Golf in Banbury, Oxfordshire

Golf is a sport in which a player, using many types of clubs including a driver and a putter, hits a ball into each hole on a golf course in the lowest possible number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not use a standardized playing area; rather, the game is played on golf "courses", each one of which has a unique design and typically consists of either 9 or 18 holes. Golf is defined in the Rules of Golf as "playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules."

Golf has increasingly turned into a spectator game, with several different levels of professional and amateur tours in many regions of the world. People such as Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam have become well recognized sports figures across the world. Sponsorship has also become a huge part of the game and players often earn more from their sponsorship contracts than they do from the game itself.

A handicap is a numerical measure of an amateur golfer's ability to play golf over 18 holes. Handicaps can be applied either for stroke play competition or match play competition. In either competition, a handicap generally represents the number of strokes above par that a player will achieve on an above average day.

Find Out More About Golf At Brailes Golf Club in Banbury, Oxfordshire

Banbury is a market town located on the River Cherwell in northern Oxfordshire, England. It had a population of 43,867 at the 2001 census, though this figure has increased drastically in recent years. Banbury is part of the Cherwell district. The Member of Parliament for Banbury is Tony Baldry.

The surrounding area is known informally by some as Banburyshire and covers the north half of the Cherwell district and neighbouring areas. It has one of fastest growing populations in the country. As Banbury lies near the Oxfordshire border, "Banburyshire" includes parts of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire.

Vodafone Limited, Prodrive and Kraft Foods all have offices in Banbury, Oxfordshire.