Golf is a sport in which players using many types of clubs including woods, irons, and putters, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course in the lowest possible number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not use a standardized playing area; rather, the game is played on golf "courses", each one of which has a unique design and typically consists of either 9 or 18 holes. Golf is defined in the Rules of Golf as "playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules".

Golf competition is generally played for the lowest number of strokes by an individual, known simply as stroke play, or for the lowest score on the most individual holes during a complete round by an individual or team, known as match play.