uk golf
, outdoor game in which individual players use specially designed clubs to propel a small, hard ball over a field of play known as a course or links. The object of the game is to advance the ball around the course using as few strokes as possible.
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, is divided into 18 sections, called holes. The standard course is about 6,500 to 7,000 yd (about 5,900 to 6,400 m). The individual holes may vary in length from 100 to 600 yd (about 90 to 550 m). Each hole has at one end a starting point known as a tee and, imbedded in the ground at the other end and marked by a flag, a cup or cylindrical container (also called a hole) into which the ball must be propelled to complete
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, the hole. The cup is usually made of metal or plastic, 4.25 in (10.8 cm) in diameter, and at least 4 in (10 cm) deep. The rules of play for golf are numerous and complex. The organizations that establish golf rules for the world are the Royal and Ancient Golf Club
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, of Saint Andrews and the United States Golf Association (USGA), founded in 1894 and located in Far Hills, New Jersey. The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA) was organized in 1916, and annual tournaments were started during the same year. The PGA is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Currently, there are more than 28,000 members of the PGA, most of whom assist amateur players as
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,club or resort instructors. The PGA Tour developed out of the PGA. It is now a separate entity consisting of several hundred playing professionals who tour the United States, and occasionally travel outside the country,
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, to compete for prize money in tournaments held weekly at different locations. There is also a Senior PGA Tour for professionals age 50 and over. The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, is an organization with more than 1,000 teaching professionals,
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, as well as a year-round tour similar to the PGA Tour. Each year thousands of golf tournaments take place. The most important professional tournaments for men are the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship. Collectively these
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, four events form the grand slam of golf. Until 1960 the grand slam was considered to be the U.S. Open, the British Open, the U.S. Amateur, and the British Amateur, but with the increasing importance of professional golf
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, in the mid-20th century, the Masters and the PGA Championship gained preeminence over the two amateur tournaments. However, the U.S. and British
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, amateurs remain important events for nonprofessionals. For women the four professional tournaments forming the grand slam are the LPGA Championship,
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, the U.S. Womenıs Open, the Womenıs British Open, and the Nabisco Championship (formerly the Dinah Shore Championship). The most important amateur events for women are the U.S. Womenıs Amateur and the
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, British Womenıs Amateur Championship. International team matches are also an important part of the sport. The Walker Cup
scotland golf
, (for men) and the Curtis Cup (for women) are contests between amateur golfers from the United States and Britain. The Ryder Cup is a competition for professional male golfers, matching up the United States and Europe. (Before 1979 the Ryder Cup was contested by American and British teams.) The Presidents Cup (for men) and the Solheim Cup (for women) are competitions between professional golfers from the United States and the rest of the world. World competition tournaments for men also include the Eisenhower Cup for amateurs and the World Cup for professionals. World competition tournaments for women amateurs also include the Espirito Santo Trophy. Because of scheduling issues and travel requirements, many of these competitions are held every other year. The most famous feat in the history of golf was achieved by the American amateur player Bobby Jones, who in 1930 captured his eraıs grand slam by winning the British Open, the British Amateur, the U.S. Open, and the U.S. Amateur. No other player has ever won the grand slam of golf in a calendar year, but American
tiger woods
, Tiger Woods achieved the next best thing when he won the four consecutive majors between
scotland golf June 2000 and April 2001. Besides Woods and Jones, the only male players to win each major tournament at least once during their careers are Americans Ben Hogan,
jack nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus, and Gene Sarazen;
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, and South African Gary Player. Six female players are credited with a so-called career grand slam, the composition of which has changed over the years. They are Americans Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster, Louise Suggs, and Mickey Wright; Swedish player Annika Sörenstam; and Australian Karrie Webb. There have been many other great players in the history of golf. Other outstanding male golfers
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,include American players Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Lee Trevino, and Tom Watson; British players Harry Vardon and Nick Faldo; Australian player Greg Norman; Zimbabwean player Nick Price; South African player Ernie Els; and Spanish player Severiano Ballesteros. Other top women competitors have included Americans Patty Berg, JoAnne Carner, Betsy King, Nancy Lopez, Betsy Rawls, Patty Sheehan, Kathy Whitworth, and Babe Didrikson Zaharias; Britainıs Laura Davies; and South Korea's Se Ri Pak.
