Information About Golf

Golf is a centuries-old game where one hits a tiny ball into a hold several hundred yards away with a club.  The game originated in Scotland, where shepherds killed there time by hitting rocks into rabbit holes.  Here's some information about the rules of golf:

All courses must have at least 18 holes upon which a full game can be played.  Golf rounds are divided into groups of 9, with each hole individually number and set up with a "par."  Par is the number of times you are supposed to be able to hit the ball to get the ball to go into the hole.  A player "tees off," which means to start the hole they put their ball on a small tee, which holds it up in the air, properly positioning it to be hit, and then they swing at the ball, aiming for the hole.  From then on, they can't use a tee, they have to play the ball where it lies, unless it is out of bounds or lost, in which case they can move it back on the course for a penalty stroke.  

Each hole itself is divided into a number of sections which will vary from hole to hole.  You tee off at the front of the hole, near the pins (which tell you how far you can move up before being too close to the hole), and you usually aim for the fairway, which is a close-cut section of grass in the middle of the course.  Outside the fairway is taller grass, which is more difficult to hit the ball out of, called the "rough."

Ultimately, you're aiming for the "green," which is even a closer trimmed section of grass.  The green has the hole on it, marked with a flag, so people can tell where it is from far away.  Once you get on the green, you try to put it into the hole.  There may also be obstacles on the course, most notably sand traps - which are ditches filled with sand - and water hazards - which are small ponds.  If you hit a ball into a sand trap, it is relatively difficult to knock the ball out of the sand.  If you hit it into the water hazard, you get charged a penalty stroke.

Information on Golf Clubs

The game is also played with a number of different types of clubs:  irons, woods, wedges and putters.  Irons are usually used for closer-distances on the fairway, when you want to go maybe a hundred yards are so rather than several hundred yards.  If you are teeing off or attempting to hit the ball a long distance, you use a wood.  Your main distance wood is often called your driver.  If you are in a sandtrap, you would generally use a shallow angled club called a sand wedge, and if you're right on the edge of the green but still in the rough, you'd want to use a chipping wedge.  Once on the green, you use a putter to try and tap it in.  For woods and irons, each club's face has an angle to it, and the shallower the angle, the higher the number.  A near-90 degree angle would be a 1 iron, but rarely is a 1 iron ever used, as golfers generally want to get some lift on their ball.  The numbers go up to 9 for irons, but generally stay around 3-5 for woods.

Information on Golf Scores

The goal of the game is to get as low a score as possible.  For each course, all of the pars for the holes are added up to make a par for the course.  This number is what most people want to shoot for, to get par on every hole.  If you score one under par, it's noted as -1.  If you are two over par, it's +2.  The lower the score, the better.  In competitive matches, in which one person is better than the other, often, the players will be granted what are called handicaps.  A handicap is how far over par on average you usually score, and then, at the end of the round, that number is subtracted from your final score.  This evens up the playing field.

As for holes themselves, there are certain score names assigned to each individual number of hits.  If you hit the ball into the hole in a single shot (which is exceedingly rare), it is called a "hole in one."  If you score par, it is just called par.  If you score one under par, it's called a birdie.  If you score two under par, it's an eagle.  If you score one over par, you get a bogey (two over is a double bogey, and on and on, etc.).  There are some other names for extremely rare occurrences, such as an albatross, which is 3 under par, and a condor, which is 4 under par.  There is also an Ostrich, 5 under par (there are very few par sixes in the world), which is considered impossible.