Golf in : The teeing ground and order of play

A round proceeds hole by hole in a fixed order. Players tee off from the teeing ground, advance the ball down the fairway toward the putting green, and finish by rolling it into a 4.25-inch hole marked by a flagstick. The core principle is to play the ball as it lies and the course as you find it, altering neither. Penalty strokes are added for trouble such as water, out of bounds and unplayable lies, and the player or side with the lowest total, or the most holes, is the winner.

Each hole begins from the teeing ground, a rectangle two club-lengths deep between the tee markers, and the ball may be raised on a tee peg. Only here may a player improve the lie. Order of play matters: on the first tee the honour is decided by draw or ranking, thereafter the player with the lowest score on the previous hole tees off first. Through the green, the ball farthest from the hole, called away, is played first. In casual golf, ready golf is now encouraged to speed up play.

The defining rule of golf is that you play the ball as it lies and the course as you find it. A player may not improve the lie of the ball, the area of the intended stance or swing, or the line of play by pressing down grass, breaking branches or moving fixed objects. Loose impediments such as leaves and stones may be removed, and movable obstructions relocated, but if the ball moves as a result away from the green there is usually a penalty. This principle underpins the game's integrity.