THE UNCOMPARABLE STORY OF GOLF
What do we know about the game of golf? We know that golfers hit a golf ball with a golf club. We know that they are trying to get that golf ball into a small hole in as few hits as possible. The way that the golfer play on TV play they make it look so easy. They all have nice swings, smooth-putting strokes, and someone carrying that heavy golf bag around.
Golf hasn?t always been like this though. Golfers carried their own bags, and the equipment wasn?t made of state-of-the-art metal. Have you ever heard of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, or of Bobby Jones? Have you ever heard of St. Andrews, Pebble Beach, or Augusta National? How about the U.S. Open, the British Open, the PGA Championship, The Masters, or the Ryder Cup? Courses, tournaments, and people in some way have changed the game of golf. When you change things about golf, you are making everything, such as the course, the time frame, the person, or even equipment, that was involved history. Since golf historians are uncertain as to where golf was invented or who invented it, the golf courses and players are the ones who have changed and given the game a history.
Well where did golf originate? A few areas of the world claim that golf was originated there. The first believed record of the game exists in Gloucester Cathedral, England. A sketch of a man appeared in a stained glass window preparing to hit a ball using a golf-like swing. Some golf historians don?t believe that this is golf though, they believe that is was a game called cambuca.
More historians think it all started in Holland. A famous Dutch golf historian thinks that golf was invented by using the game of chole and the rules of a different game called jeu de mail. With the result of these two games was the game colf, which means in Dutch ?club?. Another name that was used for golf was spel metten colve which means, ?game with clubs?. The famous golf historian, Steven J.H. van Hengel, traced the game of colf back in time to the year 1297. Still there is no physical evidence that golf was originated there. So still no inventors of golf.
We move on to Scotland, where the first reference of golf being there first was in 1457. King James II banned golf and football, because they were taking away practice time from archery. Golf was banned off and on from 1457 all the way to 1618. Finally golf was a free sport in Scotland. This came when King James VI lifted the ban because he had starting playing the sport. Where have the people been playing then?
There couldn?t have been too many courses or open areas that golfers could have played on. So the most believable or the place that makes the most sense where golf was invented would be in the East Coast of Scotland. This is where the Scottish fishermen where believed to be hitting rocks with sticks on their way home from fishing. The hitting of rocks resembled golf enough for many people to believe that these fishermen originated golf. So we kind of have a birthplace for golf, but how did it really take off? Well, there were a few golf courses that were being built. One of those turned into the ?Home of Golf?. That would be The Royal and Ancient Golf Club Of St. Andrews.
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews was the first golf course to have the conventional eighteen hole format that we use today. This course was first a 22-hole golf course but was changed in 1764. This gives the honor to The Royal and Ancient (R and A) Golf Club at St. Andrews for being the oldest course. The course is still one of the very best championship courses ever. This course has been host of the very noble golf championship called the British Open, one of four ?major? tournaments played by the PGA tour (Professional Golf Association). It is played once a year on Scotland?s soil. The legendary course now has 99 holes of golf, making it the largest golfing complex in Europe.
Another of the most amazing golf courses would be Pebble Beach. This course has been around for a while also. Pebble Beach was open for golf in 1919. This course, right on the coast of California looking over the big, blue ocean, is no stranger to big tournaments either. In 1972 Pebble Beach had its first U.S. Open there. In 2000 the course will host the 100th U.S. Open. Every year they also put on a great Pro-Am tournament called the AT&T Pro-Am Golf Classic.
Now the most fascinating golf course in the whole world, Augusta National. Located in Augusta, Georgia, the former plantation is the site of one of the most beautiful courses around the most private of private courses lets the common person see the course once a year, in the first week of April. This is the time that we get to see the Masters. This is the golf tournament that the champion of the past years hosts a dinner of all the past champions. All of these former players wear the symbolic green jacket, which is presented to the winners of the golf tournament. Only the past champions and the club members have these jackets. Players who plan on playing at Augusta one day must either place highly in a-golf major or must be high on the money list. They must be in the top portion of the PGA Tour or have placed well in some golf major. This all started back in 1934.Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts decided that they wanted to hold an annual golf tournament. So they did, it was called The Augusta National Invitation Tournament. This name stuck for five years then it was called the Augusta National. It has been around ever since. The man who came up with The Augusta Invitation Tournament was one of the best golfers of all time. His name was Bobby Jones.
