Etymology The word golf was first mentioned in writing in 1457 on a Scottish statute on forbidden games as gouf, possibly derived from the Scots word goulf (variously spelled) meaning "to strike or cuff". This word may, in turn, be derived from the Dutch word kolf, meaning "bat," or "club," and the Dutch sport of the same name. But there is an even earlier reference to the game of golf and it is believed to have happened in 1452 when King James II banned the game because it kept his subjects from their archery practice.
History
- Main article: History of golf
Golf is a very old game of which the exact origins are unclear. The origin of golf is open to debate as to being Chinese, Dutch or Scottish. However, the most accepted golf history theory is that this sport originated from Scotland in the 1100s.
A game somewhat similar to golf was first mentioned in Dōngxuān Records (Chinese: 東軒錄), a Chinese book of 11th Century. It was also mentioned in February 26 in the year 1297 in the Netherlands in a city called Loenen aan de Vecht. Here the Dutch played a game with a stick and leather ball. Whoever hit the ball into a target several hundreds of meters away the most number of times, won.
However, modern golf is considered to be a Scottish invention, as the game was mentioned in two 15th century laws prohibiting the playing of the game of gowf. Some scholars have suggested that this refers to another game which is more akin to modern shinty, hurling or field hockey than golf. A game of putting a small ball in a hole in the ground using clubs was played in 17th century Netherlands. The word golf derives from the Dutch kolf meaning stick, club or bat (see: Kolven). Flourishing trade over the North Sea during the Middle Ages and early Modern Period led to much language interaction between Scots, Dutch, Flemish and other languages. There are reports of even earlier accounts of golf from continental Europe.
The oldest playing golf course in the world is The Old Links at Musselburgh Racecourse. Evidence has shown that golf was played on Musselburgh Links in 1672 although Mary, Queen of Scots reputedly played there in 1567.
Golf courses have not always had eighteen holes. The St Andrews Links occupy a narrow strip of land along the sea. As early as the 15th century, golfers at St Andrews, in Fife, established a customary route through the undulating terrain, playing to holes whose locations were dictated by topography. The course that emerged featured eleven holes, laid out end to end from the clubhouse to the far end of the property. One played the holes out, turned around, and played 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 thereby reduced from 11 to nine, so that a complete round of the links comprised 18 holes.
The major changes in equipment since the 19th century have been better mowers, especially for the greens, better golf ball designs, using rubber and man-made materials since about 1900, and the introduction of the metal shaft beginning in the 1930s. Also in the 1930s the wooden golf tee was invented. In the 1970s the use of metal to replace wood heads began, and shafts made of graphite composite materials were introduced in the 1980s.
World popularity
In 2005 Golf Digest calculated that there were nearly 32,000 golf courses in the world, approximately half of them in the United States.[8] The countries with most golf courses in relation to population, starting with the best endowed were: Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Canada, Wales, United States, Sweden, and England (countries with fewer than 500,000 people were excluded). Apart from Sweden, all of these countries have English as the majority language, but the number of courses in new territories is increasing rapidly. For example the first golf course in the People's Republic of China opened in the mid-1980s, but by 2005 there were 200 courses in that country.
The professional sport was initially dominated by Scottish then English golfers, but since World War I, America has produced the greatest quantity of leading professionals. Other Commonwealth countries such as Australia and South Africa are also traditional powers in the sport. Since around the 1970s, Japan, Scandinavian and other Western European countries have produced leading players on a regular basis. The number of countries with high-class professionals continues to increase steadily, especially in East Asia. South Korea is notably strong in women's golf.
The last decade or so has seen a marked increase in specialised golf vacations or holidays worldwide. This demand for travel which is centered around golf has led to the development of many luxury resorts which cater to golfers and feature integrated golf courses.
Golf course
- Main article: Golf course
The famous 17th hole of the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course.
Golf is played in an area of land designated a golf course. A course consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing area, fairway, rough and other hazards, and the green with the pin and cup. A typical golf course consists of eighteen holes, but many have only nine.
Play of the game
Every game of golf is based on playing a number of holes in a given order. A round typically consists of 18 holes that are played in the order determined by the course layout. On a nine-hole course, a standard round consists of two successive nine-hole rounds. A hole of golf consists of hitting a ball from a tee on the teeing box (a marked area designated for the first shot of a hole, a tee shot), and once the ball comes to rest, striking it again. This process is repeated until the ball is in the cup. Once the ball is on the green (an area of finely cut grass) the ball is usually putted (hit along the ground) into the hole. The goal of resting the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible may be impeded by various hazards, such as bunkers and water hazards.
