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, unlike most ball games, does not require a standardized playing area. The game is played on a course with an arranged progression of either nine or 18 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 width). There are other standard forms of terrain in between, such as the fairway, rough (long grass), sand traps, and hazards (water, rocks, fescue) but each hole on a course is unique in its specific 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.
While the modern game of golf originated in 15th-century Scotland, the game's ancient origins are unclear and much debated. Some historians trace the sport back to the Roman game of , in which participants used a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball. One theory asserts that paganica spread throughout Europe as the Romans conquered most of the continent, during the first century BC, and eventually evolved into the modern game. Others cite chuiwan ("chui" means striking and "wan" means small ball) as the progenitor, a Chinese game played between the eighth and 14th centuries. 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 in England and chambot in France. The Persian game 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.
| Numeric term |
Name |
Definition |
| −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 |
| 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 |
|
...
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