Ads By CbproAds

Just a Little Golf History



 
Just a Little Golf History The origin of golf is hard to place exactly. Several countries are claiming that they started the now popular game, but the most believed is the Netherlands. According to history, the Netherlands had the ideas of hitting balls into holes with a golf club in the 17th century. In addition to this, it is said that the word golf comes from the Dutch was kolf which means stick, club and bat. It does NOT come from the acronym "gentlemen only, ladies forbidden." Despite this early introduction of golf, it did not come around in the United States until the 1880s.

The oldest course in the world dates back to St. Andrews Trails, located in the Royal Burgh of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. This course is known as the "home of golf".

Even though it is commonly known that golf courses have eighteen holes, according to history, this has not always been so. Golfers at St. Andrews played on a route that was determined by the topography of the area. An eleven-hole course came about and players would play all eleven, turn around and play them again - twenty-two holes. Some thought that the holes were to short in 1764, so were combined with other holes. The number was reduced from eleven to nine, leaving a total of eighteen holes.

The size of the golf hole even goes back in history. The standard golf hole size is 4.25 inches in diameter. It was the St. Andrews Trails that were the founders of this standard size, with some assistance from the links at Musselburgh. This size was decided upon because the folks at Musselburgh had invented the first known hole cutter in 1829. This cutter utilized a tool that was 4.25 inches in diameter. St. Andrews simply liked that size and adopted it for the games standard hole size.

The common used phrases in the game of golf are birdie, eagle and par. The word bird was a slang term in the 19th century that referred to anything considered remotely cool. So the term was used then for a great shot in a game of golf - one that led to a score under par - and was eventually turned into birdie. The word eagle followed along those lines in keeping with the bird mentality. Par was used long before it became associated with the game of golf and basically meant something that was acceptable or average. The word simply became associated over time with the game of golf to indicate an ideal score among golfers.

Where did these rules come from? Well, you honestly cannot play a game, any game, without rules. So from the very beginning there had to have been understood rules to play along with. No one knows what those rules were as the rules were never officially written until they were specifically written in 1744 for the Annual Challenge for the Edinburgh Silver Club.

SUMMARY: Golf didn’t just come around yesterday. It has a history. And to fully enjoy and understand the game, you need to know where it came from. Learn a little!





Comments

*Name:
*Email:
Website URL:
Title / Subject:
Hide my email
*Comments:
*
 



Menu


My Articles

Guide To Golf Green
Golf Occupations
Buying Those First Golf Clubs
Golf Lessons: A Necessity Or Not?
Guide To Golf Etiquette
Guide On How To Play Golf
Guide To Golf Rules
Just A Little Golf History
Getting Good Golf Lessons
Guide To Golfing For Seniors
Guide To Pro Golf
Playing Golf With The Right Mentality
Guide To Golf Clubs
Guide To Golf Swing
Tips On How To Play Better Golf
Getting The Right Golf Clubs For You
How To Be A Master Golfer
Kids Guide To Golf
Succeeding At Golf
Golf Fitness And Health
Golf- Learning And Perfecting The Basics
Important Things You Need To Know In Golf
Golf Etiquette Rules
Guide To Golf For Beginners










My Articles


Golf Fitness And Health   Whether you are just getting started with golf or you are a..


Guide To Golfing For Seniors Are you above 50 years old? Do you stop playing golf because you fear..


How To Be A Master Golfer Golf is beautiful game with a simple objective, drive the ball into the..


Succeeding At Golf The game of golf is a beautiful game and like in any other..



Related Videos:

Related News:

 
Golf roundup: Kyle Stanley rallies from 8 back to win Phoenix Open - Deseret News

    

Deseret News

Golf roundup: Kyle Stanley rallies from 8 back to win Phoenix Open
Deseret News
"I just needed to focus on playing golf. I needed to put last week behind me." Stanley closed with a bogey-free 6-under 65, holing a 4-foot par putt on the par-4 18th, to finish at 15-under 269. He cried again, this time tears of joy.
Golf roundup: Kyle Stanley rallies at PhoenixVancouver Sun
Five things we learned this week in golfESPN
Golf: Stanley overhauls fading Levin to win Phoenix OpenGMA News
AZ Central.com -CBSSports.com
all 652 news articles »



Golf: Paul Lawrie back in world top 50 after second win in Qatar - Scotsman

    

USA TODAY

Golf: Paul Lawrie back in world top 50 after second win in Qatar
Scotsman
By MARTIN DEMPSTER PAUL Lawrie may have been a tad embarrassed to hear he'd been likened to Nick Faldo in his prime but the Aberdonian certainly produced a final-day performance the six-time major champion would have been proud of in winning the Qatar ...
Lawrie holds off Day, Hanson to win Qatar MastersCBSSports.com
Paul Lawrie wins Qatar MastersUSA TODAY
Lawrie lays early Ryder Cup markerIrish Independent
Bloomberg
all 263 news articles »