, the Wolf is awarded
2-points for going alone
after everyone has hit or 4
points for declaring Lone
Wolf before anyone else hits.
If the Lone Wolf loses, to
even one player, the 3 other
players get 1-point each.
The winner is the player with
the most points at the end of
 the round. Strategically, care
must be taken not to let a
low-handicap player run
away with all the points by
being constantly paired with
the Wolf.[43],[44]

Shotgun starts are mainly used

for amateur tournament play.
In this variant, each of the
groups playing starts their
game on a dierent hole,
allowing for all players to start
and end their round at roughly
the same time. All 18 holes are
still played, but a player or
foursome may, for instance,
start on hole 5, play through to
the 18th hole, then continue
with hole 1 and end on hole 4.
This speeds the completion of
the entire event as players are
not kept waiting for
progressive tee times at the
rst hole. This form of play, as
a minor variation to stroke or
match play, is neither dened
nor disallowed by strict rules
and so is used according to
local rules for an event.

Handicap systems
A handicap is a numerical
measure of an amateur golfer's
ability to play golf over the
course of 18 holes. A player's
handicap generally represents
the number of strokes above
par that the player will make
over the course of an above-
average round of golf. The
better the player the lower
their handicap is. Someone
with a handicap of 0 or less is
often called a scratch golfer,
and would typically score or
beat the course par on a round
of play (depending on course
diculty).

Calculating a handicap is often

complicated, the general
reason being that golf courses
are not uniformly challenging
from course to course or
between skill levels. A player
scoring even par on Course A
might average four over par on
course B, while a player
averaging 20 over par on
course A might average only
16 over on course B. So, to the
"scratch golfer", Course B is
more dicult, but to the
"bogey golfer", Course A is
more dicult. The reasons for
this are inherent in the types of
challenges presented by the
same course to both golfers.
Distance is often a problem for
amateur "bogey" golfers with
slower swing speeds, who get
less distance with each club,
and so typically require more
shots to get to the green,
raising their score compared to
a scratch golfer with a stronger
swing. However, courses are
often designed with hazard
placement to mitigate this
advantage, forcing the scratch
player to "lay up" to avoid
bunkers or water, while the
bogey golfer is more or less
unaected as the hazard lies
out of their range. Finally,
terrain features and fairway
maintenance can aect golfers
of all skill levels; narrowing the
fairway by adding obstacles or
widening the rough on each
side will typically increase the
percentage of shots made from
disadvantageous lies,
increasing the challenge for all
players.
By USGA rules, handicap
calculation rst requires
calculating a "Handicap
Dierential" for each round of
play the player has completed
by strict rules. That in itself is a
function of the player's "gross
adjusted score" (adjustments
can be made to mitigate
various deviations either from
strict rules or from a player's
normal capabilities, for
handicap purposes only) and
two course-specic diculty
ratings: the Course Rating, a
calculated expected score for a
hypothetical "scratch golfer":
and the Slope Rating, a
number based on how much
worse a hypothetical 20-
handicap "bogey golfer" would
score compared to the
"scratch golfer". The average
Slope Rating of all USGA-rated
courses as of 2012 is 113,
which also factors into the
Dierential computation.

The most recent Dierentials

are logged, up to 20 of them,
and then the best of these (the
number used depends on the
number available) are selected,
averaged, multiplied by .96 (an
"excellence factor" that
reduces the handicap of
higher-scoring players,
encouraging them to play
better and thus lower their
handicap), and truncated to
the tenths place to produce the
"Handicap Index". Additional
calculations can be used to
place higher signicance on a
player's recent tournament
scores. A player's Handicap
Index is then multiplied by the
Slope Rating of the course to
be played, divided by the
average Slope Rating of 113,
then rounded to the nearest
integer to produce the player's
Course Handicap.

