What is Golf?
Golf is a sport where the idea is to hit a ball with a club from the tee into the hole in as few strokes as possible.
By whom, where and when was Golf invented?
Golf is believed to have been practised first in the Netherlands under the name “colf” or “kolven” and arrived in Britain in the 15th century.
Its first rules were established in the Scottish city of St. Andrews, long known as the home of golf, in 1754
What are the rules of Golf?
The essential rule of golf is, for each stroke, the player to play the ball as it lies, and the course as they find it.
They start with a tee shot and finish in the hole on a closely mown surface called a green where only the putter is allowed to be used. For longer holes, the player should aim for the fairway (another mown surface) from where they can play an approach shot into the green.
There are numerous hazards including bunkers, also known as sand traps, rough, trees and water hazards. If the ball goes into the water, the player incurs a penalty shot and must drop the ball close to where the ball entered the water or play the shot again.
Each round lasts 18 holes with most professional tournaments comprising four rounds. There is often a cut after two rounds eliminating just over a third of the starters.
How is Golf scored?
Each hole has a par score which is the number of shots a high-quality golfer should take to complete it. The shortest holes are par-3s with par-4s and then par-5s which, before recent advances in club technology, often required three shots to land the ball on the green.
In stroke play golf, the format used in most professional tournaments, a player's score for a round is the aggregate number of strokes taken over the 18 holes. Their tournament score will be the total over the four rounds (72 holes).
Completing a hole in one-under-par, for example three strokes on a par-4, is known as a birdie. An eagle is the name given to a hole completed two strokes under par.
An albatross, sometimes called a double eagle, is a rare bird in that it is a hole completed in three-under-par, ie. a two on a par-5.
A course will have a par score which is usually between 70 and 72 with the majority of holes classified as par-4s.
Golf and the Olympics
Golf was played at the 1900 Games in Paris with Margaret Ives Abbott winning the women's event and fellow American Charles Edward Sands the men's. Four years later, the women's event was replaced by a team event but golf was dropped after those St. Louis Games.
In October 2009, IOC members voted in favour of re-introducing golf to the Olympic programme for Rio 2016. Great Britain's Justin Rose won the men's title with Republic of Korea's Inbee Park claiming women's gold.
Best golfers to watch
With the PGA Tour still the biggest in the men's game, Americans dominate the men's world rankings with Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas reaching the number one spot and winning major tournaments of which there are four - the Masters, US Open, (British) Open Championship and (US) PGA Championship. Xander Schauffele won gold for Team USA at Tokyo 2020.
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Spain's Jon Rahm have also topped the rankings in recent years with Australian Cameron Smith - who joined a number of high-profile golfers including Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour - another high flier.
South Korea has become the most powerful nation in the women's game led by the likes of Park, Kim Sei-young and Ko Jin-young, but USA's Nelly Korda won Olympic gold in Tokyo with Lydia Ko of New Zealand returning to the top of the rankings having been world number one as a teenager.
Thailand's Atthaya Thitikul has also been the world's number one woman while Australia's Minjin Lee and Brooke Henderson of Canada claimed second major titles in 2022.
Golf Competition Rules at Paris 2024
At Paris 2024, a maximum of four players per nation competed in each of the men’s and women’s golf tournaments, held at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, the venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup.
Each tournament featured 60 participants, determined by the official rankings as of June 2024. All players competed across four rounds with no halfway cut.
In the event of a tie for a medal position, a sudden-death playoff decided the winner. This format was notably used at Tokyo 2020, where Pan Cheng-tsung of Chinese Taipei won a seven-man playoff for bronze on the fourth extra hole.
