golf

 

game of hitting a small hard ball with specially made clubs over an outdoor course sometimes (particularly if it is near the coast) called a links. The object is to deposit the ball in a specified number of cups, or holes, using as few strokes as possible. Although golf's place of origin is uncertain, Scotland has the strongest claim. As early as 1457 it was banned there as a threat to archery practice, which was considered vital to national defense. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland (founded 1754), is the international shrine of golf, and the club's basic rules are the worldwide standards.

Rules and Equipment

The standard course, usually more than 6,000 yd (about 5,500 m) in length, consists of 18 consecutively numbered “holes” (the playing areas leading to the cups). The cup measures 4.5 in. (11.43 cm) in diameter and is set into a smooth surface of closely cropped grass, called a green. Golfers begin play by driving the ball toward the hole from the tee, a slightly elevated rectangular area. Between the tee and the green lies the fairway, often bounded by tall grass (the rough) and trees, and containing natural or constructed obstacles (hazards), such as small lakes or streams, sand pits (bunkers), and mounds. Fairways vary in length from 100 to 650 yd (90–600 m). Two basic principles underlie nearly all the rules: first, players must play the course as they find it and, second, they must play only their own ball, and not touch it (except to hit it with a club) until play is completed on the hole. These principles ensure challenging conditions, demanding skilled shotmaking, and imposing penalties for the loss of one's ball.

The rules have varied little, but changes in equipment have been dramatic over time. In golf's earliest days, the ball was made of feathers stuffed tightly into a leather bag and struck with wooden-shafted clubs. Today balls are of composite materials and can be hit in excess of 300 yds (274 m). A complete set of golf clubs once comprised 3 or 4 woods, used for long drives; 10 irons (numbered upward as the angle of the club face provided increased loft), used for intermediate and short shots; and a putter, used for rolling the ball across the green. Although golfers may carry no more than 14 clubs in their bags, they can now select from 15 different woods, some now made of nonwood materials, from a range of hybrid clubs that combine the characteristics of traditional woods and irons, making them easier to hit than the standard irons they are designed to replace, and from specialized wedges for sand play and for pitching the ball at varying degrees of loft, which complement the standard irons.

Golf in the United States

Although there is evidence that Americans played golf in the 17th cent., the first permanent clubs in the United States were not organized until the late 1880s. A dispute between the sponsors of two “national” championships led American golfers to found (1894) the United States Golf Association (USGA) as a governing body for the sport. The USGA also conducted annual tournaments, including the National Amateur and the National, or U.S., Open (which includes both amateur and professional players). The first of these championships took place in 1895. In 1916 the United States Professional Golf Association (PGA) was founded and the annual PGA championship inaugurated. During the first several decades in which these major tournaments were held, golf had little broad appeal.

Though the game boomed among business executives in the 1920s, amateurs were usually members of exclusive clubs, and professionals were usually teachers of the game. The only golfer to ever win a grand slam (the four major championships—then the British Amateur and Open and the U.S. Amateur and Open—in one year) was an amateur, Robert Tyre (“Bobby”) Jones, Jr., who retired shortly after his 1930 feat. During the Depression, many private courses opened to the public, and agencies of the New Deal built nearly 1,000 public courses.

Golf today is one of America's fastest growing participant sports, particularly among public course players. Many private clubs still exist in the 1990s, with some determining membership on racial or religious grounds. The growth of the game has been consistent since the advent of televised tournaments in the 1960s and the gradual strengthening of the professional circuit (which has lessened the distinction of playing as an amateur). Two of golf's greatest and most charismatic players, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, entered their prime in time to take advantage of both conditions.