Once calculated, the Course

Handicap is applied in stroke
play by simply reducing the
player's gross score by the
handicap, to produce a net
score. So, a gross score of 96
with a handicap of 22 would
produce a net score of 74. In
match play, the lower handicap
is subtracted from the higher
handicap, and the resulting
handicap strokes are awarded
to the higher handicapper by
distributing them among the
holes according to each hole's
diculty; holes are ranked on
the scorecard from 1 to 18 (or
however many holes are
available), and one stroke is
applied to each hole from the
most dicult to the least
dicult. So, if one player has a
9 handicap and another has a
25 handicap, the 25-handicap
player receives one handicap
stroke on each of the most
dicult 16 holes (25-9). If the
25-handicapper were playing
against a "scratch golfer" (zero
handicap), all 25 strokes would
be distributed, rst by applying
one stroke to each hole, then
applying the remaining
strokes, one each, to the most
dicult 7 holes; so, the
handicap player would
subtract 2 strokes from each of
the most dicult 7 holes, and
1 each from the remaining 11.

Handicap systems have

potential for abuse by players
who may intentionally play
badly to increase their
handicap ("throwing their
'cap") before playing to their
potential at an important event
with a valuable prize. For this
reason, professional golf
associations do not use them,
but they can be calculated and
used along with other criteria
to determine the relative
strengths of various
professional players. Touring
professionals, being the best of
the best, often have negative
handicaps; they can be
expected, on average, to score
lower than the Course Rating
on any course.

Popularity

Part of a golf course in western India

An aerial view of a golf course in Italy

In 2005 Golf Digest calculated
that the countries with most
golf courses per capita, in
order, were: Scotland, New
Zealand, Australia, Ireland,
Canada, Wales, United States,
Sweden, and England
(countries with fewer than
500,000 people were
excluded).

The number of courses in other

territories has increased, an
example of this being the
expansion of golf in China. The
rst golf course in China
opened in 1984, but by the
end of 2009 there were
roughly 600 in the country. For
much of the 21st century,
development of new golf
courses in China has been
ocially banned (with the
exception of the island
province of Hainan), but the
number of courses had
nonetheless tripled from 2004
to 2009; the "ban" has been
evaded with the government's
tacit approval simply by not
mentioning golf in any
development plans.[45]
In the United States, the
number of people who play
golf twenty-ve times or more
per year decreased from
6.9million in 2000 to
4.6million in 2005,[46]
according to the National Golf
Foundation. The NGF reported
that the number who played
golf at all decreased from 30 to
26 million over the same
period.[46]

In February 1971, astronaut

Alan Shepard became the rst
person to golf anywhere other
than Earth. He smuggled a golf
club and two golf balls on
board Apollo 14 with the intent
to golf on the Moon. He
attempted two drives. He
shanked the rst attempt, but
it is estimated his second went
more than 200 yards.[47]

Golf courses worldwide

Number of golf courses by

country in 2015. Below are the
top 18 countries that have the
most golf courses.[48]
Country Number of Courses %

USA 15,372 45%

Japan 2,383 7%

Canada 2,363 7%

England 2,084 6%

Australia 1,628 5%

Germany 747 2%

France 648 2%

Scotland 552 2%

South Africa 512 2%

Sweden 491 1%

China 473 1%

Ireland 472 1%

South Korea 447 1%

Spain 437 1%

New Zealand 418 1%

Argentina 319 1%

Italy 285 1%

India 270 1%

Rest of the world 4,110 12%

Total 34,011

Professional golf
The majority of professional
golfers work as club or
teaching professionals
("pros"), and only compete in
local competitions. A small
elite of professional golfers are
"tournament pros" who
compete full-time on
international "tours". Many
club and teaching
professionals working in the
golf industry start as caddies
or with a general interest in the
game, nding employment at
golf courses and eventually
moving on to certications in
their chosen profession. These
programs include independent
institutions and universities,
and those that eventually lead
to a Class A golf professional
certication. Touring
professionals typically start as
amateur players, who attain
their "pro" status after success
in major tournaments that win
them either prize money
and/or notice from corporate
sponsors. Jack Nicklaus, for
example, gained widespread
notice by nishing second in
the 1960 U.S. Open to
champion Arnold Palmer, with
a 72-hole score of 282 (the
best score to date in that
tournament by an amateur).
He played one more amateur
year in 1961, winning that
year's U.S. Amateur
Championship, before turning
pro in 1962.

