Golf

What is Golf?
Golf is an outdoor lawn sport in which competing players (golfers) using many types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course in the lowest number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that do not use a standardized playing area; rather the game is played on golf “courses”, each one of which has a unique design and typically consists of either 9 or 18 holes. Golf is defined in the rules of golf as “playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules”.

Golf competition is generally played for the lowest number of strokes by an individual, known simply as stroke play, or for the lowest score on the most individual holes during a complete round by an individual or team, known as match play.

Origin of Golf
The origin of golf is unclear and open to debate. Some historians trace the sport back to the Roman game of paganica, which involved using a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball. According to one view, paganica spread throughout several countries as the Romans conquered much of Europe during the 1st century BC and eventually evolved into the modern game. Others cite Chuiwan (“chui” means striking and “wan” means small ball) as the progenitor, a game played in China in the 14th–17th centuries.[2] It is thought to have been introduced into Europe during the Middle Ages. Other early stick-and-ball games included the English game of cambuca (a term of Celtic origin). In France the game was known as chambot and may have been related to the French pastime of jeu de mail.[3] This game was in turn exported to the Low Countries, Germany, and England (where it was called pall-mall, pronounced “pell mell”). Some believe golf descended from the Persian chaugán. Kolven was played annually in the village of Loenen, Netherlands, beginning in 1297, to commemorate the capture of the killer of Floris V, a year earlier. What is most accepted, however, is the origin of the modern game in Scotland around the 12th century, with shepherds knocking stones into rabbit holes in the place where the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews now sits.

Golf course
A golf course consists of a series of holes, each with a teeing area marked 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 (flagstick) and cup. Different levels of grass are varied to increase difficulty or to allow for putting in the case of the green. While many holes are designed with a direct line-of-sight from the tee-off point to the green, some of the holes may bend either to the left or to the right. This is called a “dogleg”, in reference to a dog’s knee. The hole is called a “dogleg left” if the hole angles leftwards, and vice versa; sometimes, a hole’s direction can bend twice, and is called a “double dogleg”. A typical golf course consists of eighteen holes, but nine hole courses are common and can be play twice through for 18 holes.

Early Scottish golf courses were are mostly laid out on links land, soil covered sand dunes directly inland from beaches. This gave rise to the term golf links, particularly applied to seaside courses and those built on naturally sandy soil inland.

Play of the game
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. On a nine-hole course, a standard round consists of two successive nine-hole rounds. Playing a hole on the golf course consists of hitting a ball from a tee on the teeing box, called a drive on longer holes, a drive is a long-distance shot intended to move the ball a great distance down the fairway, shorter holes can be reached with clubs shorter than the driver. Once the ball comes to rest, striking it again with a lay-up, an approach, or a chip, until the ball reaches the green, where the golfer then putts the ball into the hole. The goal of sinking the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible may be impeded by hazards, such as areas of long grass called rough, bunkers, and water hazards.[5] In most typical forms of gameplay, each player plays his/her ball until it is holed.

Players can walk or drive in motorized carts over the course, either singly or with others, sometimes accompanied by caddies who carry and manage the players’ equipment and give them advice.

Rules and regulations
The rules of golf are internationally standardised and are jointly governed by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A), which was founded 1754 and the United States Golf Association (USGA).

The underlying principle of the rules is fairness. As stated on the back cover of the official rule book: Play the ball as it lies, play the course as you find it, and if you cannot do either, do what is fair.

There are strict regulations regarding the amateur status of golfers.[11] 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 which 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 officially printed rules, golfers also abide by a set of guidelines called golf etiquette. Etiquette guidelines cover matters such as safety, fairness, easiness and 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 effort to improve everyone’s playing experience.

