Golf |
Golf is an outdoor game in which individual players use specially designed clubs to propel a small, hard ball over a field of play known as a course or links. The object of the game is to advance the ball around the course using as few strokes as possible. The Golf Course A golf course is divided into 18 sections, called holes. The standard course is about 5,900 to 6,400 m (about 6,500 to 7,000 yd); the individual holes may vary in length from 90 to 550 m (from 100 to 600 yd). Each hole has at one end a starting point known as a tee and, imbedded in the ground at the other end, marked by a flag, a cup or cylindrical container (also called a hole) into which the ball must be propelled in order to complete play at each hole. The cup is usually made of metal or plastic, 10.8 cm (4.2 in) in diameter, and at least 10 cm (4 in) deep. Play Play begins at the first tee, a level area of turf, generally raised slightly above the surrounding terrain. From here each player tries to drive the ball onto the fairway or main part of the golf course, a carefully tended strip of land, 27 to 90 m (30 to 100 yd) wide, on which the grass has been cut to provide a good playing surface for the ball. On either side of the fairway is the rough, which consists of areas covered with long grass, bushes, or trees, and which sometimes contains sandy, rough, or marshy land that compel golfers to use additional skill and judgment in playing their shots. In the absence of such natural obstacles, artificial hazards may be constructed. Among these are bunkers, also known as traps, which are hollows dug in the earth and usually filled with loose sand; mounds and other earthen embankments; and water hazards, such as ditches, creeks, ponds, or lakes. At the far end of the fairway from the tee is the putting green, an area of closely cropped grass surrounding the hole or cup. The smooth surface of the putting green is designed to facilitate the progress of the ball into the cup after the ball has been given a tap or gentle stroke known as a putt. Golf Strokes and Golf Clubs In addition to the putt, the specialized stroke used on the green, two main types of shots are used in playing each hole: the drive, which is a long shot from the tee onto the fairway; and the approach shot to the green. Both types demand great accuracy. Shots of various lengths are played with different clubs, according to the distance to be covered and the lie (position) of the ball. A standard set of 14 golf clubs (the maximum that may be carried in tournament play), is divided into two main types: those known as woods, with heads made of wood or metal; and those known as irons, with heads made of forged steel, usually chromium plated. The shafts of both types usually are made of metal and sometimes of fiberglass. Formerly, each club was known by a distinctive name, but today most are designated by numbers. The woods are customarily numbered 1 through 5, the irons 1 through 9. The putter, an iron, has retained its name. In addition to the numbered irons are the utility clubs, including the sand wedge and the pitching wedge, used on medium-range shots to loft the ball well into the air and limit its roll to a short distance after landing. The clubs are variously used in achieving distance, height, or accurate placement of the ball; the angle at which the striking surface is set on the shaft of the club determines the trajectory of the ball. For making drives and distance shots on the fairway, the woods (No. 1, or driver; No. 2; No. 3; No. 4; or No. 5) and the "long" irons (No. 1, No. 2, or No. 3) are used. For the initial drive of each hole, the ball is teed up-that is, placed on a small wooden, rubber, or plastic peg, known as a tee, which the players carry with them. This lifts the ball at least 1.3 cm (0.5 in) off the ground, allowing the head of the club to strike the ball with maximum force. For long, low shots on the fairway, the No. 2 wood is used, and for long, high shots the No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 woods are employed. Other approach shots to the green, generally of a shorter range, are played with irons. For even shorter approaches, known as chip shots, the same irons are used but with a shorter swing. The putter normally is used only on the green or the apron (a fringe of less smooth grass) of the green. History Some historians feel that golf originated in the Netherlands (the Dutch word kolf means "club"), but the Romans had a game played with a bent stick and a ball made of feathers that may have been the original source of the game. It has been fairly well established, however, that the game actually was devised by the Scots in the 14th or 15th century. The game became so popular in Scotland that in order to keep people from playing golf and football during time that should have been employed in practicing archery, a military necessity, the Scottish parliament in 1457 passed a law prohibiting both games. The Scottish people, however, largely ignored this and similar laws, and early in the 16th century James IV, king of Scotland, took up the game of golf. His granddaughter Mary, later Mary, queen of Scots, took the game to France, where she was educated. The young men who attended her on the golf links were known as cadets ("pupils"); the term was adopted later in Scotland and England and becamecaddy or caddie. (Caddies, once an integral feature of the game, have now been largely superseded by golf carts and buggies.) In England the game was made popular by the attention given it by James VI of Scotland, later James I of England, and his son Charles I. In the 18th century the first golf associations were established; they included the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers (1744); the St. Andrews Society of Golfers (1754), which in 1834 took its present name, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews; and the Royal Blackheath (1766), near London, where according to tradition golf was introduced to England in 1608. The first clubs established outside Great Britain were the Calcutta Golf Club of East India (1829) and the Royal Bombay Club (1842). The first golf club established in the western hemisphere was Canada's Royal Montréal Golf Club, founded in 1873. It is believed that golf was played in America during the colonial period, but no documented proof of this has been advanced. In 1888 the St. Andrews Golf Club of Yonkers, New York, was established. Some authorities say this is the oldest continuously existing golf club in the United States. The popularity of the game in the United States and Great Britain reached great heights by the 1920s and steadily increased over the years, fostered by television. In the United States alone, more than 12,400 golf courses serve over 20 million people who play golf at least once a year. Golf is also popular in Canada, South Africa, and Australia and underwent phenomenal growth in Japan following the end of World War II in 1945. Rules and Regulations The rules of play for golf are numerous and complex and include a code of etiquette for behavior on the green. The game was originally played with a ball made of feathers tightly packed in a leather cover. About 1850 a ball made of gutta-percha came into use. Gutta-percha is a milky liquid, derived principally from Malaysian trees, that hardens after being boiled and cooled. About 1901 a ball with a rubber core enclosed in gutta-percha, similar to the ball in use today, was developed. The pitted surface of modern golf balls acts to stabilize flight. Golf balls used in the United States have a diameter of no less than 4.27 cm (1.68 in) and weigh not more than 45.93 g (1.62 oz). The British have traditionally used balls of this same weight but with a diameter of not less than 4.11 cm (1.62 in). In 1968 experiments were undertaken to investigate the possibility of establishing a single set of specifications for golf balls. Tournaments Each year many golf championship
tournaments take place. The most
important of these for men are the U.S.
Open (for professionals), the U.S. Amateur,
the Masters (an invitational match for
professionals), the PGA Championship, the
British Open, and the British Amateur. For
women the important tournaments are the
British Ladies Amateur Championship, the
U.S. Women's Amateur, and the U.S.
Women's Open. International matches are
also played, notably between teams from
the United States and Great Britain. The
Walker Cup Match (amateur) and the Ryder
Cup Match (professional) are for men; the
Curtis Cup Match (amateur) is for women. The most famous feat in the history of golf was achieved by the American amateur player Bobby Jones, who in 1930 achieved the grand slam of golf by winning the British Open, the British Amateur, the U.S. Open, and the U.S. Amateur. One of the greatest women players of all time was Babe Didrikson Zaharias, an American who competed both as an amateur and as a professional. Other Forms of Golf Because it is more a participant than a spectator game, variations of golf, many of which can be played at night under lights, are developed from time to time. Miniature golf, a putting game on fancifully designed courses, became popular in the 1930s. Special putting greens and driving ranges combine practice and recreation. Pitch and putt is a shorter version of the long game.
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