Golf – the gentleman’s game with disputed origins
While the modern game of golf is generally considered a Scottish invention, its origins are much debated. Historians have pointed out that a golf-like game first took place in the Netherlands.
Stick and ball games have been around for many centuries, but golf as we know it today, played over 18 holes, clearly originated in Scotland, according to The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, one of the oldest Scottish golf organizations.
The first documented mention of golf in Scotland appears in a 1457 Act of the Scottish Parliament, in which King James II of Scotland prohibited the playing of gowf and futball as they were distractions from archery practice for military purposes.
The oldest surviving rules of golf were written in 1744 for the Company of Gentlemen Golfers, later renamed The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which played at Leith Links.
Golf’s popularity gained steam in the 1860s when it started to spread from Scotland across the rest of the British Isles. The growth was rapid, particularly in England, as the number of courses grew from 12 in 1880 to over 1000 by 1914.
Golf’s popularity is rising
The game’s rise didn’t stop there. Golf spread across the British Empire, and by the late 19th century, clubs had been established in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and Singapore. Courses were also built in several continental European countries to please British tourists.
The Americans also took note and imported the game, but as in England, it was in the late 19th century that golf started to become firmly established.
Today, golf has become one of the most popular sports worldwide. Sure, major team sports have more players and fans, but according to reports, golf’s popularity is rising.
A good way to gauge the game’s international popularity is the prize funds top players compete for, which indicates how marketable golf is. Let’s take the 2024 PGA Championship as an example: Xander Schauffele bagged 3.33 million USD for the win, which is slightly less than tennis player Jannik Sinner earned with his triumph at this year’s U.S. Open.
Although golf has its deepest roots in the British Isles and the United States, its worldwide popularity can also be seen in where the best players come from. Among the Brits and the Americans are players from Scandinavia, continental Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Golf welcomed the funky 70s
Golf has often been described as a gentleman’s game for the wealthy. Of course, golf is much more expensive than playing football or basketball, for example, but clubs worldwide have made great efforts to make the game as accessible as possible. As the rising numbers of recreational players suggest, that mission seems successful.
One of the main reasons golf has been seen as the gentleman’s came across centuries is the clothing. Although the game has changed significantly since its conception, formal clothing has been a mainstay.
The 1950s brought a major shift in golfing attire. It was no longer customary for men to be seen in formal gray suits as they opted to dress for comfort, and colored fabrics came into prominence.
The groovy style of the 1970s brought a lot more color to the course, with players opting for all kinds of bright colors and sometimes funky patterns on their pants or shirts.
Today, golfing attire has largely lost the funky colors and patterns of the 1970s. It focuses on mobility, ventilation, and practicality while maintaining a professional and sophisticated look.
How does golf work?
Golf is a game in which a ball is struck with a club from a prepared area, known as the teeing ground, across the fairway and rough to a second prepared area, which has a hole known as the putting green.
The game’s object is to complete what is known as a hole by playing a ball from the teeing ground into the hole on the putting green in the fewest possible number of strokes. A round of golf consists of playing 18 such holes.
There are two forms of play, one decided by holes won and lost (match play) and the other by the total number of strokes taken to complete the round (stroke play). The former is the most common way to score a round of golf.
A par represents the number of strokes a golfer should make on the hole. Each hole has a par assigned to it based on difficulty and length. Holes are either a par-3, par-4, or par-5. Most traditional courses have four par-3s, ten par-4s, and four par-5s.
The best score a golfer can achieve on the hole is 1, commonly known as the ace or the hole-in-one. A double eagle scores three under par on a single hole, an eagle is two under par, and a birdie is one shot below par.
Of course, players may finish a hole above par. The term for one shot over par is a bogey, with double and triple bogey indicating two and three shots over par, respectively.
A handicap measures the average number of strokes over par during a round. For example, if you are a 10 handicap, you should shoot around 82 or 10 shots more than par. If you’re a scratch golfer, you should shoot around 72.
Golf embraces technology
Some of the most notable advancements in the game have come from the development of golf clubs. The earliest ones were made of wood, but as the golf ball developed and became more durable, a variety of iron-headed clubs entered the game.
The introduction of steel shafts began in the late 1890s, but their adoption by the golf governing bodies was slow. In the early 1970s, shaft technology shifted again, with the use of graphite for its lightweight and strength.
Metal eventually completely replaced wood due to its strength and versatility in the late 20th century. The newest golf club technology employs graphite shafts and lightweight titanium heads, making the club head much larger than previously possible.
The strength of these modern materials also allows the face of the club to be much thinner, which increases the spring-like effect of the club face on the ball, theoretically increasing the distance the ball travels. The governing bodies have limited this effect to maintain the game’s challenge.
There are five main types of clubs:
- Woods are long-distance clubs that drive the ball far down the fairway toward the hole. They generally have a large head and a long shaft for maximum club speed.
- Irons are designed for a variety of shots from all over the course, from the tee box on short or dog-legged holes to the fairway or rough on approach to the green, to tricky situations like punching through or lobbing over trees, getting out of hazards, or hitting from tight lies requiring a compact swing.
- Wedges are used for a variety of short-distance, high-altitude, high-accuracy utility shots, such as hitting the ball onto the green, placing the ball accurately on the fairway for a better shot at the green, or chipping the ball out of hazards or rough onto the green.
- Hybrids are a cross between a wood and an iron, giving these clubs the wood’s long distance and higher launch, with the iron’s familiar swing.
- Putters are a special class of clubs with a loft not exceeding ten degrees, designed primarily to roll the ball along the grass, generally from a point on the putting green toward the hole.
Golf is not just an individual sport
Like tennis, golf has four major tournaments: the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship, and the U.S. Open, played across the pond, and the Open Championship in the United Kingdom.
There are also plenty of professional golf tournament series, like the PGA European Tour, the United States-based PGA Tour, and the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia. By the way, Open de France is the oldest national open in continental Europe and has been part of the European Tour’s schedule since the tour’s inception in 1972.
Although golf is primarily played individually, one of the most famous tournaments, the Ryder Cup, offers a chance to beat the opposition as a team.
The Ryder Cup is a biennial competition between European and United States teams. The competition is contested every two years, with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe.
Since the Great Britain and Ireland team was replaced with a European one in 1979, Europe has led the tie with 12 wins, nine losses, and a draw. In the 21st century, Europe has taken a stronghold on the Ryder Cup, winning eight of the 11 editions.
Let’s finish with a topic that creates a lot of controversy in most sports: who is the best golf player of all time? The general consensus is that the American Jack Nicklaus, who won a record 18 major championships, is the GOAT. His closest follower, Tiger Woods (15), is also in the mix but doesn’t enjoy as much support as his countryman.