The world's best players now vie in 72-hole tournaments for prize money that can exceed $500,000 for a victory at one of the four major championships (now the U.S. Open, British Open, PGA Championship, and the Masters); some other events greatly exceed that amount. Every two years in the Ryder Cup competition, a team of American professionals plays against Europe's best players. A made-for-television event, the Skins Game, is a popular version of an old golf gambling game in which selected professionals compete for money that has exceeded $300,000. Women (under the aegis of the Ladies' Professional Golf Association, founded 1946) and seniors have their own professional tours. The women also contested their own U.S.-Europe team event, the Solheim Cup, for the first time in 1990.

Bibliography

See M. Bartlett, ed., The Golf Book (1980); R. Sommers, The U.S. Open (1987); G. Wiren, The PGA Manual of Golf (1991); T. Watson, The Rules of Golf (1992); J. Feinstein, The Majors (1999).

Golf is a sport in which individual players or teams of players strike a ball into a hole using several types of clubs. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not use a fixed, standardised playing field or area; defined in the Rules of Golf as "playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules."

The first game of golf for which records survive was played at Bruntsfield Links, in Edinburgh, Scotland, in A.D. 1456, recorded in the archives of the Edinburgh Burgess Golfing Society, now The Royal Burgess Golfing Society.

Etymology

The word golf was first mentioned in writing in 1457 on a Scottish statute on forbidden games as gouf,^[1] possibly derived from the Scots word goulf (variously spelled) meaning "to strike or cuff". This word may, in turn, be derived from the Dutch word kolf, meaning "bat," or "club," and the Dutch sport of the same name. But there is an even earlier reference to the game of golf and it is believed to have happened in 1452 when King James II banned the game because it kept his subjects from their archery practice.^[2] It is often claimed that the word originated as an acronym for "gentlemen only, ladies forbidden", but this is an urban legend.^[3]

History

Main article: History of golf

Golf is a very old game of which the exact origins are unclear. The origin of golf is open to debate as to being Chinese, Dutch or Scottish. However, the most accepted golf history theory is that this sport originated from Scotland in the 1100s.^[4]

A game somewhat similar to golf was first mentioned in Dōngxuān Records (Chinese: 東軒錄), a Chinese book of 11th Century. It was also mentioned in February 26 in the year 1297 in the Netherlands in a city called Loenen aan de Vecht. Here the Dutch played a game with a stick and leather ball. Whoever hit the ball into a target several hundreds of meters away the most number of times, won.

However, modern golf is considered to be a Scottish invention,^[5][6] as the game was mentioned in two 15th century laws prohibiting the playing of the game of gowf. Some scholars have suggested that this refers to another game which is more akin to modern shinty, hurling or field hockey than golf. A game of putting a small ball in a hole in the ground using clubs was played in 17th century Netherlands. The word golf derives from the Dutch kolf meaning stick, club or bat^[7] (see: Kolven). Flourishing trade over the North Sea during the Middle Ages and early Modern Period led to much language interaction between Scots, Dutch, Flemish and other languages. There are reports of even earlier accounts of golf from continental Europe.^[8]

The oldest playing golf course in the world is The Old Links at Musselburgh Racecourse. Evidence has shown that golf was played on Musselburgh Links in 1672 although Mary, Queen of Scots reputedly played there in 1567.

Golf courses have not always had eighteen holes. The St Andrews Links occupy a narrow strip of land along the sea. As early as the 15th century, golfers at St Andrews, in Fife, established a customary route through the undulating terrain, playing to holes whose locations were dictated by topography. The course that emerged featured eleven holes, laid out end to end from the clubhouse to the far end of the property. One played the holes out, turned around, and played the holes in, for a total of 22 holes. In 1764, several of the holes were deemed too short, and were therefore combined. The number was thereby reduced from 11 to nine, so that a complete round of the links comprised 18 holes.

The major changes in equipment since the 19th century have been better mowers, especially for the greens, better golf ball designs, using rubber and man-made materials since about 1900, and the introduction of the metal shaft beginning in the 1930s. Also in the 1930s the wooden golf tee was invented. In the 1970s the use of metal to replace wood heads began, and shafts made of graphite composite materials were introduced in the 1980s.