Instruction

Indoor putting green for practice and

instruction
Golf instruction involves the
teaching and learning of the
game of golf. Prociency in
teaching golf instruction
requires not only technical and
physical ability but also
knowledge of the rules and
etiquette of the game. In some
countries, golf instruction is
best performed by teachers
certied by the Professional
Golfers Association. Some top
instructors who work with
professional golfers have
become quite well known in
their own right. Professional
golf instructors can use
physical conditioning, mental
visualization, classroom
sessions, club tting, driving
range instruction, on-course
play under real conditions, and
review of videotaped swings in
slow motion to teach golf to
prepare the golfer for the
course.

Golf tours

There are at least twenty

professional golf tours, each
run by a PGA or an
independent tour organization,
which is responsible for
arranging events, nding
sponsors, and regulating the
tour. Typically a tour has
"members" who are entitled to
compete in most of its events,
and also invites non-members
to compete in some of them.
Gaining membership of an elite
tour is highly competitive, and
most professional golfers
never achieve it.
Gary Player is widely regarded as one
of the greatest players in the history of
golf.

Perhaps the most widely

known tour is the PGA Tour,
which tends to attract the
strongest elds, outside the
four Majors and the four World
Golf Championships events.
This is due mostly to the fact
that most PGA Tour events
have a rst prize of at least
800,000 USD. The European
Tour, which attracts a
substantial number of top
golfers from outside North
America, ranks second to the
PGA Tour in worldwide
prestige. Some top
professionals from outside
North America play enough
tournaments to maintain
membership on both the PGA
Tour and European Tour. Since
2010, both tours' money titles
have been claimed by the same
individual three times, with
Luke Donald doing so in 2011
and Rory McIlroy in 2012 and
2014. In 2013, Henrik Stenson
won the FedEx Cup points race
on the PGA Tour and the
European Tour money title, but
did not top the PGA Tour
money list (that honour going
to Tiger Woods).

The other leading men's tours

include the Japan Golf Tour, the
Asian Tour (Asia outside
Japan), the PGA Tour of
Australasia, and the Sunshine
Tour (for southern Africa,
primarily South Africa). The
Japan, Australasian, Sunshine,
PGA, and European Tours are
the charter members of the
trade body of the world's main
tours, the International
Federation of PGA Tours,
founded in 1996. The Asian
Tour became a full member in
1999. The Canadian Tour
became an associate member
of the Federation in 2000, and
the Tour de las Amricas (Latin
America) became an associate
member of the Federation in
2007. The Federation
underwent a major expansion
in 2009 that saw eleven new
tours become full members
the Canadian Tour, Tour de las
Amricas, China Golf
Association, the Korea
Professional Golfers'
Association, Professional Golf
Tour of India, and the
operators of all six major
women's tours worldwide. The
OneAsia Tour, founded in 2009,
is not a member of the
Federation, but was founded as
a joint venture of the
Australasia, China, Japan, and
Korean tours. In 2011, the
Tour de las Amricas was
eectively taken over by the
PGA Tour, and in 2012 was
folded into the new PGA Tour
Latinoamrica. Also in 2012,
the Canadian Tour was
renamed PGA Tour Canada
after it agreed to be taken over
by the PGA Tour. All men's
tours that are Federation
members, except the India
tour, oer points in the Ocial
World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to
players who place suciently
high in their events. The
OneAsia Tour also oers
ranking points.

Golf is unique in having

lucrative competition for older
players. There are several
senior tours for men aged fty
and over, arguably the best
known of which is the U.S.-
based PGA Tour Champions.

There are six principal tours for

women, each based in a
dierent country or continent.
The most prestigious of these
is the United States-based
LPGA Tour. All of the principal
tours oer points in the
Women's World Golf Rankings
for high nishers in their
events.

