Golf – A game for the elite
Golf is the game for the elite and it may seem that it is easy to play, but it is quite a difficult game. Golf happens to be an accuracy club as well as ball sport, wherein the players who are competing use lots of kinds of clubs for striking the balls into the sequence of holes. This game of golf is played on a special field called the golf course, and the main motive is to use the least amount of strokes.
This golf course is specially designed for the game comprising of either 9 / 18 holes, all laid out in a special design, with a teeing ground. One needs to follow very strict rules, when you are playing golf. There are markers set up showing the boundaries of the legal tee area. This area is normally surrounded by a pin or a flagstick and a cup. The most common golf courses have 9 holes and the game is played twice over to complete 18 holes.
Golf can be played by way of stroke play or match play. Stroke play is when you play as an individual, and use the least number of strokes. Match play is played between a team or as a complete round by an individual.
Golf is a game which finds its origins in Scotland, during 15th century. The ancient origins of the game are really not clear and are much debated. Historians also track the game of golf, to a Roman game called Paganica, where the players made use of a curved stick for hitting a leather ball which was stuffed. Gradually Paganica spread across Europe and the modern game of Golf evolved.
Golf also finds it’s similar roots to a game played by the Chinese called chuiwan- chui denotes striking while wan denotes small ball. This game was played among the 8th and the 14th centuries. One can find traces of the game in the autumn banquet way back in 1368, in the Ming Dynasty. There are pictures which show some members of the Imperial court of China are swinging an undersized ball, and aiming it towards a hole, and this is being played in a golf club. The modern game was acknowledged as Cambuca in the UK and Chambot in the France. The game then spread to countries like England and Germany and was referred to as pall-mall there. Some are also of the opinion that Golf has descended from Persia.
The present game started off in Scotland, which banned it too, as it was not being welcome well. This game was seen as a disruption to learning of archery. The aged Course of St Andrews is more of a pilgrimage to the golf lovers, and it is dated way back to 1574.
There are other courses where Golf has been played like Musselburgh Links, in East Lothian of Scotland, where it was played in March 1672. This has been certified by Guinness World Records to be the earliest Golf course worldwide.
The first ever golf course with 18 holes was set up in United States, on a sheep farm. This is in Downers Grove, Illinois, in 1892. The course can be still seen today.
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