World popularity

In 2005 Golf Digest calculated that there were nearly 32,000 golf courses in the world, approximately half of them in the United States.^[9] The countries with most golf courses in relation to population, starting with the best endowed were: Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Canada, Wales, United States, Sweden, and England (countries with fewer than 500,000 people were excluded). Apart from Sweden, all of these countries have English as the majority language, but the number of courses in new territories is increasing rapidly. For example the first golf course in the People's Republic of China opened in the mid-1980s, but by 2005 there were 200 courses in that country.

The professional sport was initially dominated by Scottish then English golfers, but since World War I, America has produced the greatest quantity of leading professionals. Other Commonwealth countries such as Australia and South Africa are also traditional powers in the sport. Since around the 1970s, Japan, Scandinavian and other Western European countries have produced leading players on a regular basis. The number of countries with high-class professionals continues to increase steadily, especially in East Asia. South Korea is notably strong in women's golf.

The last decade or so has seen a marked increase in specialised golf vacations or holidays worldwide. This demand for travel which is centered around golf has led to the development of luxury resorts which cater to golfers and feature integrated golf courses.

Golf course

Main article: Golf course

Golf is played in an area of land designated a golf course. A course consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing area, fairway, rough and other hazards, and the green with the pin and cup. A typical golf course consists of eighteen holes, but many have only nine.

Play of the game

Every game of golf is based on playing a number of holes in a given order. A round typically consists of 18 holes that are played in the order determined by the course layout. On a nine-hole course, a standard round consists of two successive nine-hole rounds. A hole of golf consists of hitting a ball from a tee on the teeing box (a marked area designated for the first shot of a hole, a tee shot), and once the ball comes to rest, striking it again. This process is repeated until the ball is in the cup. Once the ball is on the green (an area of finely cut grass) the ball is usually putted (hit along the ground) into the hole. The goal of resting the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible may be impeded by hazards, such as bunkers and water hazards.

Players walk (or drive in motorized carts) over the course, either singly or in groups of two, three, or four, sometimes accompanied by caddies who carry and manage the players' equipment and give them advice. In most typical forms of gameplay, each player plays his or her ball from the tee until it is holed.

Each player often acts as marker for one other player in the group, that is, he or she records the score on a score card. In stroke play (see below), the score consists of the number of strokes played plus any penalty strokes incurred. Penalty strokes are not actually strokes but penalty points that are added to the score for violations of rules or utilizing relief procedures.

Par

A hole is classified by its par, the number of strokes a skilled golfer should require to complete play to the hole. For example, a skilled golfer expects to reach the green on a par-four hole in two strokes, one from the tee (the "drive") and another, second, stroke to the green (the "approach") and then roll the ball into the hole with two putts. Traditionally, a golf hole is either a par-three, -four or -five; some par-six holes exist, but are not usually found on traditional golf courses.

Primarily, but not exclusively, the par of a hole is determined by the tee-to-green distance. A typical length for a par-three hole ranges between 91 and 224 metres (100–250 yd), for a par-four hole, between 225 and 434 metres (251–475 yd). Typically, par-five holes are at between 435 and 630 metres (476–690 yd), and nontraditional par-six holes are any longer distance. These distances are not absolute rules; for example, it is possible that a  yard ( m) hole could be classed as a par-four hole, since the par for a hole is determined by its 'effective playing length'. If the tee-to-green distance on a hole is predominantly downhill, it will play shorter than its physical length and may be given a lower par rating.

Eighteen hole courses may have four par-three, ten par-four, and four par-five holes, though other combinations exist and are not less worthy than courses of par 72. Many major championships are contested on courses playing to a par of 70 or 71. In some countries, courses are classified, in addition to the course's par, with a course classification describing the play difficulty of a course and may be used to calculate a golfer's playing handicap for that given course (c.f. golf handicap).