Players walk (or drive in motorized carts) over the course, either singly or in groups of two, three, or four, sometimes accompanied by caddies who carry and manage the players' equipment and give them advice. Each player plays a ball from the tee to the hole, except that in the mode of play called foursomes two teams of two players compete, and the members of each team alternate shots using only one ball until the ball is holed out. When all individual players or teams have brought a ball into play, the player or team whose ball is the farthest from the hole is next to play. In some team events a player whose ball is farther from the hole may ask his partner to play first. When all players of a group have completed the hole, the player or team with the best score on that hole has the honor, that is, the right to tee off first on the next tee.
Each player acts as marker for one other player in the group, that is, he or she records the score on a score card. In stroke play (see below), the score consists of the number of strokes played plus any penalty strokes incurred. Penalty strokes are not actually strokes but penalty points that are added to the score for violations of rules or utilizing relief procedures.
Par
A hole is classified by its par, the number of strokes a skilled golfer should require to complete play to the hole. For example, a skilled golfer expects to reach the green on a par-four hole in two strokes, one from the tee (the "drive") and another, second, stroke to the green (the "approach") and then roll the ball into the hole with two putts. Traditionally, a golf hole is either a par-three, -four or -five; some par-six holes exist, but are not usually found on traditional golf courses.
Primarily, but not exclusively, the par of a hole is determined by the tee-to-green distance. A typical length for a par-three hole ranges between 91 and 224 metres (100–250 yd), for a par-four hole, between 225 and 434 metres (251–475 yd). Typically, par-five holes are at between 435 and 630 metres (476–690 yd), and nontraditional par-six holes are any longer distance. These distances are not absolute rules; for example, it is possible that a 500-yard hole could be classed as a par-four hole, since the par for a hole is determined by its 'effective playing length'. If the tee-to-green distance on a hole is predominantly downhill, it will play shorter than its physical length and may be given a lower par rating.
Many eighteen hole courses have four par-three, ten par-four, and four par-five holes, though other combinations exist and are not less worthy than courses of par 72. Many major championships are contested on courses playing to a par of 70 or 71, and it's not rare to find a worthy test (especially in the British Isles) playing to a par of 69 or lower. In many countries, courses are classified, in addition to the course's par, with a course classification describing the play difficulty of a course and may be used to calculate a golfer's playing handicap for that given course (c.f. golf handicap).
The par scoring system can be seen as a way to facilitate the comparison of all golfers' progress around the course in stroke play by providing a common reference score. For example, if player A after completing hole #4 has a cumulative score equal to par (say, 16 strokes), and player B has a cumulative score equal to -1 after hole #6 (say, 23 strokes), then one is able to see more easily that player B has played relatively better than player A, than by comparing their cumulative numbers of strokes (16 vs. 23).
Scoring
In every form of play, the goal is to play as few strokes per round as possible. Scores for each hole can be described as follows:
| Term on a
scoreboard | Specific term | Definition |
| -4 | Condor or Vulture (or triple-eagle) | four strokes under par |
| -3 | Albatross (or double-eagle) | three strokes under par |
| -2 | Eagle (or double-birdie) | two strokes under par |
| -1 | Birdie | one stroke under par |
| 0 | Par | strokes equal to par |
| +1 | Bogey | one stroke more than par |
| +2 | Double bogey | two strokes over par |
| +3 | Triple bogey | three strokes over par |
A snowman (perhaps 4 over par on a par 4 hole) is an informal term in some countries for a score indicating that 8 shots were taken at a single hole.[9]
The two basic forms of playing golf are match play and stroke play.
In match play, two players (or two teams) play each hole as a separate contest against each other. The party with the lower score wins that hole, or if the scores of both players or teams are equal the hole is "halved" (drawn). The game is won by the party that wins more holes than the other. In the case that one team or player has taken a lead that cannot be overcome in the number of holes remaining to be played, the match is deemed to be won by the party in the lead, and the remainder of the holes are not played. For example, if one party already has a lead of six holes, and only five holes remain to be played on the course, the match is over. At any given point, if the lead is equal to the number of holes remaining, the match is said to be "dormie", and is continued until the leader increases the lead by one hole, thereby winning the match, or until the match ends in a tie. When the game is tied after the predetermined number of holes have been played, it may be continued until one side takes a one-hole lead, and thereupon immediately wins by one hole.
In stroke play, every player (or team) counts the number of shots taken for the whole round or tournament to produce the total score, and the player with the lowest score wins. A variant of stroke play is Stableford scoring, where a number of points (two for the target score) are given for each hole, and the fewer shots taken, the more points obtained, so the aim is to have as many points as possible. Another variant of stroke play, the Modified Stableford method, awards points on each hole in relation to par and then adds the points over a round; for more details on this method, see the article on The INTERNATIONAL, a now-defunct PGA Tour tournament that used Modified Stableford scoring.
There are many variations of these basic principles, some of which are explicitly described in the "Rules of Golf" and are therefore regarded "official." "Official" forms of play are, among others, foursome and four-ball games.