Penalties
Penalties are incurred in certain situations. They are counted towards a player’s score as if they were extra swing(s) at the ball. Strokes are added for rules 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 27-1) A one stroke penalty is assessed if a players equipment causes the ball to move, or the removal of a loose impediment causes the ball to move. (Rule 18-2) If a golfer makes a stroke at the wrong ball (Rule 19-2), or hits a fellow golfer’s ball with a putt (Rule 19-5), the player incurs a two stroke penalty. Most rule infractions lead to stroke penalties, but also can lead to disqualification. Disqualification could be from cheating, signing for a lower score, or from rules infractions that lead to improper play.

Golf Equipment
Golf clubs are used to hit a golf ball. Each club is composed of a shaft with a lance (grip) on the top end and a clubhead on the bottom. Woods, are used for long-distance fairway shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety of shots, and putters, are used to roll the ball into the cup. Only 14 clubs are allowed in a player’s bag at one time during a stipulated round. Violation of this rule can result in disqualification. Golf balls have “dimples” that decrease aerodynamic drag by increasing turbulence behind the ball in motion, which allows the ball to fly farther. [13] A tee is used for resting the ball on top of for an easier shot; allowed only for the first stroke of each hole. 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. 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 two-wheel pull cart 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 sit upright when at rest.

Golf Stroke mechanics
Golfers start with the non-dominant side of the body facing the target. At address the body and club are positioned parallel to the target line. A more open stance is used for shorter distance shots except putting and a more closed stance for long distance shots. The feet are shoulder width apart for middle irons and putters, narrower for short irons and wider for long irons and woods. The ball is positioned in the center of the players stance for short irons and putters, more to the front for middle irons and even more for long irons and woods. All of the weight is on the front foot for short irons, most on the front foot for middle irons and putters, and equally on both feet for long irons and woods. The golfer chooses a grip. The golfer chooses a stroke appropriate to the distance:

* The drive is used in long distance shots.
* The approach is used in long to mid distance shots
* The chip is used in mid to short distance shots. The goal of the chip is to land the ball safely on the green with minimal roll.
* The putt is used in short distance shots, the goal of the putt is to put the ball in the hole or closer to the hole.

Men’s major championships
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.

The fields 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. The U.S. Open and PGA Championship are played at courses around the United States, while The Open Championship is played at courses in the UK.

The number of major championships a player accumulates in his career has an impact on his stature in the sport. Jack Nicklaus is considered to be the greatest golfer of all time, largely because he has won a record 18 professional majors, or 20 majors in total if his two U.S. Amateurs are included. Tiger Woods, who may be the only golfer in the foreseeable future likely to challenge Nicklaus’s record, has won 14 professional majors (17 total if his three U.S. Amateurs are included), all before the age of 33. (To put this total in perspective, Nicklaus had won 11 professional majors and two U.S. Amateurs by his 33rd birthday, and did not win his 15th professional major until he was 35.) Woods also came closest to winning all four current majors in one season (known as a Grand Slam completed first by Bobby Jones) when he won them consecutively across two seasons: the 2000 U.S. Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championship; and the 2001 Masters. This feat has been frequently called the Tiger Slam.

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. These were the four that Bobby Jones won in 1930 to become the only player ever to have earned a Grand Slam.

Women’s major championships
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 last change in 2001. Like the PGA Tour, the (U.S.) LPGA has four majors: the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA Championship, the U.S. Women’s Open and the Women’s British Open. Only the last of these is also recognised by the Ladies European Tour. The other event that it recognises as a major is the Evian Masters, which is not considered a major by the LPGA (but is co-sanctioned as a regular LPGA event). However, the significance 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. definition of “women’s majors” without qualifying it. Also, the Ladies’ Golf Union, the governing body for women’s golf in the UK and Republic of Ireland, states on its official website that the Women’s British Open is “the only Women’s Major to be played outside the U.S.”[28] For many years, the Ladies European Tour tacitly acknowledged the dominance of the LPGA Tour by not scheduling any of its own events to conflict with the three LPGA majors played in the U.S., but that changed in 2008, with the LET scheduling 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 three majors. However, these events attract little notice outside Japan.