Penalties

Main Article: Penalty (golf)

Penalty strokes are incurred in certain situations. Most often a penalty stroke is assessed because a player has hit into a situation from which they cannot or choose not to play the ball as it lies, or because they have lost their ball and must play a substitute. Penalty strokes are counted towards a player's score as if they were an extra swing at the ball.

Scoring

In every form of play, the goal is to play as few strokes per round as possible. Scores for each hole can be described as follows:

Term on a scoreboard	Specific term	Definition
-4	Condor or Vulture (or triple-eagle)	four strokes under par
-3	Albatross (or double-eagle)	three strokes under par
-2	Eagle	two strokes under par
-1	Birdie	one stroke under par
0	Par	strokes equal to par
+1	Bogey	one stroke more than par
+2	Double bogey	two strokes over par
+3	Triple bogey	three strokes over par

The two basic forms of playing golf are match play and stroke play.

• In match play, two players (or two teams) play each hole as a separate contest against each other. The party with the lower score wins that hole, or if the scores of both players or teams are equal the hole is "halved" (drawn). The game is won by the party that wins more holes than the other. In the case that one team or player has taken a lead that cannot be overcome in the number of holes remaining to be played, the match is deemed to be won by the party in the lead, and the remainder of the holes are not played. For example, if one party already has a lead of six holes, and only five holes remain to be played on the course, the match is over. At any given point, if the lead is equal to the number of holes remaining, the match is said to be "dormie", and is continued until the leader increases the lead by one hole, thereby winning the match, or until the match ends in a tie. When the game is tied after the predetermined number of holes have been played, it may be continued until one side takes a one-hole lead.
• In stroke play, every player (or team) counts the number of shots taken for the whole round or tournament to produce the total score, and the player with the lowest score wins.

There are variations of these basic principles, some of which are explicitly described in the "Rules of Golf" and are therefore regarded "official." "Official" forms of play are, among others, foursome and four-ball games.

Fees

One must pay certain fees to play on a golf course. There are two different fees; the cart fee, which is for the use of a golf cart, and the greens fee, which allows play on the course itself. On some courses, walking is prohibited, and the cart fee is often included with the greens fee.

The greens fee may vary from the equivalent of a few dollars for communal (also known as municipal) courses, up to that of several hundred dollars for public courses. Discounts on fees may be offered for players starting their round late (and on some courses, unusually early) in the day. Prices may also vary for seniors and minors, or depending on the season.

Team play

A foursome (defined in Rule 29) is played between two teams of two players each, in which each team has only one ball and players alternate playing it. For example, if players A and B form a team, A tees off on the first hole, B will play the second shot, A the third, and so on until the hole is finished. On the second hole, B will tee off (regardless who played the last putt on the first hole), then A plays the second shot, and so on. Foursomes can be played as match play or stroke play.

A four-ball (Rules 30 and 31) is also played between two teams of two players each, but every player plays his own ball and for each team, the lower score on each hole is counted. Four-balls can be played as match play or stroke play.

There are also popular unofficial variations on team play:

• In a scramble, each player in a team tees off on each hole, and the players decide which shot was best. Every player then plays his second shot from within a clublength of where the best ball has come to rest, and the procedure is repeated until the hole is finished. In best ball, each player plays the hole as normal, but the lowest score of all the players on the team counts as the team's score.
• In a greensome, also called modified alternate shot, both players tee off, and then pick the best shot as in a scramble. The player who did not shoot the best first shot plays the second shot. The play then alternates as in a foursome.
• A variant of greensome is sometimes played where the opposing team chooses which of their opponent's tee shots the opponents should use. The player who did not shoot the chosen first shot plays the second shot. Play then continues as a greensome. Such a format is known as either gruesomes, bloodsomes or gruesome greensomes.

There is also a form of starting called "shotgun," which is mainly used for tournament play. A "shotgun start" consists of groups starting at different tees, allowing for all players to start and end their round at the same time.

