Golf

July 05, 2023

On Monday I had an 8:30 am tee time.  That meant I got up before the crack of noon for a round of golf with my brother and his son.  I had mentioned I had been reluctant to golf without first hitting a few balls.  After finding the range closed in Arkansas, I was never able to find time for another one.  My brother solved the problem as his house abuts the golf course where he is also a member.  This is a 27-hole course where the last nine holes are not often used.  I had seen couples walking the cart path earlier that Sunday evening.  He is a constant ball hawk while on the course and has retrieved literally 100’s of lost balls.  He grabbed a dozen balls, I grabbed my 7-iron, and we snuck out his back door and onto the adjacent fairway.  After a few duffed balls, I seemed to get my swing back.  I was ready to hit the golf course the following morning.

When I went online, I found golf is a club-and-ball sport where players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.  Unlike most ball games, golf does not use a standardized playing area, and coping with the varied terrains found on different courses is a key part of the game.  Courses typically have either 18 (full course) or 9 holes.  Each hole varies in length, and they are designed to allow either 3, 4, or 5 strokes (par) to travel from the tee box to the cup on the green.  The terrain between the tee and the green also varies, with fairway (close cropped grass), rough (tall grass or brush), and hazards like water, rocks, or sand-filled bunkers. Each hole on a course is uniquely laid out in design.  The modern game of golf originated in 15th century Scotland. The 18-hole round was created at the Old Course at St Andrews in 1764.  The world’s oldest golf tournament, The Open Championship or British Open, which was first played in 1860 at the Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland.  This is now one of the four major championships in men’s professional golf (PGA), with the other three played in the US.  These are The Masters, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship.

The Old Course at St Andrews is considered the oldest golf course in the world.  It is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland and is held in trust by the St Andrews Links Trust under an act of Parliament.  The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews clubhouse sits adjacent to the first tee, although it is one of many clubs that have playing privileges on the course, along with some non-clubhouse owning clubs and the public.  The course was originally known as the “golfing grounds” of St Andrews and did not acquire its current name until the New Course was opened in 1895.  The Old Course at St Andrews is considered the “home of golf” because the sport was first played at St Andrews in the early 15th century.  Golf became increasingly popular in Scotland until it was banned by James II of Scotland in 1457.  James thought the young men were playing too much golf instead of practicing archery.  The ban was upheld by James III, and remained in force until 1502, when James IV became a golfer himself and removed the ban.

Thoughts:  My brother told a story of his father-in-law reserving a tee time at the Old Course.  He showed up with a four-some and teed off on hole number one.  By the time they reached the third fairway they were approached by the Marshal (course controller) and were offered a full refund and access to another course if they would be willing to stop play.  Apparently, the Marshal did not think them capable of playing the course in the time allotted and they were holding up the other golfers.   While I was not asked to leave the golf course we played, we were constantly pressed by the foursome behind us even though we stayed close to the group in front of us and even waited on several tee boxes.  I considered completion of the course a moral victory, the trailing group may have had a different estimate of my efforts.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.