Golf

In golf the player strikes a small ball with a range of clubs, aiming to complete 18 holes in as few strokes as possible. Each hole has a "par" — the expected number of strokes. Golf courses are large areas designed together with the natural landscape.

History

Golf arose in fifteenth-century Scotland; the Old Course at St Andrews is one of the oldest golf courses in the world. The oldest major, The Open, has been played since 1860. Golf featured at the 1900 and 1904 Olympics and returned at Rio 2016 after a gap of 112 years.

Major competitions

The four men's majors — the Masters, the PGA Championship, the US Open and The Open; the Ryder Cup between Europe and the USA; the Olympic Games; and the PGA and DP World (European) tours.

Golf in the Turkic world

The Belek area of Antalya, with dozens of courses, is one of Europe's favourite golf destinations and has hosted the European Tour's Turkish Airlines Open since 2013. Baku, Almaty, Astana and Budapest also have international-standard golf clubs.