The first section of every hole consists of what is known as the teeing ground, or tee-box. There is usually more than one available box for a player to place their ball, each one a different distance from the hole. They are generally as level as feasible, and most are slightly raised from the surrounding fairway. The most common tee areas, in increasing order of length from the hole, are the ladies' tee, the men's tee, and the championship tee. Other common tee-boxes include the junior tee, closer to the hole than the ladies' tee, and the senior tee, generally between the ladies' tee and the men's tee. In tournaments, golfers generally tee off from the box one level further from the "normal" box for their class (men use the championship tee, ladies use the senior or men's tee, and juniors use the ladies' tee).
Each tee box has two markers showing the bounds of the legal tee area. The teeing area spans the distance between the markers, and extends from two-club lengths behind the markers up to the markers themselves. A golfer may play the ball from outside the teeing area, but the ball itself must be shot from within the area.A golfer may place his ball directly on the teeing ground (called hitting it "off the deck"), a manufactured support known as a tee, or any natural substance such as sand placed on the teeing surface.
After teeing off, the player again hits the ball toward the green from where it came to rest. The area between the tee box and the putting green is called the fairway. The turf of the fairway is generally cut short and evenly and is an advantageous area from which to hit. The area between the fairway and the out-of-bounds markers and also between the fairway and green is the rough, the turf of which is cut higher than that of the fairway and is generally a disadvantageous area from which to hit. Par three holes expect the player to be able to drive the ball to the green on their first shot from the tee box. Holes longer than par threes are expected to require at least one extra shot made from the fairway or rough.
While many holes are designed with a direct line-of-sight from the tee-off point to the green, some of the holes may bend either to the left or to the right. This is called a "dogleg", in reference to a dog's knee. The hole is called a "dogleg left" if the hole angles leftwards, and a "dogleg right" if the hole angles rightwards; rarely, a hole's direction can bend twice, and is called a "double dogleg".
Most courses have only par three, four, and five holes, though some courses include par six holes. Typical distances for the various holes from standard tees are as follows.
Men
- Par 3 – 250 yards (230 m) and below
- Par 4 – 251 to 450 yards (410 m)
- Par 5 – 451 to 690 yards (630 m)
- Par 6 – 691 yards (632 m) or more
Women
- Par 3 – 210 yards (190 m) and below
- Par 4 – 211 to 400 yards (370 m)
- Par 5 – 401 to 575 yards (526 m)
- Par 6 – 575 yards (526 m) or more
Harder or easier courses may have longer or shorter distances, respectively. Terrain can also be a factor, where a long downhill hole might be rated a par four, but a shorter uphill or treacherous hole might be rated a par five. Professional tournament players will often encounter longer Par 3 holes (up to 290 yards) and longer Par 4 holes (up to 520 yards).
