Golf in : Play the ball as it lies

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.

In match play the unit of competition is the hole, not the total strokes. A hole is won by the player or side that holes out in fewer strokes; if both take the same number the hole is halved. The match is described by the margin, for example 3 and 2, meaning a player leads by three holes with only two left to play, so the match ends early. Players may concede a putt, a hole or the entire match at any time, a courtesy unique to this format.