Golf

Dylan Garrett

For my whole life golf has always been a sport that I have enjoyed playing. Whether it was going out to play a round with my father or friends it always brought me joy. Golf is slow paced, precision sport in which clubs are used to hit a ball into a hole. There are all different types of clubs and balls that can be used to achieve the one main goal of, getting the ball in the hole. The orgins of golf are still a little unclear and up for debate. There have been many places around the world that have played a game close to golf but not exactly to what golf is today. Some debate that golf came from the ancient sport called colf, which was played in the Netherlands around 1261. However it is generally accepted that modern golf was developed in Scotland during the middle ages. The first ever 18-hole course was established in 1552. It is called “The Old Course of St. Andrews” and can be found in Scotland. This course has hosted The British Open 28 times and is known as the “home of golf.”

 Over the centuries golf has changed drastically with the conditions of the course and the equipment that is used. The golf ball itself underwent many experiments and tests to see what would work best. The first type of ball created was the Feathery Golf Ball. The feathery was a leather sack filled with boiled goose feathers, then stitched up and painted. The next type of golf ball was called the Gutty golf ball. The Gutty golf ball was created from the dried sap of the Sapodilla tree. It had a rubber-like feel and was formed into ball shapes by heating it up and shaping it while hot. The final type and modern golf ball is the Rubber Core golf ball. Coburn Haskell invented this new design in 1898 in association with the BF Goodrich Company. This new and unique golf ball construction and design featured a solid rubber core, high tension rubber thread wrapped around the core, and a Gutta Percha cover. However this ball has gone threw many other changes with the addition of dimples being added to help with spin and distance.

                              

Some of golf’s biggest contributors and names are Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson, and Harry Vardon. These players all have had a huge impact on the sport that we have all grown to love. Also these players have the most Major wins of all time. But out of this list the two biggest names are Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. These two players have a combined 32 major wins and 152 tournament wins. Majors are the four most prestigious annual tournaments held in professional golf. The four majors are The Masters, The U.S. Open, The British Open, and The PGA Championship. The Masters is the most famous and prestigious of all four majors. To become a PGA professional is a very hard task to do, and to do this you must be in the top 125 players in the world. When on the tour you are given what is called “PGA Tour Card.” To keep this card one must come in the top 125 in money earned playing in PGA Tour events.  Since the winner and the top finishers take home a larger percentage of the prize money, a few high finishes is all you need to keep your card. 

                                                     Tiger Woods chip in on 16th hole in 

                                                                       2005 Masters.