The game of golf is played on an area known as the 'golf course'. The course consists of series of holes, typically eighteen. Tee is the area from which the fist shot is made, therefore the teeing ground on most golf courses is flat, so that every golfer can get a good start. A golf course consists of fairway, rough and hazards. Fairway is an area where the grass is cut shorter, allowing the player to make a more precise and clean shot. Ultimately, every golfer would like to stay on the fairway for the entire game. But nevertheless, quite often the golf ball would end up in the rough, so the player must make his next shot from there. Playing from the rough is always a disadvantage because the grass is much longer, making the ball stray to the left or to the right and also affects the flight of the ball. Golf courses have hazardous areas, such as - water hazards (lakes, rivers); man made hazards (bunkers); lateral hazards (bushlands, gardens). If the ball can not be played from the hazard, then the golfer can hit from another location, with a penalty of one stroke. The position of the location is defined by strict rules. A very important rule is that the when in hazard, a player can not touch the ground with his club before playing the ball.

The putting green is the area surrounding the hole on every golf course. Putting greens are generally costly and hard to maintain. They become susceptible to diseases and pests, and therefore may require more chemical treatments. Fast greens are extremely fragile. Weather is also a prime factor, as high temperature and lack of moisture are deadly to greens maintained at very short cutting heights. Many of the world's best-known courses some times suffer serious damage and rebuilding costs a lot of money. As a result of that, the USGA and GCSAA are investing millions of dollars in an effort to develop new grasses that will be able to resist such hard conditions.

Of course, there is a fee to pay to be allowed to play on a given golf course. Typically, there are two types of fees - range fee and green fee. The range fee is for the practice range, while the green fee allows you to play on the course itself. The green fee varies tremendously between different counties and golf courses. You can find golf courses with a green fee of a few dollars, but it can also go over a thousand dollars. Usually, discounts are available for older people or early/later in the day. There is also a fee to use a gold cart, although it's included in some courses, where walking is forbidden. Therefore always check if a cart is included in the green fee.

Golfcourseonline.com is a free search tool for golf courses in USA. At this website, you can find local golfcourses. Maps, photos and layouts are provided. You have to specify the number of golfers, location and price and the site will provide you with several courses and the respective emails and telephone numbers.s