A golf course is a large field or landscape where players hit small hard balls from various fixed points into distant marked holes in the ground. The course is normally planted with short grass, and includes all sorts of irregularities which challenge the players, including undulations, sand pits, standing water, high grass, trees and forested sections, and rock outcroppings.

The object of the game is to hit the ball with a long narrow golf club from the tee into the hole in as few strokes as possible. The game is scored by totaling the number of strokes over the whole course, with the lowest score winning.

A normal course includes 18 holes and fairways leading to those holes, with a flat putting green around each hole and a tee at each spot where the ball is initially hit to each hole. Many courses have 9 holes or some other number for shorter or extended play, depending on design and space availability.

A driving range for practicing golf also falls under this definition.