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Golf is a game where a person hits a little ball laying onthe ground with a stick called a golf club into a smallhole, also in the ground. This type of ball game does nothave a specific area of play but the game is played on anarea of land that has been mapped out for this specificgame. This area of land is called a golf course.

A hole refers to both the hole in the ground into which theball is hit as well as the total distance from the tee, thearea where each player initially hits the ball, to thegreen, which is the area surrounding the actual hole in theground. After a player first hits the ball at the tee, hecontinues to do so from the fairway, where the grass is cutlow enough for easy play, or from the rough, where thegrass is longer and more difficult to play, until the ballenters the hole, or cup.

The grass on the area immediately surrounding the hole,commonly referred to as the putting green, is cut extremelyshort so the ball can roll easily. When a player hits theball into the cup, he has completed play on that hole. Theobject of the game is to hit the ball into the cup in fewerstrokes than an opponent. Skilled players require fewerstrokes to hit the ball into the hole.

Golf is not an easy game, and it takes much more than justhitting a little ball into a hole to play the game right.There are also many hazards on golf courses such as sandtraps, ponds, trees and woods and so on. Players who hitthe ball in these areas have to hit the ball where it haslanded so they try to avoid the areas as much as possible.If the ball can't be played from where it is, it can bemoved to a better location but it will cost that player andone stroke penalty. Another rule when a player hits theball into a hazard is that their club cannot touch theground before hitting the ball, not even for a practiceswing.

The hole is classified by its par and is determined by thedistance from tee to green. Par is the number of strokes anexpert golfer should take at hitting the ball into thehole. Par three holes range in distance from 100 to 224meters, four holes from 225 to 434 and five holes is 435meters and up.