A few interesting facts about one of America’s favorite past times.
The commonly accepted theory is that golf originated in Scotland with shepherds knocking stones into rabbit holes, in the place where the famous Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews now sits. Scholars have claimed references to a form of golf from hieroglyphics found in stone tablets dating to ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. A hobby consisting of driving a ball with a stick into holes in the ground was first mentioned in a Chinese book of the 11th century. The Scottish game of golf, spelled goulf at that time, was mentioned in two 15th century laws prohibiting its play, yet eventually the earliest permanent golf course originated there, as did the very first written rules, the establishment of the 18-hole course, and the first golf club memberships. Over time, the modern game spread to England and the rest of the world.
The earliest known course featured 11 holes. The golfer would play the holes out, turn around and play the holes in, for a total of 22 holes. In 1764, several of the holes were deemed too short, and were therefore combined. The number was reduced from 11 to 9, so that a complete round of golf would have 18 holes. All other courses chose to follow suit, which left the 18-hole course as the standard today.
Different levels of grass are varied to increase difficulty or to allow for putting in the case of the green. If the holes bend either to the left or to the right, this is called a “dogleg”. Rarely a hole’s direction can bend twice, and is called a “double dogleg”. Early Scottish golf courses were mostly laid out on links land, soil covered sand dunes directly inland from beaches. This gave rise to the term golf links, particularly applied to seaside courses and those built on naturally sandy soil inland.
The rules of golf are internationally standardized and are jointly governed by the
Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, which was founded in 1754 and the United States Golf Association. There are strict regulations regarding the amateur status of golfers. Anyone who has ever received payment or compensation for giving instruction or played golf for money is not considered an amateur and may not participate in competitions limited only to amateurs.
Penalties are incurred in certain situations. They are counted towards a player’s score as if they were an extra swing or swings at the ball. One example is if a golfer makes a stroke at the wrong ball or hits a fellow golfer’s ball with a putt, the player incurs a two-stroke penalty. Most rule infractions lead to stroke penalties, but also can lead to disqualification. Disqualification could be from cheating, signing for a lower score, or from rule infractions that lead to improper play. An example of this is a violation of the rule that only 14 clubs are allowed in a player’s bag at one time during a stipulated round. This could lead to disqualification. Golf clubs consist of woods, which are used for long-distance fairway shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety of shots, and putters that are used to roll the ball into the cup.
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