All of the leading professional

tours for under-50 players
have an ocial developmental
tour, in which the leading
players at the end of the
season will earn a tour card on
the main tour for the following
season. Examples include the
[Link] Tour, which feeds to
the PGA Tour, and the
Challenge Tour, which is the
developmental tour of the
European Tour. The [Link]
and Challenge Tours also oer
OWGR points.

Men's major
championships

Lee Westwood pictured making a

bunker shot at the 2008 Open

The major championships are

the four most prestigious
men's tournaments of the year.
In chronological order they
are: The Masters, the U.S.
Open, The Open Championship
(referred to in North America
as the British Open) and the
PGA Championship.[49]

The elds for these events

include the top several dozen
golfers from all over the world.
The Masters has been played
at Augusta National Golf Club
in Augusta, Georgia, since its
inception in 1934. It is the only
major championship that is
played at the same course
each year.[50] The U.S. Open
and PGA Championship are
played at courses around the
United States, while the Open
Championship is played at
courses around the United
Kingdom.[51]

Prior to the advent of the PGA

Championship and The
Masters, the four Majors were
the U.S. Open, the U.S.
Amateur, the Open
Championship, and the British
Amateur.
Women's major
championships

Lorena Ochoa, a retired number one

female golfer, pictured here in 2007

Women's golf does not have a

globally agreed set of majors.
The list of majors recognised
by the dominant women's tour,
the LPGA Tour in the U.S., has
changed several times over the
years, with the most recent
changes occurring in 2001 and
2013. Like the PGA Tour, the
(U.S.) LPGA[52] tour long had
four majors, but now has ve:
the ANA Inspiration (previously
known by several other names,
most recently the Kraft
Nabisco Championship), the
Women's PGA Championship
(previously known as the LPGA
Championship),[53] the U.S.
Women's Open, the Women's
British Open (which replaced
the du Maurier Classic as a
major in 2001) and The Evian
Championship (added as the
fth major in 2013). Only the
last two are also recognised as
majors by the Ladies European
Tour. However, the signicance
of this is limited, as the LPGA is
far more dominant in women's
golf than the PGA Tour is in
mainstream men's golf. For
example, the BBC has been
known to use the U.S.
denition of "women's majors"
without qualifying it. Also, the
Ladies' Golf Union, the
governing body for women's
golf in Great Britain and
Ireland, stated on its ocial
website that the Women's
British Open was "the only
Women's Major to be played
outside the U.S."[54] (this was
before the elevation of The
Evian Championship to major
status). For many years, the
Ladies European Tour tacitly
acknowledged the dominance
of the LPGA Tour by not
scheduling any of its own
events to conict with the
three LPGA majors played in
the U.S., but that changed
beginning in 2008, when the
LET scheduled an event
opposite the LPGA
Championship. The second-
richest women's tour, the LPGA
of Japan Tour, does not
recognise any of the U.S. LPGA
or European majors as it has
its own set of majors
(historically three, since 2008
four). However, these events
attract little notice outside
Japan.

Senior major
championships
Senior (aged fty and over)
men's golf does not have a
globally agreed set of majors.
The list of senior majors on the
U.S.-based PGA Tour
Champions has changed over
the years, but always by
expansion. PGA Tour
Champions now recognises ve
majors: the Senior PGA
Championship, The Tradition,
the Senior Players
Championship, the United
States Senior Open, and The
Senior (British) Open
Championship.
Of the ve events, the Senior
PGA is by far the oldest, having
been founded in 1937. The
other events all date from the
1980s, when senior golf
became a commercial success
as the rst golf stars of the
television era, such as Arnold
Palmer and Gary Player,
reached the relevant age. The
Senior Open Championship
was not recognised as a major
by PGA Tour Champions until
2003. The European Senior
Tour recognises only the
Senior PGA and the two Senior
Opens as majors. However,
PGA Tour Champions is
arguably more dominant in
global senior golf than the U.S.
LPGA is in global women's golf.