Fees
One must pay certain fees to play on a golf course. There are two different fees; the cart fee, which is for the use of a golf cart, and the greens fee, which allows play on the course itself. On some courses, walking is prohibited, and the cart fee is often included with the greens fee.
The greens fee may vary from the equivalent of a few dollars for communal (also known as municipal) courses in many countries, up to that of several hundred dollars for public courses; e.g., greens fees at Pebble Beach can run over $850 as of Spring 2007. Discounts on fees may be offered for players starting their round late (and on many courses, unusually early) in the day. Prices may also vary for seniors and minors, or depending on the season.
[edit] Team play
A foursome (defined in Rule 29) is played between two teams of two players each, in which each team has only one ball and players alternate playing it. For example, if players A and B form a team, A tees off on the first hole, B will play the second shot, A the third, and so on until the hole is finished. On the second hole, B will tee off (regardless who played the last putt on the first hole), then A plays the second shot, and so on. Foursomes can be played as match play or stroke play.
A four-ball (Rules 30 and 31) is also played between two teams of two players each, but every player plays his own ball and for each team, the lower score on each hole is counted. Four-balls can be played as match play or stroke play.
There are also popular unofficial variations on team play. In a scramble, each player in a team tees off on each hole, and the players decide which shot was best. Every player then plays his second shot from within a clublength of where the best ball has come to rest, and the procedure is repeated until the hole is finished. In a Texas scramble, the same rules apply but at least four drives of each member of the team must be used during the course of the round. In best ball, each player plays the hole as normal, but the lowest score of all the players on the team counts as the team's score.
In a greensome, also called modified alternate shot, both players tee off, and then pick the best shot as in a scramble. The player who did not shoot the best first shot plays the second shot. The play then alternates as in a foursome.
A variant of greensome is sometimes played where the opposing team chooses which of their opponent's tee shots the opponents should use. The player who did not shoot the chosen first shot plays the second shot. Play then continues as a greensome. Such a format is known as either gruesomes, bloodsomes or gruesome greensomes.
There is also a form of starting called "shotgun," which is mainly used for tournament play. A "shotgun start" consists of groups starting at different tees, allowing for all players to start and end their round at the same time.
Handicap systems
- Main article: Golf handicap
A handicap is a numerical measure of an amateur golfer's ability to play golf over 18 holes. The 2 main formulas used in the game are stroke play (also known as brutto or medal) and match play.
The Stroke play formula is an individual way of playing the game as you are competing against the par of the course. The Stroke play formula is simply the sum of strokes a player shoots over 18 holes and compares it to the par (or the sum of a theoretical number of strokes of an expert player per hole added up over 18 holes). The difference between your number of strokes and the par determines your handicap.
The match play formula is a game during which two players play against each other. In other words, your score per hole depends on the other player's score. This formula was - and still is - very much appreciated by golfers as the state of mind is totally different from a stroke play game, during which the golfer has to 'secure' each and single of his shots in order to play the lower score (number of strokes) possible over 18 holes. In the contrary, the match play rule will allow the player to approach the course in a more aggressive manner in order to win the hole against his opponent. e.g. P1 plays 4 and P2 plays 5: P1 wins the hole and current score on the tee number 2 would be '1 up'. If P2 would like to mention the status of the score, he would say: '1 down' (each player announces his position towards the game).
The so-called "net" score is a formula commonly preferred by players from different proficiency to play against each other on equal terms. Good Ones handicap is subtracted from their round score thus making a game even between two players. e.g. player 1's round score: 90, handicap: 20, the course's par: 70, Player 2's round score: 100, handicap: 30, overall (par): 70. a players handicap determines the quality of their game making a player with a lower handicap better than one with a higher handicap. However, in practice, motivated and ambitious high handicap players strive to lower their handicaps and thus the current official one they show on their cards might not be their real current level, which consequently might put them in a favourable position when playing 'net' formula games.
Handicaps are complicated, but essentially are the average over par of a number of previous rounds, adjusted for course difficulty. Legislations regarding the calculation of handicaps differs among countries and sometimes becomes so complicated that a golfer's handicap might not always mirror his real level of play. For example, Swiss handicap rules include the difficulty of the course the golfer is playing on by taking into consideration factors such as the number of bunkers, the length of the course, the difficulty and slopes of the greens, the width of the fairways, and so on.
Handicap systems are not used in professional golf. Professional golfers often score several strokes below par for a round and thus have a handicap of 0, subtracting 0 from their round score. Someone with a zero handicap is often referred to as a 'scratch golfer.'
Rules and other regulations
The rules of golf are internationally standardised and are jointly governed by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A), which was founded 1754 and the United States Golf Association (USGA). By agreement with the R&A, USGA jurisdiction on the enforcement and interpretation of the rules is limited to the United States and Mexico. The national golf associations of other countries use the rules laid down by the R&A and there is a formal procedure for referring any points of doubt to the R&A.
