What is the anatomy of a golf course?
Often having been considered an elite sporting activity in the past, golf is now an increasingly popular sport across all segments of society. Golf is a ball game that does not use a fixed playing area. Instead, it is played on a tract of land known as the golf course. There are over 25, 000 golf courses all around the world.
The holes. The purpose in the game is playing a ball into the hole, therefore the holes are the most essential elements of the golf course. They are also referred to as cups. Hole also refers to the total distance from the tee to the green. The regular number of holes on a golf course is nine or eighteen. The cups are always found on the green and they have a diameter of 4.25 in. and a depth of 3.94 in. their position may be changed from day to day. The cup has a flag in it so that it can be seen from the distance.
The green. The grass of the putting green, also called just the green has to ensure the easy-rolling of the ball over long distances. This is why it must be constantly cut very short. The grain is the direction of growth of the blades of grass, which can affect the roll of a golf ball. The brake(the slope of the green) also influences the roll of the ball. The quality differs from one putting green to another. A green is considered to be fast if even a light stroke of the ball makes it roll a long distance. On the contrary, a green is described as slow if the ball needs a strong stroke in order to roll a specific distance on the golf course.
The tee. This is a pre-determined area from where a ball is first hit. Officially, it is called teeing ground because here the player can use a tee(a small peg made out of plastic or wood). Putting the ball on with a tee makes the shot much easier. On most of the golf courses, there are tee boxes having names associated with degrees of competence or with sex and age. There are professional and amateur tees, and also Men’s, Ladies’ or senior tees.
Fairway and rough. The fairway is the part of the golf course where the grass is cut short between the tees and the putting greens. After teeing off , the ball might stop on the fairway or on the rough. The player has to hit the ball towards the green from the position it came to rest. After the ball gets on the green, it is putted towards the hole until it gets into the cup. Playing the ball from the fairway is much easier than from the rough., because the grass on the rough is much longer than on the fairway.
Hazards. There are two types of hazards on a golf course: water hazards( rivers, lakes) and bunkers. There are special rules that apply in playing when the balls come to rest in a hazard. For instance, the player is not allowed to touch the ground with his club before playing a ball. If the ball cannot be played from the hazard, the player can remove it by hand and put it outside the hazard within two club lengths from its position in the hazard, but this brings on a penalty of one stroke. If the ball can not be found in the hazard it has to be replaced by dropping another one outside the hazard. There are strict rules that govern where exactly the ball may be dropped.
Borders and obstructions. Beyond the borders of the golf course we have the out of bounds . If the ball gets out of bounds, it must not be played. If the ball rests on an area referred to as ground under repair, it may be lifted and played from the border of that area. Obstructions are different man-made objects to be found on the course, and there are applied specific rules when the play is impeded by them.
The practice range. This is an additional facility and it is not part of the golf course itself.
Par. Each hole on the golf course is assigned a par, which is the number of strokes needed to complete the hole by a skilled golfer.
These are the most important factors regarding a golf course. It might seem boring when explained in theory, but golf is an exciting sport and it’s worthwhile testing your ability when you’re on a real golf course. copyright 2006
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