Golf term
Fairway
Also searched as: fairway hit, closely mown area, short grass
The closely mown area between the teeing area and the green, where the ball is easiest to play. Under the Rules the fairway is part of the general area.
The same Rules apply on the fairway as in the rough, because both are general area. Only some Local Rules make a difference, such as preferred lies, which often apply only to areas ‘cut to fairway height or less’.
In statistics, ‘fairways hit’ counts how often the tee shot on par 4s and par 5s finishes on the fairway.