A Brief History of Golf
Although many athletic and combat sports can trace their origins back to ancient times with events such as the Olympic Games, golf has a much longer history than many of the sports still played today.
Its origins are medieval; it was in 15th-century Scotland that golf took the form we know today, although games involving hitting a ball into a hole with a stick had been played for some time prior. The Old Course at St. Andrews – the oldest course in the world – was established in 1552, and in the 18th century formal golf clubs such as the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews followed.
The R&A played a pivotal role in shaping the modern rules of the sport, including setting the standard of 18 holes when they reduced the Old Course from 22 in 1764. In 1860, the Old Course held the world’s oldest golf tournament, The Open Championship.
In the years since, golf has become one of the world’s most popular individual sports, although team formats are also used.
Golf Formats
The objective of golf is to hit balls into a series of holes in the fewest number of strokes; along the way, players typically have to deal with a variety of challenges and hazards built into the terrain, including water or sand bunkers.
Each hole has a par classification, which is the number of strokes a skilled player is expected to need to complete it. A score of 1-under par on a hole is known as a birdie, while 2-under is an eagle. Scores over par are known as bogeys.
Players use a variety of clubs, ranging from a driver (typically used for teeing off on long holes) to a putter (used for finessing the ball into the hole along the ground upon reaching the green). Other clubs include woods, which have large heads and are typically used for long-distance shots, and irons, which have more angled heads to provide greater elevation for shots.
Most golf events are held in the stroke play format, in which the winner is the player with the lowest number of strokes across all rounds. An alternate format is match play, in which a player or team earns a point for every hole on which they have scored lower than their opponent in a round.
Within match play, the most common formats are foursomes, four-balls, and singles. Four-balls and foursomes matches are both contested by 2 teams of 2. In the former, each hole is won by the team whose member scored lowest, while in the latter, the teams use 1 ball each and take alternating shots. Singles matches adopt the match play format, in which 1 player from each team goes head-to-head and each hole is won by the player with the lowest score.
Attending a Golf Event
Most golf events are held over 4 days, Thursday-Sunday, although some may only be held over 3 days, usually Friday-Sunday. Some events also allow spectators to attend earlier days in the week to watch players practicing or participating in a Pro-Am competition, in which the professionals are paired with amateurs.
Because most events feature fields well in excess of 100 players, play typically starts early in the morning and does not finish until late afternoon or early evening, with groups of players – known as pairings – teeing off in a staggered fashion throughout the day. The field is usually cut after the second round, so only the top-performing players make it to the weekend.
If you’re attending with a general admission ticket – often known as a Grounds or Gallery ticket – you can expect to be outside and on your feet for much of the day, although some events feature public grandstands. You can either follow your favourite pairings around the length of the course (allow 15 minutes for each hole) or pick your favourite hole and remain there watching pairings as they pass through.
Golf events frequently offer discounts or free tickets for children and other concession categories, so attending as a family can often be more affordable than many other sporting events.
Many events will also offer hospitality tickets for purchase. These tickets often grant access to a suite, lounge, or elevated, covered viewing area providing a superior view of a particular hole, and they may also feature all-inclusive food and beverages or a premium menu to purchase from.
Due to most golf courses being located on the outskirts of cities or in the countryside, arrival by car is usually the most convenient method of transportation. Some events will offer parking on-site, but many utilise a Park & Ride system. Some larger events will also run free shuttle buses from nearby train stations and other public transport hubs.
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