Golf is played by a person, who hits a ball into a hole using various clubs in a non-standard playing area. Golf originated in Scotland where it has been played for over 5 centuries. Since 1672 early versions of the game were played in Scotland and in Northern Europe. Today the rules of golf are developed by and are jointly governed by the Royal Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. Due to rules evolving, amended versions of the rule book are usually published and made effective in a four-year cycle.

Golf is played on a course, which consists of a series of holes. Most courses have 9 or 18 holes. The player hits the golf ball with a golf club from a tee. After striking the ball towards the tee or cup the player hits the ball again from where it has landed from its first shot again towards the cup. Once the player strikes the ball on to the putting green where the cup is located the palyer then puts the ball into the hole.

Each golf hole is classifed by its par. Par is the number of strokes a player must take to put the ball in the hole on the green. Traditionally golf holes consist of either a par three, four or five. Holes are usual determined by the distance from the tee to the green.

Golf Course Designs

Links Courses are those located in sandy soil, with few architecutral hazrads and few trees.

Parkland courses: typical inland courses, often resembling traditional British parks, with lawn-like fairways and many trees.

Heathland ?? a more open, less-manicured inland course often featuring gorse and heather and typically less wooded than ??parkland? courses.

Desert courses: a rather recent invention, popular in Australia, parts of the USA and in the Middle East. Desert courses require heavy irrigation for maintenance of the turf, leading to concerns about the ecological consequences of excessive water consumption. A desert course also violates the widely accepted principle of golf course architecture that an aesthetically pleasing course should require minimal alteration of the existing landscape.

Brown courses: Are more involved in terms of using layers of tar and gravel below the sandy surface layer, to give firmness and support and ensure a consistent bounce/roll. Common in arid parts of the Indian Subcontinent.

Sand courses: instead of a heavily irrigated 'green', the players play on sand; holes are less involved than browns courses and are for the casual golfer.

Snow courses are another rather recent invention; golf being played on snow, typically with an orange colored or another brightly colored ball. Can be played in Arctic or subarctic regions during winter

Par 3 courses The course consists entirely of holes with Par 3. These are considered a good test of iron shot precision and short game, and where the player??s driver is rarely used.

Executive courses: A course which generally is smaller than the typical 18-hole course, designed to cater to the fast-paced, executive lifestyle.

Types of shots

A tee shot is the first shot played from a teeing ground. It is often made with a driver off a tee for long holes, or with an iron on shorter holes..

A fairway shot is similar to a drive when done with a fairway wood. Irons are usually used, if accuracy and distance control are required. Irons or wedges are also often used when playing from the rough.

A bunker shot is played when the ball is in a bunker or (sand trap). It resembles a pitch and is played with a "sand wedge." The sand wedge is designed with a wider base allowing the club to skid in the sand.

Punch/Knockdown: a low shot that carries through the air in order to clear a low hanging tree branch or sometimes high winds.

On the green, a putter is used to 'putt' the ball. The ball rolls on the ground, never becoming air-borne.

An approach shot is played into the green from outside the green, normally over a short distance. Such approach shots are:

Pitch: an approach shot that flies the ball onto or near the green. Depending upon conditions a player may hit a high, soft landing shot with roll or a low running shot attempting to keep the ball in the air as long as they can. Depending upon the way the ball is struck, this shot may roll out, stop or even spin backwards towards the player.

Flop: an even higher approach shot that stops shortly after it hits the ground. It is used when a player must play over an obstacle to the green. It is usually played with a sand wedge or a lob wedge, with the face laid wide open.

Chip: a low approach shot where the ball makes a shallow flight and then rolls out on the green. Chips are made with a less lofted club than the "pitch" shot or "lob" shot in order to produce the desired flatter trajectory.

Poor shots

Some common Poor shots are:

Hook: The ball flight curves sharply to the left for a right-handed player.

Slice: The ball curves sharply to the right for a right-handed player

Pull: A Pull-Hook indicates that the ball started out left of target and curved even further to the left. A Pull-Slice means the ball starts out left then curves back to the right.

Push: The opposite of a Pull, where the ball is 'pushed' away from the body.

Shank: The ball is struck by the hosel or the outer edge of the club rather than the clubface and shoots sharply to the one direction.

Thin or Blade or Skull: The ball is struck with the bottom edge of the club and not its face.

Fat: A fat shot occurs when the club strikes the ground before the ball.

Top: The topside of the ball is struck with the blade of the club. The result usually consists of the ball rolling forward on the ground with much topspin.

Sky Ball: This occurs when teeing the ball up too high, though sometimes a Sky Ball will occur when the ball is sitting on top of long blades of grass and the club has space to pass under the ball. The top side of the club strikes the bottom side of the ball and forces the ball higher into the air than desired.

Flyer: Can occur when playing from deep rough. Grass blades come between the club face and the ball, preventing the grooves of the club from imparting maximum backspin on the ball. This loss of lift from backspin will typically cause a lower, longer shot than a cleanly contacted shot. The resulting flight of the ball is that the target is overshot by 10 or more yards and the ball does not stop as quickly on the green.

Hood: Somewhere during the swing the clubface becomes more perpendicular to the ground, or angled more toward the golfer. The clubface may strike the ground first or get caught up in heavy rough. Hence the ball flys lower to the ground than intended and usually resulting in a Pull as well.

Worm burner: The ball is hit extremely low to the ground, or bounces rapidly across the ground, essentially "burning up worms" as it speeds along.

Chili Dip: A common miscue while chipping where the ball is flubbed only a few feet forward. Sometimes referred to as a Chunk.

Fried Egg: This situation occurs when the ball lands in a sand bunker and does not move from its landing spot. Hence a small crater, or frying pan, encircles the golf ball, which makes it look like a Fried Egg.

Foot Wedge: An illegal act of literally kicking one's ball to a better location.

Whiff: Missing the ball completely after stepping up to hit counts as a stroke.