Golf is a ball sport with a centuries-old tradition. The aim is to hit a ball into a hole in as few strokes as possible, using various golf clubs. A round of golf usually consists of 9 to 18 holes, which are played one after the other on a golf course.

In Germany, golf, which was developed in Scotland, was long regarded as a predominantly elitist and expensive pastime. In the Anglo-Saxon countries, and to some extent also in neighboring European countries, golf is a leisure sport that is played by a large cross-section of society. This trend has also been clearly recognizable in Germany in recent years. In dialog with golf critics, but also through the easier entry into the sport, new impulses have been set which have enabled further growth. The number of players worldwide is estimated at 50 million.



The history

The Scots are generally regarded as the inventors of golf, but there are also a number of other theories that see its origins in continental Europe. Frequently mentioned are Holland (1297: Colf in Loenen aan de Vecht, although this has since been refuted), France (Chole around 1200, Paille-Maille documented from 1416, illustration of a golfer putting on a target stick in the Book of Hours of Adelaïde of Savoy around 1450), Brussels (1360: prohibition of the Colven) and Flanders (illustration of a golfer putting on a hole on ice in a prayer book around 1480). In Gloucester Cathedral there is a stained glass window from 1340 that is said to show a golfer. But there are also references to a game with a ball and clubs in ancient Egypt, ancient Rome (paganica) and early Japan, Korea (tagu, from 1400) and China (chuiwan, from around 1000). Interwoven with the question of the origin of the game is the etymology of the word; particularly due to the work of sports historian Heiner Gillmeister, it is considered likely that the Scottish golf, first attested in 1447, is a borrowing of the Dutch kolv ("club").

It is therefore controversial up to what point one must still assume that there are precursors (from which field hockey, croquet, baseball or billiards then also developed) and at what point one can actually speak of golf. Ultimately, this depends on the criteria that are defined as indispensable for the sport of golf. For example, it is only since Pieter van Afferden's Latin textbook of 1545 that it has been established beyond doubt that the player must not be disturbed by the opponent when executing the golf shot. In this respect, the earliest Scottish documents could also refer to a sport which, although called "golf", was more akin to the brutal fighting game of soule or soule à la crosse.

On the other hand, of all the early or pre-forms of golf, only the Scottish variant has survived to this day. All other forms of the game disappeared at some point or developed in a different direction - for example, colf became the indoor game of kolf or kolven. The game of golf as we know it today was only introduced or re-imported into all non-British countries in the 19th or 20th century.



15. Century

The first written evidence of golf as we know it today dates back to 1457, when the Scottish Parliament, with King James II as the driving force, banned "ye fut bawe and ye golf" and ordered the practice of archery instead. The ban is reaffirmed by Kings James III (1471) and James IV (1491). It falls victim to the peace treaty between Scotland and England in 1502, which makes paramilitary exercises no longer appropriate for the population. Soon afterwards, it becomes known that James IV himself plays golf when an invoice for golf clubs made for him appears in the court's official budget.



16. Century

Thanks to royal support, golf spread throughout Great Britain in the 16th century. The first civic golfer is mentioned in 1527, a certain Sir Robert Maule is said to have played on the Barry Links near modern Carnoustie. The first reference to golf in St Andrews dates back to 1552, the following year the Archbishop issued a decree allowing the local population to play on the links. Mary Stuart subsequently introduced the sport to France. She is also known to have played golf in 1567, immediately after the assassination of her husband, for which she was widely criticized.



17. Century

The first golf club maker is documented in 1603, when William Mayne is appointed "Royal Clubmaker" by King James VI. The "featherie", a leather ball filled with feathers, comes into play in 1618. The first mention of golf in America is a ban on the game in the streets of Albany, New York, in 1659. The first international match takes place in Leith in 1682, when Scotland (represented by the Duke of York and John Paterson) defeats an unnamed English duo. It is in this context that the first caddie becomes known, an Andrew Dickson carrying the Duke of York's clubs. In 1691, St Andrews is described in a private letter as the "Metropolis of golfing".



