Golf is an outdoor sport where individual players or teams play a small Golf_Ball into a hole using various Golf_Club.

Golf is believed to have originated in Scotland and has been played for several centuries in the British Isles and continuously in the United States since 1887 (Foxburg, Pennsylvania).

Golf is played by holes. A "hole" can mean either the actual hole in the ground into which the ball is played, or the whole area from the teeing ground (an area of specially prepared grass from where a ball is first hit) to the putting green (the area around the actual hole in the ground). Most golf courses consist of 9 or 18 holes.

A round of golf consists of playing a number of holes, usually 9 or 18. A hole of golf consists of hitting a ball from a Tee on the teeing ground (a marked area designated for the first shot of a hole), and continuing to strike the ball till it comes to rest in the cup. Once the ball is on the green (an area of finely cut grass or oiled sand) the ball is usually putted (hit along the ground) into the hole. The goal of "holing" or "sinking" the ball in as few strokes as possible may be impeded by various obstructions, such as sand bunkers and water hazards.

Every hole is classified by its par. The par of a hole is defined by the distance from tee to green. Typical values for a par-three hole range from 100 to 224 m, par-four hole from 225 to 434 m, and a par-five hole from 435 m. Par is also the theoretical number of strokes that an expert golfer should require for playing the ball into any given hole.