Fairway
The closely mown strip of a golf hole between the teeing area and the green.
Definition
The fairway is the central, closely mown area of a golf hole that runs from the teeing area toward the green. Because the grass is cut short, the ball sits up cleanly and is generally easier to strike well from the fairway than from the longer grass beside it.
On either side of the fairway is the rough, where the grass is left longer and shots become harder to control. Keeping the ball on the fairway is therefore a common aim off the tee.
Where you’ll hear “fairway”
Sports that use this term:
Golf
A precision target sport played across an outdoor course, blending skill, strategy and a long walk in the open air.
Disc Golf
A relaxed, low-cost target sport where players throw flying discs toward chain baskets across an outdoor course.
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Equipment
- Golf clubA shafted club with a specialised head used to strike the ball around a golf course.
- Padel racketA solid, stringless perforated racket used to play padel.
- BasketballA large, inflated ball with a dimpled surface used to play basketball.
- Badminton racketA lightweight strung racket used to hit the shuttlecock in badminton.
- Football (soccer ball)A round, inflated ball used to play association football and futsal.
Playing surfaces
Sports science
- Reaction timeThe short delay between a signal and the start of the movement made in response to it.
- Aerobic and anaerobic energyThe difference between energy the body produces with oxygen and energy it produces without it — a core idea behind why different efforts feel and last so differently.
- Range of motionHow far a joint can travel through its movement — the arc available at a joint, and the foundation of flexibility and mobility.
- ProprioceptionThe body’s internal sense of where its parts are and how they are moving — the awareness behind balance and coordinated movement.
- Motor controlHow the brain and nervous system organise the muscles to produce coordinated, controlled movement.
Practice & sessions
- Technical sessionA session built around technique — grooving and refining the mechanics of how a movement or shot is executed.
- Conditioning sessionA session built around physical conditioning — developing the fitness qualities a sport draws on, rather than its skills or tactics.
- Tactical sessionA session built around tactics — how you use space, position and patterns of play, rather than the mechanics of a shot.
- Mobility sessionA session built around moving well through a range of motion — gentle, controlled work to help the body move freely.
Tactics
- Zone defenceA defensive system where each player guards an area of the court rather than a specific opponent.
- Breakaway and pelotonThe cycling tension between the main pack riding together and small groups that break clear to gain time.
- Serve and volleyAn attacking tennis tactic where the server follows their serve to the net to finish the point with a volley.
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- Content type
- Term
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
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- Content updated
- 2026-08-04
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