19. Century

The first documented ladies' tournament is held in Musselburgh (10 km east of Edinburgh) in 1810, and the first ladies' golf club is formed in St Andrews in 1867. Outside the British Isles, the first club was founded in Bangalore in 1820, while continental Europe started in Pau in 1856. The hickory shaft prevails over other types of wood from 1826, and the steel shaft comes onto the market in 1891. From 1848, the featherie was replaced by the gutta-percha ball, which flew further and was cheaper to produce. For the same reasons, the gutta-percha ball had to give way to the Haskell ball, a wrapped hard rubber core, in 1898. The Open Championship, the oldest tournament still played today, celebrates its premiere in Prestwick in 1860. Young Tom Morris made the first recorded hole in one in 1867. the Darmstadt Golf Club, the first club in Germany, was founded in 1892; British spa guests had been playing in the Bad Homburg spa gardens since 1889, while a group of young Germans led by Philipp Heineken played in the Neckar meadows near Cannstatt from 1890. The USGA was founded in 1894, the Stableford scoring system was invented in 1898 and the wooden tee was patented in 1899.



20. Century

Golf is an Olympic sport at the 1900 and 1904 Games. grooves appear on the club face in 1902, dimples on the golf ball in 1905, but center-shafted putters are withdrawn from play by the R&A in 1910 and steel shafts in 1911. The German Golf Association begins business in 1907. The PGA of America is formed in 1916 as the first representative body for professional golfers. Steel shafts are permitted everywhere again from 1929 and finally replace hickory shafts. The upper limit of 14 clubs per player and round is applied for the first time in 1938. The R&A and USGA agree on a joint set of rules in 1951, at the same time stymies are abolished and center-shafted putters are permitted again. In 1963, the rubber grip (previously leather) and cast irons (previously forged) make their debut, followed by the graphite shaft and cavity back irons in 1969. The only two golf shots on the moon to date were made by astronaut Alan Shepard in 1971. The first metal driver heads are launched in 1979, replacing Persimmon wood. Titanium is introduced to the American market as a material for woods in 1994 and subsequently establishes itself.



21. Century

in 2009, the IOC decides that golf should be an Olympic sport again from 2016: A decision based on the worldwide grassroots and elite sports work, the association structures, which are considered exemplary, and the many golf game variants as well as entry-level options such as cross golf. The culture of "downsizing" in particular - characteristic of every mass sport - was a key aspect in determining the future Olympic sport.

Rules

The first written rules date back to 1744 by the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith. However, the modern rules of golf originated with the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A), founded in 1754. Today they are published jointly by the R&A and the USGA. The current version is valid from 1 January 2012 until the end of 2014 and introduced a number of changes that mainly serve to clarify and standardize the rules.

A special feature of golf is the very large and largely natural playing area (the so-called golf course), which means that the rules have to cover a wide range of conceivable situations. For this reason, the 34 rules are more detailed than those of most other sports, and even experienced players are occasionally unsure which rule to apply in a particular case.

Each national golf association (in Germany the DGV) has an expert commission for this purpose, which answers disputed questions about the rules if it considers the facts to be clear. If this is not the case, the R&A or the USGA is ultimately asked for a so-called "decision", i.e. an official interpretation of the rules. Like the Rules of Golf themselves, the decisions are also published (on more than 800 pages) and are part of the rules in the broader sense.

Furthermore, the additional appendices in the rule book, in which topics such as "shape of clubs" or "nature of the ball" are defined, are also part of the rules. In addition, the above-mentioned "general" golf rules for competitions are specified in the "competition conditions" (definition of modalities for the execution of competitions) or by "course rules" (regulation of golf course-specific features).

Aim of the game

The aim is to play a ball (minimum diameter 42.67 mm, maximum weight 45.93 grams) with as few golf shots as possible from an area designated as a tee into a circular hole with a diameter of 10.8 cm, usually several hundred meters away, in accordance with the rules of golf. The golf course usually comprises 9 to 18 holes, which can be over 7,000 meters long in total.

If the ball cannot be played according to the rules (for example, because it can no longer be found or has sunk into a pond), the rules of golf provide for certain possibilities of resumption, but usually with the addition of penalty strokes. The sum of the strokes until the ball is put into the hole (golf strokes + penalty strokes) is called the score and is noted on a pre-prepared score sheet, the so-called score card.

Par

A par is defined for each fairway (also known as a "hole"). This value represents the average number of strokes required by a very good player (a scratch golfer with a 0 handicap) to drive the ball from the tee into the hole. When calculating the par for a fairway, it is always assumed that two putts are made on the green. A certain number of strokes is then added for the play from the tee to the green. This number varies with the length of the hole, not with its difficulty, which is also given by bunkers, hills, water, etc. and is specified separately as course and slope rating.

