Golf in 1457: The Scottish ban

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 stroke play a player records the gross number of strokes taken on every hole, and the totals decide the event. Scores are named relative to par: one under par is a birdie, two under an eagle, and three under an albatross; one over is a bogey, two over a double bogey. A hole in one on a par 3 is an ace. Each player is responsible for the accuracy of the score entered for each hole; signing for a score lower than actually taken means disqualification.