Handicap systems

Main article: Golf handicap

A handicap is a numerical measure of an amateur golfer's ability to play golf over 18 holes. Handicaps can be applied either for stroke play competition or match play competition. In either competition, a handicap generally represents the number of strokes above par that a player will achieve on an above average day.

In stroke play competition, the competitor's handicap is subtracted from their total "gross" score at the end of the round, to calculate a "net" score against which standings are calculated. In match play competition, handicap strokes are assigned on a hole-by-hole basis, according to the handicap rating of each hole (which is provided by the course). The hardest holes on the course receive the first handicap strokes, with the easiest holes receiving the last handicap strokes.

Calculating handicaps are often complicated, but essentially are representative of the average over par of a number of a player's previous above average rounds, adjusted for course difficulty. Legislations regarding the calculation of handicaps differs among countries. For example, handicap rules may include the difficulty of the course the golfer is playing on by taking into consideration factors such as the number of bunkers, the length of the course, the difficulty and slopes of the greens, the width of the fairways, and so on.

Handicap systems are not used in professional golf. Professional golfers often score several strokes below par for a round and thus have a calculated handicap of 0 or less, meaning that their handicap results in the addition of strokes to their round score. Someone with a zero or less handicap is often referred to as a 'scratch golfer.'

Rules and other regulations

The rules of golf^[10][11] are internationally standardised and are jointly governed by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A), which was founded 1754 and the United States Golf Association (USGA). By agreement with the R&A, USGA jurisdiction on the enforcement and interpretation of the rules is limited to the United States and Mexico. The national golf associations of other countries use the rules laid down by the R&A and there is a formal procedure for referring any points of doubt to the R&A.

The underlying principle of the rules is fairness. As stated on the back cover of the official rule book: "play the ball as it lies", "play the course as you find it", and "if you can't do either, do what is fair". Some rules state that:

• every player is entitled and obliged to play the ball from the position where it has come to rest after a stroke, unless a rule allows or demands otherwise (Rule 13-1)
• a player must not accept assistance in making a stroke (Rule 14-2)
• the condition of the ground or other parts of the course may not be altered to gain an advantage, except in some cases defined in the rules
• a ball may only be replaced by another during play of a hole if it is destroyed (Rule 5-3), lost (Rule 27-1), or unplayable (Rule 28), or at some other time permitted by the Rules. The player may always substitute balls between the play of two holes.

The Decisions on the Rules of Golf are based on formal case decisions by the R&A and USGA and are revised and updated every other year.

There are strict regulations regarding the amateur status of golfers.^[12] Essentially, everybody who has ever received payment or compensation for giving instruction or played golf for money is not considered an amateur and may not participate in competitions limited solely to amateurs. However amateur golfers may receive expenses which comply with strict guidelines and they may accept non-cash prizes within the limits established by the Rules of Amateur Status.

In addition to the officially printed rules, golfers also abide by a set of guidelines called Golf etiquette. Etiquette guidelines cover matters such as safety, fairness, easiness and pace of play, and a player's obligation to contribute to the care of the course. Though there are no penalties for breach of etiquette rules, players generally follow the rules of golf etiquette in an effort to improve everyone's playing experience.

Hitting a golf ball

To hit the ball, the club is swung at the motionless ball wherever it has come to rest from a side stance. Many golf shots make the ball travel through the air (carry) and roll out for some more distance (roll).

Every shot is a compromise between length and precision, and long shots are often less precise than short ones. A longer shot may result in a better score if it helps reduce the total number of strokes for a given hole, but the benefit may be more than outweighed by additional strokes or penalties if a ball is lost, out of bounds, or comes to rest on difficult ground. Therefore, a skilled golfer must assess the quality of his or her shots in a particular situation in order to judge whether the possible benefits of aggressive play are worth the risks.

The golf swing

Putts and short chips are ideally played without much movement of the body, but most other golf shots are played using variants of the full golf swing. The full golf swing itself is used in tee and fairway shots.

