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Even at the most basic level, golf is a game of precision requiring practice to execute shots. At the professional level Golf attracts huge crowds, and the rewards for the winners are very high. Professional Golf in recent times has been dominated by Tiger Woods since he became top of the world rankings in 1998.
Players hit a ball with a club on a course – usually of 18 holes and set in a natural environment. The start point is hitting the ball from a tee and the end-point is a hole into which the ball must be hit.
The objective is to play all the holes on the course with the minimum number of strokes.
There are two main types of golf competitions:
Either Matchplay, in which 2 individual players or 2 teams of 2 players play an arranged number of holes, and the winning player or team is the one winning the most holes.
Or Strokeplay, in which individuals or teams play an arranged number of holes and the winning player/team is the one completing the course with the lowest number of strokes.
Within these play types, singles, doubles and team competitions are played. Team competitions are played to one of 3 sets of rules, either as ‘foursomes’, ‘greensome’ or ‘4 ball, better ball’.
Equipment
Clubs to hit the ball are classified as woods, irons, wedges and putters; all carried in a Golf bag when not in use. There are also balls to hit and tees to raise the ball from the ground for the starting stroke. Optional equipment include specialised shoes and gloves.
History
A form of Golf is claimed to have first been played by Scottish shepherds in the 14th century, in which a wooden stick was used to hit small stones towards a specified target.
In the early 15th century, students at St Andrews near Dundee in Scotland, developed the game playing with canes and balls instead of stones, and the first recorded game in Scotland was played in 1457. The first rules were published in 1754 at the formation of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
The first major tournament was the British Open in 1860, followed by the US Open in 1895.
The 4 major professional tournaments are the British Open, US Open, US Masters and the US PGA, of which the US Masters is the only one played on the same course each year.
Golf officially became professional in 1916 with the creation of the Professional Golf Association (PGA), however it was played professionally from the late 1800s. |