The R&A Rules of Golf use the term "par", but do not specify how exactly the par of a hole is determined; this is left to the national associations. The DGV currently uses the following length classifications (as of July 2010):

Par
Ladies
Men

3

up to 192 m

up to 229 m

4

193 to 366 m

230 to 430 m

5

from 367 m

from 431 m



In justified individual cases, a classification deviating from this scheme is also possible (e.g. in the case of particularly steep slopes), but this must be applied for separately by the respective golf club and approved by the DGV.

If a player's ball lies on the green with "par minus 2" strokes, this is referred to as a "green in regulation". An 18-hole course often has four par 3 holes, ten par 4s and four par 5s. This usually results in a par of 72 for the entire round. For 9-hole courses, these figures are halved accordingly, whereby there are many short courses, especially among the 9-hole courses, which consist mainly of par-3 holes.

The following terms have become established for the various possible scores on a hole:

Technical term
Meaning

Ace, hole-in-one

A shot that sends the ball directly from the tee into the hole

Double Albatross

four shots under par

Albatross (English (UK): albatross, English (USA): double-eagle)

three shots under par

Eagle

two shots under par

Birdie (birdie)

one shot under par

Par or even

exactly par

Bogey

one over par

Double bogey

two over par

Triple bogey

three over par



Types of play, counting methods, handicap

There are two basic forms of play in competitions, namely counting play and hole play, each of which has several variants. In the counting game, it is the score achieved in comparison to the rest of the field of participants that counts. As there is no direct opponent, this is often referred to as a game against the course. This is not the case with hole play, where the aim is to beat a particular opponent by winning more holes (i.e. finishing the respective hole with a lower score) than the opponent.

There are two ways of counting for both forms of play, namely gross (the score actually played is decisive) and net (the score played is adjusted to compensate for the different skill levels of the participants). This means that the gross table results in the absolute best golfer and the net counting method determines the best player in relative terms, i.e. the player who was most successful in comparison to their personal playing strength.

A widely used variant of the counting game in Germany is the Stableford counting game. This form of play is also used to determine the handicaps of golfers organized in the German Golf Association (DGV). The handicap indicates the factor by which the score actually played is adjusted in a net rating and is intended to enable an exciting competition between opponents of different skill levels. In other countries, the handicaps are sometimes determined by the local golf associations using different methods, meaning that they are sometimes only roughly comparable. All over the world, however, a "bogey golfer" is understood to be an advanced amateur who averages one stroke over par, whereas a "scratch golfer" plays around par and is considered a professional, at least in terms of playing ability. A beginner golfer is commonly referred to as a "rabbit".



Playing equipment: golf clubs

According to the current rules of golf, players can take up to 14 clubs with them on a round of golf. The clubs differ in the length of the shaft (measured in inches in golf), loft, design and material. Basically, the trajectory of the ball is controlled by the loft and the shaft length: the more loft, the higher and shorter the trajectory; the longer the club, the more it can be accelerated and the further the ball flies.

The woods are used for the tee shot and the long shots (range from 180 m) on the fairway. They are the longest clubs and have the largest club head, which is hollow and, despite its name, is no longer made of wood. Most players have a wood 1 (also known as a driver) in their bag and one to three more woods for shorter distances (woods 3, 5, 7).

For medium-length shots (70-180 m), clubs called irons are used, which allow more accurate shots compared to the woods. Irons are the most flexible clubs to use. It is perfectly possible to play a round of golf with only half a set of irons.

Hybrid or rescue clubs are a mixture of irons and woods, offering a compromise between the length of a wood and the accuracy of an iron. Normally a player has no more than one or two hybrid clubs. These are usually used as a replacement for a long iron.

Wedges are used for short shots around the green (under 100 m) or for very difficult situations (bunkers, ditches, high grass). They are similar to irons, but are shorter and have more loft. A standard set includes at least the pitching wedge and the sand wedge. There is also the gap wedge and the lob wedge.

The putter is used to hole the ball on the green. Playing with this club is called putting. The ball does not fly through the air as with the other clubs, but rolls over the green. The putter is particularly important as it is used more often than any other club (the par standard assumes two putts per hole), yet there is only one putter in almost every golf bag.



Golf ball: properties and structure

The size and composition of a golf ball are defined in the rules of golf. The diameter of a golf ball is at least 42.67 mm, the maximum weight is 45.93 g. The surface of the ball is provided with approx. 300 to 500 dimples (small dents). Almost every manufacturer has a different arrangement of dimples to optimize the trajectory.

A golf ball consists of a hard plastic shell (gutta-percha was used in the past) with different cores. In addition to hard rubber cores, multi-layer cores made of various flexible materials are increasingly being used. Depending on the number of different layers, we speak of 2-piece, 3-piece, 4-piece (and so on) balls. Most golf balls have a number printed on them. This is used to distinguish the ball from other players' balls if they are using a ball of the same brand and type.

