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Their are
many theories on how and were golf began, one is
that Roman emperors apparently played a relaxing
game called paganica, using a bent stick to drive
a soft, feather-stuffed ball. Another suggestion
is that a game played in Holland on the ice and
frozen canals called Het Kolven is where golf started.
The games clubs were called kolb, or kolf. Many
believe the game was brought across the North Sea
by the Dutch traders to Scotland, were they evolved
kolf into the early forms of golf.
One fact we do know is that the "birth" of golf
happen on the northwest shores of Scotland, perhaps
as early as the twelfth century. It slowly spread
throughout Scotland until by 1456 King James II
thought it was taking to much time away from the
men's archery practice, and decree that the futeball
and golfe (as it was spelled at the time) no longer
be played. Upon the signing of the Treaty of Glasgow
on February 11, 1502, were King James IV pleaded
perpetual peace with England. This unofficially
lifted the ban on golfe. King James a golfe lover
himself played golfs first "officially documented"
match on the 3rd of February of 1504, with the Earl
of Bothwell. Soon the Treaty of Glasgow fell apart
and King James was killed, but golf lived on.
The Scottish game, however, is the direct ancestor
of the modern game. The first formal golf club,
the Company of Gentlemen Golfers, now the Honorable
Company of Edinburgh Golfers, was established
in Edinburgh in 1744. It certified the first set
of golf rules, which helped eliminate local variations
in play.
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, established 10
years later at St. Andrews, Scotland, became the
official ruling organization of the sport. Its rules
committee, along with the United States Golf Association,
still governs the sport.
The basic golf rules are internationally uniform
for both men and women. A player is permitted to
carry a selection of up to 14 clubs of varying shapes,
sizes, and lengths. The U.S. golf ball is a minimum
of 1.68 in. (4.26 cm) in diameter; the British ball
was slightly smaller, but is now the same size.
The game changed considerably in the early 20th
century when the B. F. Goodrich Company of Akron,
Ohio,
invented a lighter, tightly wound, rubber-threaded
ball, which replaced the gutta-percha ball used
in the 19th century.
A golf course generally has 18 holes spread over
a landscaped area that customarily includes a number
of hazards-water, rough, sand traps (also known
as bunkers), trees-that are designed to make the
game more difficult. Difficulty is also increased
by the varying distances among holes. Play on each
hole is begun at the tee area, from which players
"tee off" or "drive" the ball into the fairway.
At the end of the hole--which can vary in length
from about 150 to 600 yards (135 to 550 m)--is the
putting green, which surrounds the actual hole,
or "cup," into which the ball must be putted in
order
to complete the hole. Saint Andrews in Scotland,
Augusta National in Georgia (site of the annual
Masters tournament), and Pebble Beach in California
have some of the most famous and difficult courses.
Golf is usually played by groups of two to four
people who move throughout the course together,
each participant taking a turn to play his or her
ball. The ball must be played as it lies, except
in unusual circumstances when the rules allow for
the ball to be moved to a slightly better position.
In stroke competition the total number of strokes
used to move the ball from the tee to the hole is
recorded as the player's score for that individual
hole. The player who uses the fewest strokes to
complete the course is the winner. In match play
scores are compared after every hole, and a player
wins, loses, or halves (ties) each hole.
The Ryder Cup, begun in 1927, is a biennial men's
professional competition that used to be between
a U.S. team and one representing England, Scotland,
and Ireland. In 1979 the latter team was expanded
to include members from all of Europe. The Walker
Cup and Curtis Cup are amateur competitions for
men and women respectively, between teams from the
United States and England, Scotland, and Ireland.
The former began in 1922 and since 1947 has taken
place in odd-numbered years. Curtis Cup competition
began in 1932 and is held in even-numbered years.
As the game has developed, the courses have become
more difficult to play, and the most successful
players are those who are able to drive the ball
more than 200 yd (183 m) from the tee, approaching
most holes with fewer than three shots. Each course
has established an average number of shots (par)
necessary to reach a hole (usually depending on
length), and thus an average number of shots needed
to complete the course. Most championship-caliber
professionals score in the mid-60s to low 70s, depending
on the tournament and course. Golfers use a peculiar
and distinct language to describe
their scoring--a birdie is a score on any one hole
that is one stroke less than par, and an eagle is
a score on a hole that is two less than par. A hole
in one, the rarest of golfing events, is scored
when the player drives the ball into the hole with
only one stroke.
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