Olympic Games

After a 112-year absence from

the Olympics games, golf
returned for the 2016 Rio
Games.[55] 41 dierent
countries were represented by
120 athletes.[56]

International events
Golf at the Asian Games
Golf at the Pan American
Games
Golf at the Summer Olympics
Golf at the Summer
Universiade
Ryder Cup
Presidents Cup
Solheim Cup
International Crown
Seve Trophy
EurAsia Cup
Walker Cup
Curtis Cup
See also
Outline of golf
Lists of golfers
List of golf courses in the
United Kingdom
Professional Golfers'
Association of America
Variations of golf

References
1. "Olympic sports of the
past" . Olympic Movement.
Retrieved 29 March 2009.
2. Associated Press le (9
October 2009). "Golf, rugby
make Olympic roster for 2016,
2020" . [Link].
Retrieved 23 September 2010.
3. Brasch, Rudolph (1970).
How did sports begin?: A look
at the origins of man at play.
McKay.
4. "paganica (game)
Britannica Online
Encyclopedia" .
[Link]. Retrieved
23 September 2010.
5. "Golf (Chui wan) China
culture" .
[Link]-
[Link]. 25 September
2009. Archived from the
original on 10 May 2013.
Retrieved 23 September 2010.
6. McGrath, Charles;
McCormick, David; Garrity, John
(2006). The ultimate golf
book . Houghton Miin
Harcourt. p.13.
ISBN 978-0-618-71025-6.
Retrieved 4 May 2009.
7. History Of Golf Golf
[Link].
8. Andrew Leibs (2004).
"Sports and Games of the
Renaissance". p. 69.
Greenwood Publishing Group
9. Cochrane, Alistair (ed)
Science and Golf IV:
proceedings of the World
Scientic Congress of Golf.
Page 849. Routledge
10. Forrest L. Richardson
(2002). "Routing the Golf
Course: The Art & Science That
Forms the Golf Journey". p. 46.
John Wiley & Sons
11. Links plays into the record
books BBC. Retrieved 24
September 2011
12. "Recognition for the
world's oldest links, at last" .
PGA Tour. 24 March 2009.
Archived from the original on 2
April 2009. Retrieved
24 September 2009.
13. "Historical Rules of Golf" .
[Link]. Retrieved 8
September 2010.
14. The Open Championship
More Scottish than British PGA
Tour. Retrieved 23 September
2011 Archived 2 October 2012
at the Wayback Machine.
15. "Ryder Cup: Painting
celebrates Dunfermline links to
American golf" . BBC. Retrieved
29 December 2014
16. Golf . Encarta. Archived
from the original on 1
November 2009. Retrieved
20 December 2007.
17. "Hill den Park 9 Hole
Golf Course" . hilden
[Link]. Archived from the
original on 22 December
2007. Retrieved 20 December
2007.
18. "Online Etymology
Dictionary denition of the
word Links" . [Link].
Retrieved 23 September 2010.
19. "Why Does Golf Have 18
Holes?" . Retrieved 6 May
2010.
20. Caddie . Encarta. Archived
from the original on 1
November 2009. Retrieved
24 December 2007.
21. "The Rules of Golf" .
United States Golf Association.
Archived from the original on
11 October 2007. Retrieved
7 November 2007.
22. "Rules of Golf" (PDF). The
Royal and Ancient Golf Club of
St Andrews. Archived from the
original (PDF) on 31 October
2007. Retrieved 7 November
2007.
23. "Amateur Status" . United
States Golf Association.
Archived from the original on 1
October 2007. Retrieved
7 November 2007.
24. 20082011 Rules of Golf
(free download) Archived 29
October 2008 at the Wayback
Machine.
25. Nicholls, David (February
1998). "History of the Golf
Club" . Retrieved 5 November
2007.
26. John Sitaras (November
14, 2013). "Jack Welch's 6
Ways Exercise" . Golf Digest
(Korean edition). Retrieved