The trajectory of a golf ball is determined by gravitational and aerodynamic forces.

The angle of the club head causes the ball to rotate during impact, which contributes to the necessary directional stability during flight. Every golf shot triggers a backward spin if the ball is hit with the club face. The different trajectories are triggered by additional lateral rotations.

The so-called dimples on the surface reduce the flow resistance coefficient by lowering the pressure resistance and reduce the air resistance by up to 50 %. Depending on the player's hitting technique, a golf ball can fly up to four times farther.
Golf balls are elastic. Due to the so-called smash, they store energy on contact with the club, which they release again when hit. Without smash, the tee speed would be limited to the speed of the club. With smash, it increases by a maximum of 1.5 times. Good golfers reach ball speeds of 250 km/h, the record is 328 km/h.

Trolley and golf bag

A trolley is used to conveniently transport a golf bag containing the set of golf clubs and other utensils (balls, rainwear, drinks, food, etc.) that are useful during the game of golf around the golf course. A golf trolley usually also has an umbrella and scorecard holder.
A distinction is made between

  • Non-motorized, usually two-wheeled trolleys that are conventionally pulled behind you or (more recently increasingly) pushed in front of you as three-wheeled push trolleys.
  • Motorized trolleys equipped with an electric motor powered by a rechargeable battery. These electric trolleys are usually three-wheeled, may even have a seat and are guided by the golfer walking behind.
  • A trolley is often mistakenly referred to as a cart or even a caddie.



Golf course

Golf is played on a golf course. This usually has 9 to 18 fairways (also known as holes), each consisting of the basic elements tee, fairway and green. The course is planned by a golf architect and managed by a golf club or a commercial operating company. The maintenance of a golf course is very complex and requires several greenkeepers and a range of special machinery. The maintenance costs depend on the quality of the course and range from 300,000 to 900,000 euros per year for most courses.



Access to golf

For a long time, golf was a sport that had a fairly high barrier to entry due to the time and capital investment required (similar to riding, sailing or flying). One reason for this was that building and maintaining a golf course is very expensive, which was then passed on to members in the form of high admission and annual fees. In addition, the extensive equipment used to be relatively expensive as it had to be imported from England.

Today, this has largely changed as there are now many public golf courses and equipment can be purchased through a variety of channels. On the one hand in specialist shops (golf shops are normal, generally profit-oriented service companies. In addition, most private golf clubs have opened their courses to day visitors, although they reserve the right to impose various access restrictions. In particular, of course, the aim is to enable members who pay their membership fees to play in an orderly manner, which could otherwise prove problematic, especially at weekends.

In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and a few other countries, permission to play on a golf course is dependent on obtaining the so-called Platzreife (PR) or Platzerlaubnis (PE), which can be acquired in PE courses. This is where the basics of the game and golf etiquette are learned. It is important to note that this PE is only valid for the respective golf club; another golf club does not have to recognize it. In many cases, you need a handicap to be allowed to play on other courses, and it is often also required that the handicap has been assigned by a specific golf association (e.g. one that is a member of the European Golf Association). Many clubs also require you to have a minimum handicap at peak times (often -36 or better at weekends) or only allow you to tee off when accompanied by a member.

In Germany, you can also have a handicap outside of a traditional golf club, for example as a member of the VcG. The Vereinigung clubfreier Golfspieler (VcG) enables its members to play golf without having to join a club. There is a similar organization in Switzerland, the ASGI. Furthermore, many golf clubs offer so-called long-distance memberships for players who do not live in the respective catchment area. Although the right to play freely on the home course is sometimes restricted, the membership fees are considerably lower. There are also a number of smaller providers who sell even cheaper foreign memberships or handicap management without being tied to a golf course or golf association. However, some golf course operators exclude customers of these organizations as guest players or charge them higher green fees. The green fee is the fee to be paid by a golfer to play on a golf course.

In Scandinavia and the traditional vacation regions for golfers (Spain, Portugal, North Africa, Turkey), guests are welcome almost everywhere, but the requirement of a minimum handicap is not yet being abandoned across the board. In the Anglo-American countries, on the other hand, golf is a popular sport and there are a large number of publicly accessible courses that can be played for the sole payment of a green fee. On the other hand, there are also many very exclusive and purely private clubs in the USA, which only allow guests to play when accompanied by a club member.