A full swing is a complex rotation of the body aimed at accelerating the club head to a great speed. For a right-handed golfer, it consists of a backswing to the right, a downswing to the left (during which the ball is hit), and a follow through.

The full golf swing is a complex motion that is difficult to learn. It is common for beginners to spend several months practicing the very basics before playing their first ball on a course. Even highly skilled golfers may continue to take golf lessons for years.

Relatively few golfers play left-handed (i.e., swing back to the left and forward to the right). The percentage of golfers in the U.S. who play left-handed is estimated to be anywhere from 4 percent to 7 percent in the U.S.^[13]. Even some players who are strongly left-handed in their daily lives prefer the right-handed golf swing. In the past, this may have been due to the difficulty of finding left-handed golf clubs. Today, more manufacturers provide left-handed versions of their club lines, and the clubs are more readily purchased from mail-order and Internet catalogues, as well as golf stores. A golfer who plays right-handed, but holds the club left-hand-below-right is said to be "cack-handed" or "cross-handed".

A golf ball acquires spin when it is hit. Backspin is imparted for almost every shot due to the golf club's loft (i.e., angle between the clubface and a vertical plane). A spinning ball deforms the flow of air around it^[14] similar to an airplane wing; a back-spinning ball therefore experiences an upward force which makes it fly higher and longer than a ball without spin. The amount of backspin also influences the behavior of a ball when it impacts the ground. A ball with little backspin will usually roll out for a few metres or yards while a ball with more backspin may not roll at all, or even roll backwards. Sidespin occurs when the clubface is not aligned perpendicularly to the plane of swing. Sidespin makes the ball curve left or right: a curve to the left is a draw, and to the right a fade (for right-handed players). Accomplished golfers intentionally use sidespin to steer their ball around obstacles or towards the safe side of fairways and greens. But because it is sometimes difficult to control the amount of sidespin put on the golf ball, balls may take an undesirable trajectory, such as a hook to the left, or a slice to the right (for right-handed players).

Equipment

Main article: Golf equipment

A wide range of equipment exists for playing golf, ranging from golf clubs, balls, tees, gloves, and shoes.

Professional golf

The majority of professional golfers work as club or teaching professionals, and only compete in local competitions. A small elite of professional golfers are "tournament pros" who compete full time on international "tours".

Golf tours

Main article: Professional golf tours

There are at least twenty professional golf tours, each run by a PGA or an independent tour organisation, which is responsible for arranging events, finding sponsors, and regulating the tour. Typically a tour has "members" who are entitled to compete in most of its events, and also invites non-members to compete in some of them. Gaining membership of an elite tour is highly competitive, and most professional golfers never achieve it.

The most widely known tour is the PGA Tour, which attracts the best golfers from all the other men's tours. This is due mostly to the fact that most PGA Tour events have a first prize of at least USD 800,000. The European Tour, which attracts a substantial number of top golfers from outside North America, ranks second to the PGA Tour in worldwide prestige. Some top professionals from outside North America play enough tournaments to maintain membership on both the PGA Tour and European Tour. There are several other men's tours around the world.

Golf is unique in having lucrative competition for older players. There are several senior tours for men 50 and older, the best known of which is the U.S.-based Champions Tour.

There are six principal tours for women, each based in a different country or continent. The most prestigious of these is the United States based LPGA Tour.

All of the leading professional tours for under-50 players have an official developmental tour, in which the leading players at the end of the season will earn a tour card on the main tour for the following season. Examples are:

• PGA Tour: Nationwide Tour
• European Tour: Challenge Tour
• Japan Golf Tour: Japan Challenge Tour
• LPGA Tour: FUTURES Tour
• Ladies European Tour: Telia Tour (operates only in Sweden, but feeds directly to the LET)

Men's major championships

Main article: Men's major golf championships

The major championships are the four most prestigious men's tournaments of the year. In chronological order they are:

• The Masters
• U.S. Open
• The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open)
• PGA Championship

The fields for these events include the top several dozen golfers from all over the world. The Masters has been played at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia since its inception in 1934. It is the only major championship that is played at the same course each year. The U.S. Open and PGA Championship are played at courses around the United States, while The Open Championship is played at courses in the UK.

