Once the ball comes to rest, the golfer strikes it again as many times as necessary using shots that are variously known as a 'lay-up', an 'approach', a 'pitch', or a 'chip', until the ball reaches the green, where he or she then 'putts' the ball into the hole (commonly called 'sinking the putt' or 'holing out'). Shorter holes may be initiated with other clubs, such as higher-numbered woods or irons. When the initial shot on a hole is intended to move the ball a long distance, typically more than 225 yards (210 m), the shot is commonly called a 'drive' and is generally made with a long-shafted, large-headed wood club called a 'driver'. by setting up a hole in an orchard in 1888, with Reid setting up America's first golf club the same year, Saint Andrew's Golf Club in Yonkers, New York. Two Scotsmen from Dunfermline, John Reid and Robert Lockhart, first demonstrated golf in the U.S. The world's oldest golf tournament in existence, and golf's first major, is The Open Championship, which was first played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland, with Scottish golfers winning the earliest majors. The oldest surviving rules of golf were compiled in March 1744 for the Company of Gentlemen Golfers, later renamed The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which was played at Leith, Scotland. Golf is documented as being played on Musselburgh Links, East Lothian, Scotland as early as 2 March 1672, which is certified as the oldest golf course in the world by Guinness World Records.

In 1764, the standard 18-hole golf course was created at St Andrews when members modified the course from 22 to 18 holes.

To many golfers, the Old Course at St Andrews, a links course dating to before 1574, is considered to be a site of pilgrimage. James IV lifted the ban in 1502 when he became a golfer himself, with golf clubs first recorded in 1503–1504: 'For golf clubbes and balles to the King that he playit with'.

The modern game originated in Scotland, where the first written record of golf is James II's banning of the game in 1457, as an unwelcome distraction to learning archery.

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