The area on a golf course where the hole is located is called the green.
More precisely, the putting green is the closely mown surface surrounding the hole. It is specially maintained so golfers can roll the ball smoothly toward the cup with a putter. Each hole has one green, although the shape, size, slopes, and surrounding features vary from course to course.
The green is different from the fairway, which is the more closely cut playing area leading toward it, and from the rough, where the grass is longer. A bunker is a hazard filled with sand or another prepared material and may sit near a green, but it is not part of the putting surface.
Golfers generally mark and lift their ball on the green, then replace it before putting. The flagstick identifies the hole's location, while the cup is the actual hole cut into the turf. Greens are often designed with breaks and slopes that make reading the ball's path a key skill.