The number of major championships a player accumulates in his career has a very large impact on his stature in the sport. Jack Nicklaus is considered to be one of the greatest golfer of all time, largely because he has won a record 18 professional majors, or 20 majors in total if his two U.S. Amateurs are included. Tiger Woods, who may be the only golfer in the foreseeable future likely to challenge Nicklaus's record, has won 13 professional majors (16 total if his three U.S. Amateurs are included), all before the age of 32. (To put this total in perspective, Nicklaus had won nine professional majors and two U.S. Amateurs at the same age, and did not win his 13th professional major until he was 35.) Woods also came closest to winning all four current majors in one season (known as a Grand Slam completed first by Bobby Jones) when he won them consecutively across two seasons: the 2000 U.S. Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championship; and the 2001 Masters. This feat has been frequently called the Tiger Slam.

Prior to the advent of the PGA Championship and The Masters, the four Majors were the U.S. Open, the U.S. Amateur, the Open Championship, and the British Amateur. These are the four that Bobby Jones won in 1930 to become the only player ever to have earned a Grand Slam.

Women's major championships

Main article: Women's major golf championships

Women's golf does not have a globally agreed set of majors. The list of majors recognized by the dominant women's tour, the LPGA Tour in the U.S., has changed several times over the years, with the last change in 2001. Like the PGA Tour, the (U.S.) LPGA^[16] has four majors:

• Kraft Nabisco Championship
• LPGA Championship
• U.S. Women's Open
• Women's British Open

Only the last of these is also recognized by the Ladies European Tour. The other event that it recognizes as a major is the Evian Masters, which is not considered a major by the LPGA (but is co-sanctioned as a regular LPGA event). However, the significance of this is limited, as the LPGA is far more dominant in women's golf than the PGA Tour is in mainstream men's golf. For example, the BBC has been known to use the U.S. definition of "women's majors" without qualifying it. Also, the Ladies' Golf Union, the governing body for women's golf in the UK and Republic of Ireland, states on its official website that the Women's British Open is "the only Women’s Major to be played outside the U.S."^[17] For its part, the Ladies European Tour tacitly acknowledges the dominance of the LPGA Tour by not scheduling any of its own events to conflict with the three LPGA majors played in the U.S.

The second-richest women's tour, the LPGA of Japan Tour, does not recognize any of the U.S. LPGA or European majors. It has its own set of three majors. However, these events attract little notice outside Japan.

Senior major championships

Main article: Senior major golf championships

Like women's golf, senior (50-and-over) men's golf does not have a globally agreed set of majors. The list of senior majors on the U.S.-based Champions Tour has changed over the years, but always by expansion; unlike the situation with the LPGA, no senior major has lost its status. The Champions Tour now recognizes five majors:

• Senior PGA Championship
• U.S. Senior Open
• Senior British Open
• The Tradition
• Senior Players Championship

Of the five events, the Senior PGA is by far the oldest, having been founded in 1937. The other events all date from the 1980s, when senior golf became a commercial success as the first golf stars of the television era, such as Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, reached the relevant age. The Senior British Open was not recognized as a major by the Champions Tour until 2003.

The European Seniors Tour recognizes only the Senior PGA and the two Senior Opens as majors. However, the Champions Tour is arguably more dominant in global senior golf than the U.S. LPGA is in global women's golf.

Environmental impact

Environmental concerns over the use of land for golf courses have grown over the past 50 years. Specific concerns include the amount of water and chemical pesticides and fertilizers used for maintenance, as well as the destruction of wetlands and other environmentally important areas during construction. A notable toxic chemical used on golf courses is diazinon; however, this substance was banned in the United States as of the year 2004.

