Archive for April, 2009

Considering that golf may or may not have been invented by bored shepherds, it is amazing the change that has taken place in golf courses. Golf courses are a testament to man’s ability to adopt and adapt to nature, sometimes bending to her will, sometimes coaxing her to bend to his. Today’s modern golf courses are beautiful, lush and a tremendous amount of work. You ask any greens’ keeper how long a day he puts in to keep his course so pristine and see what he tells you. And don’t think that the greens’ man is just a glorified lawnmower- most are highly educated, dedicated and golfers themselves. They have to know what type of grass they are dealing with, how best to water it, feed it, cut it. They have to know what type of weather conditions to watch out for that would be dangerous to their finely maintained lawns. And they have to know the fastest, most efficient ways to keep out the vermin and varmints that can destroy a course.

Back to the beginning of the sport- the game is alleged to have been started with those bored shepherds who were using their crooked staffs to hit rounded stones into nearby rabbit holes while they sat around with their sheep in the fields. In the Chinese history of the sport, the magistrate’s daughter was told to cut holes into the ground, with no indication to the depth or location of these holes. And remaining in the modern times, there are still places where the ground can be too hard to firmly seat a tee, hence the development and use of the tripod tee.

Most courses take years of planning and millions of dollars to build. The planning that goes into a course’s layout is astounding, it is sometimes more than what goes on in building a skyscraper!

Public courses usually stick with a more basic layout because they will more than likely not see the huge revenue or return that a private club or resort type course will make in a year. Basic does not mean that these are any less cared for, there is just not as many fancy frills to them. Public courses usually have some of the same amenities as the private clubs, but with less restrictions and a little more welcoming making the public course the first step in a new golfer’s introduction to the game.

No matter where you play, the next time you head to the links for a round of golf, take note of the type of grass that is growing there. Some grasses are softer and will remain bent, while others are firmer and will remain upright, especially if they are not cut short enough on a frequent basis. The way that grass grows and is cut will affect the way that your ball rolls, so it is worth noting these things before you tee up the first shot.

Because the greens see so stomping feet, part of basic golf etiquette is to help the greens keeper out by repairing any divots that you make, as well as raking the sand-traps clear of footprints after you are done there. Just how much abuse does the grass take at a typical golf course on a typical day? Let’s assume that there are 15 groups of four golfers that play 18 holes of golf on the day. That is sixty people, or a total of 120 shoe-clad feet that will stomp, trample, scuff and clump through these greens.

Learn how to hit it a mile….check out The Simple Golf Swing.

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Golf is one of the most popular of the organized sports in the entire world right now. Golf is played, watched and followed in nearly every country, in nearly every corner of the world these days. But, when did golf actually get its start and how popular was it back then? What has changed over the centuries, and what has stayed the same? And what exactly is on the horizon for the game?

Read on for a brief history of the game of golf, as well as a look ahead for what might be looming in the future of the game. We will look at how the equipment has changed from wooden clubs to titanium shafts and what that has meant for the games and the players themselves. And finally, we will take a quick look at one of the most popular players that the game has ever seen. (No peeking ahead, now.)

The Much Debated Beginnings

The Scots have long claimed the right to be called the inventors of golf. Other cultures have looked into their past histories, and that right has been greatly debated, especially recently. To find the first contestant for the real father of golf, you have to travel all the way back to ancient Egypt. Yep, when the Egyptians when are not killing off their rulers and each other, it would appear that that they were developing sports that may well have been the precursors to modern sports.

According to ancient writings and hieroglyphics, a game that appears remarkably similar to modern golf was played, probably as a religious rite. And because the Egyptians were so fond of symbolism and such, it is believed that this religious rite/sporting event was related in some way to fertility. Of course, the actual game that they were playing may not have been as golf-like as originally thought, and may possibly be more closely related to baseball or cricket instead. It doesn’t really matter though, because the ancient Egyptians, with their wars and art and other contributions to culture are not the only contenders for the claim on golf.

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