Golf

Golf is a club-and-ball <a href="/facts/Sport/0NazHJMC">sport</a> in which players use various <a href="/facts/Golf_club/e10LtRMx">clubs</a> to hit a <a href="/facts/Golf_ball/1r2Y3CEb">ball</a> into a series of holes on a <a href="/facts/Golf_course/8kuMFVyx">course</a> in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most <a href="/facts/Ball_game/byfmhNbL">ball games</a>, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping with the varied terrains encountered on different courses is a key part of the game. Courses typically have either 9 or 18 <a href="/facts/Glossary_of_golf/6A6EGEfk">holes</a>, regions of terrain that each contain a cup, the hole that receives the ball. Each hole on a course has a <a href="/facts/Teeing_ground/2FeFAqKx">teeing ground</a> for the hole's first stroke, and a <a href="/facts/Putting_green/8kuMFVyx">putting green</a> containing the cup. There are several standard forms of terrain between the tee and the green, such as the fairway, rough (tall grass), and various <a href="/facts/Hazard_(golf)/NyQ0TKDv">hazards</a> that may be water, rocks, or sand-filled <a href="/facts/Glossary_of_golf/6A6EGEfk">bunkers</a>. Each hole on a course is unique in its specific layout. Many golf courses are designed to resemble their native landscape, such as along a sea coast (where the course is called a <a href="/facts/Links_(golf)/LtKj8toU">links</a>), within a forest, among rolling hills, or part of a <a href="/facts/Desert/Mknp4bXq">desert</a>.
Golf is played for the lowest number of strokes by an individual, known as <a href="/facts/Stroke_play/TR1zLYQf">stroke play</a>, or the lowest score on the most individual holes in a complete round by an individual or team, known as <a href="/facts/Match_play/tFgNjDU0">match play</a>. Stroke play is the most commonly seen format at all levels, especially at the elite level.
The modern game of golf <a href="/facts/History_of_golf/vKtYJm8y">originated</a> <a href="/facts/Golf_in_Scotland/wBe3NdY4">in 15th century Scotland</a>. The 18-hole round was created at the <a href="/facts/Old_Course_at_St_Andrews/5mafvU3Q">Old Course</a> at <a href="/facts/St_Andrews/l3sXDgrl">St Andrews</a> in 1764. Golf's first <a href="/facts/Major_golf_championships/U1We4Hzg">major</a>, and the world's oldest golf tournament, is <a href="/facts/The_Open_Championship/LbnCLMyx">The Open Championship</a>, also known as The Open, which was first played in 1860 at the <a href="/facts/Prestwick_Golf_Club/PXaGmh4Y">Prestwick Golf Club</a> in Ayrshire, Scotland. This is one of the four <a href="/facts/Men%27s_major_golf_championships/U1We4Hzg">major championships</a> in men's professional golf, the other three being played in the United States: <a href="/facts/The_Masters/UD0TYW1o">The Masters</a>, the <a href="/facts/U.S._Open_(golf)/UwjTDQzQ">U.S. Open</a>, and the <a href="/facts/PGA_Championship/MGaQICkb">PGA Championship</a>.

Golf open-in-new

Golf