History in the Making

"Golf is a game where you yell 'fore,' shoot six, and write down five." ~Paul Harvey

     Hello everyone to GET SOME Golf! In today's post, I'm focusing in on the history of golf and how it has impacted people today (including me!).

     Picture yourself in an open field: the air is thick, the grass is fairly tall, and you can hear the distant roar of the ocean waves as they thump against the shoreline. You have a staff and a small ball lying on the ground; to the far distant you see a target and you think, "I can hit that target in four shots." This is true determination and relaxation, golf in a nut shell.

     It is unclear who started the game that we know today but one thing is for sure: throughout history, it has been played for centuries by Kings and everyday people alike. In the pre-1400's in rural Scotland, Parliament created an act to stop play of golf on Sunday's but still preserve the qualities of Archery. So shortly after that on the sandy hills of Eastern Scotland, came the first true marvel around the world: the first golf course ever and "the birthplace of golf," St. Andrews.

     Through very humble beginnings, golf was starting to come onto the global scene when new technologies (such as the gutty ball and new golf club materials) and railways were stopping by St. Andrews. With these advancements, St. Andrews was the main stop due to the Universities there (Oxford and Cambridge) and because of the golf course, which was being played multiple times throughout the year by several no matter what kind of weather was produced. When others heard and saw the beauty of St. Andrews, golf fanatics and spectators alike flocked to there where "the first stroke heard around the world" occurred.

     After everyone was playing the same place over and over again, there came a monotonous feeling over the golfers. It was in the mid-17th century when Old Tom Morris, the first true winning icon in golf, set to build another golf course for a different challenge. As golf kept progressing throughout the ages, more and more courses were built, as well as different tournaments/competitions, different ball materials, and different club materials. Today, golf has become such a renowned sport that it is in the Olympics, there are thousands of courses in the United States alone, there are millions of golfers around the world, and several different types of club and ball manufactures. So golf has evolved to be so difficult, yet relaxing; all thanks to a mysterious someone hitting a ball around in the grass one day, we have the luxury to play this game anytime we want.

     Thanks for reading "GET SOME Golf!" Please pass this along to your playing partners!