December 7, 2013.
27. John Sitaras (November
21, 2013). "George Soros'
Exercise" . Golf Digest (Korean
edition). Retrieved December 7,
2013.
28. "Dave Pelz: Your best way
to putt" . [Link]. Retrieved
2015-10-23.
29. "Cross Handed Putting
Grip, How It Can Improve Your
Stroke" . [Link].
Retrieved 2015-10-20.
30. "4. Controlling the Yips -
PGA Digital Golf Academy" .
[Link].
Retrieved 2015-10-23.
31. USGA. "Anchored putting"
(PDF). United States Golf
Association.
32. Kelley, Brent. "Denition
of Par" . [Link]. Retrieved
8 November 2007.
33. "Stat Greens in
Regulation Percentage" .
PGATour. Retrieved
2017-02-20.
34. Kelley, Brent. "Golf FAQ
What are the Yardage
Guidelines for Par-3s, Par-4s
and Par-5s?" . [Link].
Retrieved 8 November 2007.
35. Kelley, Brent. "Golf FAQ:
What is Slope Rating?" .
[Link]. Retrieved
8 November 2007.
36. "Nine Points Golf Game" .
[Link]. 2013-12-19.
Retrieved 2014-02-10.
37. "Golf Competition |
9-Point Game" .
[Link].
Retrieved 2014-02-10.
38. Kelley, Brent. "Denition
of Foursomes" . [Link].
Retrieved 25 December 2007.
39. Kelley, Brent. "Denition
of Fourball" . [Link].
Retrieved 25 December 2007.
40. Kelley, Brent. "Denition
of Scramble" . [Link].
Retrieved 25 December 2007.
41. Kelley, Brent. "Better
Ball" . [Link]. Retrieved
17 April 2012.
42. Kelley, Brent. "Denition
of Greensome" . [Link].
Retrieved 25 December 2007.
43. "Rules to the game of
Wolf" . Retrieved 2013-07-29.
44. Rodriguez, Chi Chi (2002).
Chi Chi's Golf Games You
Gotta Play . Human Kenetics.
ISBN 9780736046312.
Retrieved 2013-07-29.
45. Washburn, Dan (6
November 2009). "Olympics
makes China major player" .
ESPN. Retrieved 7 November
2009.
46. Paul Vitello (21 February
2008). "More Americans Are
Giving up Golf" . The New York
Times. The New York Times
Company. Retrieved 7 July
2008.
47. "Feb. 6, 1971: Alan
Shepard plays golf on the
moon" . [Link].
48. "How many Golf Holes are
there in the World? Answer
576,534 - Scottish Golf
History" .
[Link].
Retrieved 2016-11-22.
49. "Future Men`s Major
Championships - dates and
venues - SuperSport - Golf" .
[Link]. Retrieved
2017-02-20.
50. "Golf Majors: The Masters
Golf Tournament" . Sporting-
[Link]. Archived from the
original on 17 September
2006. Retrieved 17 December
2007.
51. "The Open - Open
Venues" . [Link].
Retrieved 2017-02-20.
52. There are several bodies
known as the "LPGA", each
based in a dierent country or
continent. The U.S. LPGA is the
only one without a geographic
identier in its name, as it was
the rst to be founded.
Typically, if the term "LPGA" is
used without an identier, it
refers to the U.S. body.
53. "PGA of America, LPGA,
KPMG join forces for KPMG
Women's PGA Championship"
(Press release). PGA of
America. May 29, 2014.
Retrieved July 18, 2014.
54. "Women's British Open
breaks new ground at St
Andrews" . Ladies' Golf Union.
Archived from the original on
15 August 2007. Retrieved
12 August 2007.
55. "Golf returns to Olympics
in 2016, but many questions
remain" . Retrieved
2016-09-16.
56. "Golf" . Rio 2016. Archived
from the original on 21
September 2016. Retrieved
2016-09-16.

External links
The R&A, St Andrews
USGA: United States Golf
Association
Golf Australia, national
governing body of Australia
International Golf
Federation (IGF)

Retrieved from
"[Link]
/w/[Link]?title=Golf&
oldid=809374644"

Last edited 9 days ago

Content is available under CC BY-SA

3.0 unless otherwise noted.