Robert Tyre Jones was born in 1902 and died in 1971. He was the best amateur golfer of all time. He had won many golf tournaments before retiring from tournament golf at the young age of 28. He had won three of the four British Open tournaments that he had played in. He also had won four U.S. Opens. But this was not considered his greatest accomplishment. The biggest accomplishment that he held was that he won the Grand Slam in 1930. Actually this would be the old Grand Slam, consisting of the British Amateur, British Open, U.S Open, and the U.S. Amateur. After golf he became very successful in law.
The next person who really changed and improved the game of golf was Arnold Palmer. Palmer was a golfer that everyone followed and watched. His golf combined with his personality made him very famous. The people who followed him on the course where known as ?Arnie?s Army?. He was basically America?s golf icon. This was especially during the 1958-1964 seasons. Palmer had 60 tour victories on the PGA Tour.
One of the best features that Arnold had was the fact that he never gave up. This showed when he basically formed the PGA Senior Tour. This happened when he turned 50 years old. He had such a huge crowd following him around that when he went on to the Senior Tour fans followed. He won 10 more tournaments on the Senior Tour and still plays on the Tour. ?Arnie?s Army? still, to this day goes where Arnold goes.
Jack Nicklaus is the best golfer to play anywhere. Jack was a stocky kid who went to Ohio State and had a brilliant college career. Right when he turned pro he dominated the game. Out of the 70 PGA Tour victories that the ?Golden Bear? won 20 were majors. The last major that he won was his best performance though. He played the last ten holes at Augusta National in seven under par. He hit the ball further and higher than anyone he golfed against had. The great thing about Jack even though a huge competitor he always had time for his family. Now days you can see Nicklaus play on the Senior Tour and also see him watching his son, Gary, play his first year on the PGA Tour.
Now we look at a golfer who is making history and who has the biggest future of any player, Tiger Woods. Tiger has done everything to amaze viewers and fellow golfers. He sets records, plows into the history books, works hard at his game, and shows the way for the young golfers of tomorrow. He truly is the best thing that golf has ever had. First of all he is the most successful African American to ever play golf. He was the first person of African heritage to ever win a golf major. He carves the way for young, or minorities. While attending Stanford he won three U.S. Amateurs in a row, which had never been done before. He went on to the pro level and won ?PGA Rookie of the Year? in 1996. His second year on the tour Woods won ?PGA Player of the Year?. This was also the year that he won at the Masters. He broke the old scoring record there for 72 holes and he beat the rest of the field by 12 strokes, which was another record. He also was the youngest golfer to ever win the Masters. Currently Tiger is the number one golfer in the world. And holds the record for money won on the PGA Tour. Alone last year he made $6.6 million. He also just tied the record for the second most consecutive wins at six.
The history of golf was not very well documented but history changes and records are meant to be broken. History of golf is found at the golf courses and by the professional golfers. The top three courses that developed golf were Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, and Augusta National. The players really changed the game though. Starting with Bobby Jones who was an amateur his whole golfing career, who developed Augusta National. Then, to Arnold Palmer who gave the game life and got people interested in the game. To Jack Nicklaus who played the game so easily and dominated the sport. Finally to Tiger Woods. Tiger is the future of golf; he is the man who keeps the fans watching. Nobody knows what he can do next. That is why we watch and learn about the game.
?They say golf is like life, but don?t believe them. Golf is more complicated than that?.
-Gardner Dickinson
OUTLINE
Thesis:
Since golf historians are uncertain as to where golf was invented or who invented it, the golf courses and players are the ones who have changed and given the game a history.
I. Where was golf originated?
a. England
b. Holland
c. Scotland
II. What courses have made the game so popular?
a. St. Andrews
b. Pebble Beach
c. Augusta National
III. What players have really changed the game, or made the game better?
a. Bobby Jones
b. Arnold Palmer
c. Jack Nicklaus
d. Tiger Woods
Conclusion:
The history of golf was not very well documented but history changes and records are meant to be broken. . History of golf is found at the golf courses and by the professional golfers. The top three courses that developed golf were Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, and Augusta National. The players really changed the game though. Starting with Bobby Jones who was an amateur his whole golfing career, who developed Augusta National. Then, to Arnold Palmer who gave the game life and got people interested in the game. To Jack Nicklaus who played the game so easily and dominated the sport. Finally to Tiger Woods. Tiger is the future of golf; he is the man who keeps the fans watching. Nobody knows what he can do next. That is why we watch and learn about the game.
.
Bibliography
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