Golf
Get round a course of holes in as few strokes as possible, playing the ball as it lies.
Golf Course
Under these rules: A match may end before the last hole.
A round of holes, usually eighteen, each with its own teeing area and green.
The one playing area in sport with no dimensions: every course is its own, and the Rules describe not its geometry but its kinds of ground — teeing area, fairway, bunker, penalty area, green.
Club
Under these rules: No more than fourteen for the round.
A club for striking the ball; no more than fourteen in the bag.
The limit of fourteen is a rare rule that restricts equipment rather than action. Start a round with fewer and you may add up to fourteen; lose one and you may not replace it.
Golf Ball
Under these rules: A hole is finished with the ball it was started with.
A ball that may not be substituted during a hole unless the Rules allow it.
Having started a hole, a player must finish it with the same ball. A ball to be lifted is marked first: without the mark it cannot be put back where it was.
The Rules of Golf: match play
What differs
Opponents compare their score on each hole separately. Fewer strokes wins the hole; an equal number halves it.
End of a match
A match ends once one player's lead exceeds the number of holes remaining. The remaining holes need not be played.
Order of play
There is an order of play: the player further from the hole goes first. A stroke made out of turn may, in the cases provided, be required to be cancelled and replayed.
Penalties
The general penalty in match play is loss of the hole, not two strokes.
Opponents may agree how to decide a Rules issue, so long as they do not agree to ignore a Rule or penalty they know applies.
Sources
- The Rules of Golf, effective January 2023 · The R&A Open source
Glossary of terms
- Drop
- How a ball is put back into play when taking relief: dropped from knee height, it must land in the relief area and stay there.
- Match play
- The form in which opponents compare their score on each hole separately. Holes won are counted, not strokes.
- Stroke and distance
- The relief for a lost ball or one out of bounds: one penalty stroke and a return to where the previous stroke was made.
- Stroke play
- The form in which the total number of strokes for the round is counted. The lowest total wins.