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Golf Courses Comprises of Nine or Eighteen-Holes
By Angus MacLeod

A golf course is an area of land that consists of a number of holes where the hole in the ground is called the cup where the golf ball has to be placed into. It is also a means of measuring the distance from tee-off box to the hole that is called the hole distance. The area where the hole is situated is known as the green that has finely cut grass surrounding the hole and a golf course normally consists of eighteen holes.

From Tee-Off Box to Hole in the Green

To begin play, a player needs to tee-off from the Tee or teeing ground as it is officially known as by hitting the ball that is placed on a tee which is a small wooden or plastic peg to make the tee shot easier. It is normal for a golf course to have a range of tee boxes to begin playing from and the holes are of different distances from the Tee. It is usual for the Tee boxes to be given names that could allude to degree of competence or by sex and age of the players. Besides the different distances to the hole, the Tee boxes may eliminate or reduce dangers to play such as water hazards and bunkers.

The area to which the ball is hit after teeing off is known as the fairway that is surrounded by a rough and it is advantageous to the player to hit from the fairway rather than the rough as it will enable him or her to strike the ball cleanly whereas playing from the rough is disadvantageous because the grass is much longer. When the ball is on the green, it is to be putted or struck with a flat faced club that results in the ball rolling along the ground in the direction of the hole until it rests within the cup.

The golf course is usually full of hazards that take the form of water hazards such as lakes and rivers. There are bunkers and there are special rules that govern playing out of hazards. When striking the ball from the hazard, the rules state that the club must not touch the ground before playing the ball, even if it is a practice swing. In case the ball cannot be played as it lies, the player incurs a penalty and the ball may be removed by hand and dropped outside the hazard not more than two club lengths from its original position and results in one stroke being added to the player's score.

Bunkers are sand traps that may be difficult to play from and the ball needs to be hit without the club that has previously touched the sand, much like any other hazard shot. The borders of the course are marked and beyond these borders are out of bounds. There is also ground-under repair as well as obstructions to contend with on a golf course. There is also a practice range or driving range at the golf course as well as practice greens and bunkers and driving areas where players may practice different aspects of their game.

Author Details:
Angus MacLeod, copywriter for various websites including, Golf in Scotland and The A to Z of with his main interests being golf and fishing, especially when in Scotland.

Article Source: Golf Articles

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