Golf

Golf is among the world’s most known and celebrated sport. Yet, golf surprisingly has a fewer number of participants than it deserve when compared to its world renown. Popular culture has it that golf is an elitist’s sport; a sport that requires weighty cost to enjoy.

True to the fact, golf did start as an elitist sport way back to the past in the medieval courts of Scotland and England. Golf was a sport these royals and the nobles play. The early golf variation differs slightly from the form played today and the only difference was the set of rules. As technology allowed more and more improvement to ball flight distance, it made outdated rules inappropriate and needs to be modified constantly.

Briefly, golf is still a game where individuals or group of individuals hit the Golf Ball using a variety of Golf Club. This sport is played on a tract of land called the Golf Course and can be noted for its series of holes. Depending on the challenge of the course, a golf course can have 9 to 18 holes. The 19th hole is the slang for the golf course’s clubhouse where all players lounge and socialize.

The word tee refers to the small peg used to prop the golf ball for a drive, which means a longest manageable carry towards the green. Golf is won by the least number of strokes to place the ball in the hole; that taken into account, long drives, as well as controlling stroke, power, direction and spin are very necessary in winning a game.

Holes are classified according to par, or the number of strokes set to win a hole, including passing all the course difficulties called  hazards. These can take the form of sand bunkers (like Pine Valley’s 13th green) or natural formations such as ponds (like TPC Sawgrass’ 17th hole) or even ruins (like Barefoot’s 6th green).

The rules of the game are not that complicated, in fact just reading and watching the game is all it takes. Still, fewer participants are engaging in its sport in relative to its fame. This is perhaps due to the place golf filled in history. Golf was a sport played by the wealthy, and those with position. The common folk had neither the well-tended land, nor the leisure time in which to participate in this game of kings.