These, along with health and cost concerns, have led to significant research into more environmentally sound practices and turf grasses. The modern golf course superintendent is often trained in the uses of these practices and grasses. This has led to some mitigation in the amount of chemicals and water used on courses. The turf on golf courses is an excellent filter for water and has been used in many communities to cleanse grey water, such as incorporation of bioswales. People continue to oppose golf courses for environmental and human survival reasons, as they impede corridors for migrating animals and sanctuaries for birds and other wildlife. In fact, the effective non-native monoculture of golf courses systematically destroys biodiversity.^[18]

A major result of modern equipment is that today's players can hit the ball much further than previously. In a concern for safety, modern golf course architects have had to lengthen and widen their design envelope. This has led to a ten percent increase in the amount of area that is required for golf courses today. At the same time, water restrictions placed by communities have forced courses to limit the amount of maintained turf grass. While most modern 18-hole golf courses occupy as much as 60 ha (150 acres) of land, the average course has 30 ha (75 acres) of maintained turf. (Sources include the National Golf Foundation and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America [GCSAA].)

Golf courses can be built on sandy areas along coasts, abandoned farms, strip mines and quarries, deserts and forests. Many Western countries have instituted significant environmental restrictions on where and how courses can be built.^[19][20]

In some parts of the world, attempts to build courses and resorts have led to significant protests along with vandalism and violence by both sides. Although golf is a relatively minor issue compared to other land-ethics questions, it has symbolic importance as it is a sport normally associated with the wealthier Westernized population, and the culture of colonization and globalization of non-native land ethics. Resisting golf tourism and golf's expansion has become an objective of some land-reform movements, especially in the Philippines and Indonesia.

In Saudi Arabia, golf courses have been constructed on nothing more than oil-covered sand. However, in some cities such as Dhahran, modern, grass golf courses have been built recently. In Coober Pedy, Australia, there is a famous golf course that consists of nine holes dug into mounds of sand, diesel and oil, with no grass anywhere on the course. Players carry a small piece of astroturf from which they tee the ball. In New Zealand it is not uncommon for rural courses to have greens fenced off and sheep graze the fairways. At the 125-year-old Royal Colombo Golf Club in Sri Lanka steam trains, from the Kelani Valley railway, run through the course at the 6th hole.

Alternative golf courses

Extreme golf is typically played on environmentally sustainable alternatives to traditional courses. A cross between hiking and golfing, the course layout exposes players to a wide range of natural obstacles and challenging terrains.

Based on the growing popularity of the U.X. Open Alternative Golf Tournament the extreme golf course features un-mowed meadows and forest instead of fairways, with "goals" scored on temporary greens (a circle  feet ( m) in diameter).

Golf movies

Happy Gilmore The Greatest Game Ever Played The Legend of Bagger Vance The Man with the Perfect Swing Tin Cup Caddyshack Caddyshack II Bobby Jones: Stroke of a Genius

Follow The Sun Dead Solid Perfect Dorf on Golf Den ofrivillige golfaren Pat and Mike Three Little Beers Who's Your Caddy?

Golf magazines

• Golf Magazine
• Golf Digest
• Today's Golfer
• Scoregolf

See also

Blind golf Carnoustie effect Champions Tour Disc Golf Farmers golf Golf etiquette Golf glossary Golf instruction Golf license Golfers with most LPGA major championship wins Golfers with most LPGA Tour wins Golfers with most PGA Tour wins Hickory Golf Ladies European Tour Lexus Cup List of golfers List of golfers with most major title wins LPGA Tour Maurice Flitcroft - Record holder for worst score in Open.

Miniature golf PGA European Tour PGA of America PGA Tour Pine cone golf Presidents Cup Rules of Golf Ryder Cup Solheim Cup The Golf Channel 2006 in golf

References

External links

• The R&A
• United States Golf Association
• International Association of Golf Club Presidents
• International Golf Federation
• Official site of the PGA of America
• Official site of the Society of Hickory Golfers

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