A course, in navigation, is the direction of travel.
The term, even in navigation, can be ambiguous because there are several types of course:
- course is the general term describing the bearing to be followed to move from the destination to a particular target
- heading is the direction the vessel or vehicle is pointing toward - it may be necessary to point away from the intended course to counteract the effects of a cross wind or tidal current or some other force
- track is the actual direction of travel irrespective of the heading
