Golf rules and scoring terms

The goal

• A round is usually 18 holes, or 9 for a short round.
• Each swing at the ball is one stroke, even a tiny putt or a total miss.
• Your score for a hole is the number of strokes it took to get the ball in the cup. Add up all the holes and the lowest total wins.

What is par?

Par is the number of strokes a good golfer is expected to need on a hole. Short holes are par 3, middle holes are par 4 and long holes are par 5. Par always allows two putts on the green, so on a par 4 the plan is two shots to reach the green and two putts.

Golf scoring terms

A round of 2 under par is written as -2. A round of 5 over par is +5.

Who plays first

• On the first tee, players agree an order. On later tees, the player with the lowest score on the last hole has the honour and tees off first.
• After the tee shots, the player whose ball is farthest from the hole plays next.

Out of bounds and water

• Out of bounds (marked by white stakes or lines) means the ball has left the course. You add one penalty stroke and play again from where you hit the last shot. This is called stroke and distance.
• Water and other penalty areas are marked red or yellow. If your ball goes in, you can take one penalty stroke and drop a ball outside the area, for example back on the line the ball took as it went in.
• A lost ball is treated like out of bounds: one penalty stroke and replay from the last spot.
• Bunkers (sand traps) are not penalty areas. You just play the ball out, but you must not touch the sand with your club before the swing.

On the green

• You may mark your ball with a small coin, lift it and clean it, then put it back in the same spot.
• You may repair pitch marks and spike marks on your line.
• You may putt with the flagstick in the hole or ask for it to be taken out.
• The player farthest from the hole putts first. Don't walk on another player's line.
• Read the slope before you putt. The ball curves downhill and rolls faster when the putt goes down a slope.

In our game

Our free online golf game is a 3D nine-hole round. Pick a golfer (Ace, Grace or Elegance) and one of three courses:

• Willow Bend: a tree-lined, forgiving parkland course.
• Saltgrass Links: a seaside links with stronger wind, dunes, pot bunkers and the sea along many holes.
• Red Mesa: a desert canyon with big drops from high tees and waste sand.

Each course has nine holes with par 3s, 4s and 5s. Daily 3 Holes gives everyone the same three holes each day (one par 3, one par 4 and one par 5 from one course).

How to swing

1. Aim: drag the view left or right. A ring shows where a full swing will land. You can also tap the round map to pick a target.
2. Pick a club with the arrows. The game picks a sensible club for you, and the putter on the green.
3. Pull down on the swing pad to take the club back. Pull further for more power.
4. Flick up to strike. A straight flick flies straight. Drift left or right and the ball hooks or slices.

Wind, lies and greens

• A wind dial shows the speed and direction for each hole. Wind moves full shots in the air but not putts.
• On the green your golfer crouches to read the line, and small dots drift downhill to show the slope.

Penalties and scoring in our game

• Water costs one penalty stroke, and you drop back along the line the ball took into the water.
• Out of bounds is stroke and distance: one penalty stroke and replay from the same spot.
• When you reach par + 4 strokes on a hole, you pick up and move on, so one bad hole never ruins the round.
• Each hole also earns points (500 for a birdie, 300 for par and more for eagles and aces), plus bonuses for fairways, greens in regulation, chip-ins and long putts. A full nine-hole round posts its points to the leaderboard.

Ready to play?Golf is free on phone, tablet and computer.

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