Professional golf
Golf is played professionally in many different countries. The majority of professional golfers work as club or teaching professionals, and only compete in local competitions. A small elite of professional golfers are "tournament pros" who compete full time on international "tours".
Golf is played on an area of land designated
as the course. The course consists of a series of holes. A hole
means both the hole in the ground into which the ball is played
, as well as the total distance from the tee to the green. Most
golf courses consist of eighteen holes.
The first stroke on each hole is done from the Tee , where the
player can use a tee , which makes the tee shot easier. Before
the modern tee came into use, early golfers often used a small
pyramid of sand to hold the ball. Most courses offer a range of
Tee boxes to play from, making the hole longer or shorter depending
on which Tees the player starts at.
Often, the different Tee boxes have names associated with degree
of competence . In addition to a difference in distance, the different
Tees may also eliminate or reduce the danger of some hazards for
the "Forward" tees, such as water hazards. Teeing grounds
on most golf courses are relatively flat, in order for the golfer
to have a perfect lie for the first shot on a hole.