With the use of plastic balls, your house and cars are protected from damage. There are many variations of backyard golfing. People have their own unique ways of setting up their yards.
Rules do very from state to state or yard to yard.
If you value your lawn then we recommend going to your local driving range. Backyard golf will wreck havoc on your lawn. The most damage will be to the tee areas, a mat can be used if making divots bothers you, but they can be easily fixed with some grass seed in the spring. The more space available the better. The fairways take the least amount of maintenance.