Golf is a precision sport practiced, in a specially equipped field, by means of a ball and a series of irons and woods. The game consists in hitting a ball, along a special path, from a starting point to a hole. The victory goes to the player who finishes all the established holes, usually 18, with the least number of strokes (stroke play) or to the player who has won the most holes (competition holes). Golf is a very popular game especially in the United States, Japan and England; it appeared in Italy in 1900 and was part of the Olympic program from 1900 to 1904. After a long hiatus it was reintroduced into the Olympic program from 2016 to today. Ľ the origin of golf is not entirely clear: according to the most widespread theory this game was born in Scotland in the late Middle Ages, when two farmers started throwing a stone against each other with a cue; but a game more similar to golf can already be traced back to February 1297 in the Netherlands where players hit a leather ball with a cue up to a target and whoever arrived with fewer strokes won. Golf has a set of rules and procedures under which the sport should be practiced. They are written and operated by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the governing body of golf in the world, with the exception of Mexico and the United States which are the responsibility of the United States Golf Association. For each corresponding infringement of the rules a penalty is applied and the most serious is disqualification; however, the most common penalty is one more stroke when choosing to return the golf ball to the spot where the last stroke was played because it landed in a spot considered unplayable such as a water hazard.

The main golf equipment is: the ball, which must never be less than 42.67 mm in diameter and weigh no more than 45.93 g; sticks that are distinguished in irons, woods and putters: woods are used for long distances, irons for precision shots and putters are used to roll the ball into the hole when it is very close to the hole; the tee is an object that serves to facilitate the shot, but is limited to the first shot of each hole; the bags are used to carry the clubs, but there are also numerous bags to carry the golfer’s personal items. Golf is a sport based on concentration and calm, but also on the skill of the player, and to become good it takes a lot of training. But it is above all a relaxing sport, immersed in the green of nature with enviable landscapes. Seeing is believing.