The underlying principle of the rules is fairness. As stated on the back cover of the official rule book: "play the ball as it lies", "play the course as you find it", and "if you can't do either, do what is fair". Some rules state that:
every player is entitled and obliged to play the ball from the position where it has come to rest after a stroke, unless a rule allows or demands otherwise (Rule 13-1)
a player must not accept assistance in making a stroke (Rule 14-2)
the condition of the ground or other parts of the course may not be altered to gain an advantage, except in some cases defined in the rules
a ball may only be replaced by another during play of a hole if it is destroyed (Rule 5-3), lost (Rule 27-1), or unplayable (Rule 28), or at some other time permitted by the Rules. The player may always substitute balls between the play of two holes.
The Decisions on the Rules of Golf are based on formal case decisions by the R&A and USGA and are revised and updated every other year.
There are strict regulations regarding the amateur status of golfers.[13] Essentially, everybody 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 solely to amateurs. However amateur golfers may receive expenses which comply with strict guidelines and they may accept non-cash prizes within the limits established by the Rules of Amateur Status.
In addition to the officially printed rules, golfers also abide by a set of guidelines called Golf etiquette. Etiquette guidelines cover matters such as safety, fairness, easiness and pace of play, and a player's obligation to contribute to the care of the course. Though there are no penalties for breach of etiquette rules, players generally follow the rules of golf etiquette in an effort to improve everyone's playing experience.
Hitting a golf ball
To hit the ball, the club is swung at the motionless ball on the ground (or wherever it has come to rest) from a side stance. Many golf shots make the ball travel through the air (carry) and roll out for some more distance (roll).
Every shot is a compromise between length and precision, and long shots are often less precise than short ones. Obviously, a longer shot may result in a better score if it helps reduce the total number of strokes for a given hole, but the benefit may be more than outweighed by additional strokes or penalties if a ball is lost, out of bounds, or comes to rest on difficult ground. Therefore, a skilled golfer must assess the quality of his or her shots in a particular situation in order to judge whether the possible benefits of aggressive play are worth the risks.
[edit] Poor shots
There are several possible causes of poor shots, such as poor alignment of the club, wrong direction of swing, and off-center hits where the clubhead rotates around the ball at impact. Many of these troubles are aggravated with the "longer" clubs and higher speed of swing. Furthermore, the absolute effect of a deviation will increase with a longer shot compared with a short one.
For many people who play golf, the number and variety of poor shots is larger than they would like. Consequently, many, many words have been found to describe the shots--some of them are quite colourful. Some of the more common terms for the poor shots are explained below:
Push : The opposite of a Pull, where the ball is 'pushed' away from the body. The ball flies to the right of the intended target for right-handed players (to the left for left-handed players). A Push-Slice indicates that the ball started out right of target and curved even further to the right. A Push-Hook means the ball starts out right then curves back to the left.
Sky Ball or Pop-Up : The opposite of a Top. This occurs most frequently when teeing the ball up too high, though sometimes a Sky Ball will occur when the ball is sitting on top of long blades of grass and the club has space to pass under the ball. The top side of the club strikes the bottom side of the ball and forces the ball higher into the air than desired. A true sky ball occurs when the ball travels farther vertically than it does horizontally (although this is sometimes intentionally done with high loft clubs).
Double-Hit : Hitting the ball twice in one swing. This occurs most often in chipping or pitching, and is extremely rare in any other kind of shot. This is commonly referred to as a T.C. Chen, named for the Taiwanese golfer who led the 1985 U.S. Open by 5 shots on Sunday, wherein he double-hit a chip on the fifth hole and made an eight, costing him the championship.
Flyer : This type of shot usually occurs when playing from deep rough. Grass blades come between the club face and the ball, preventing the club face from imparting maximum backspin on the ball. This loss of lift from backspin will typically cause a lower, longer shot than a cleanly contacted shot. The resulting flight of the ball is that the target is overshot by 10 or more yards and the ball does not stop as quickly on the green.
Hood : Somewhere during the swing the clubface becomes more perpendicular to the ground, or angled more toward the golfer. The clubface may strike the ground first or get caught up in heavy rough. This results in the ball flying lower to the ground than intended and usually resulting in a Pull as well.
Wormburner, Groundhog Killer or Sally Gunnell : The ball is hit extremely low to the ground, or bounces rapidly across the ground, essentially "burning up worms" or hitting groundhogs as it speeds along.
Gunnell/Top : A Gunnell, or Top, is a low shot where the club face makes contact with the top of the ball. Shots that go ¾ distance in this manner are usually referred to as a 'Gunnell', or 'A runner, but not a looker'. The expression originated in England, and is a reference to former Olympic hurdler Sally Gunnell.
Original posting / copy from : www.wikipedia.org
