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Golf Clubs: How To Bag The Best Price
Getting great prices on golf clubs, as in most hard goods, is a 2 step process these days. First find which model you want in person, then get the best deal on the internet.
So you'll want to start with a visit to pro shops and sporting goods...
How to Maximize Your Fitness Results
What I am about to reveal to you can make a drastic change in the out come of your fitness results. Many of us are willing to dedicate a decent number of hours each and every week to our workout plan. But quite often we do not always see the...
Know Your Golf Clubs - Your Golf Putting - Use These Putting Tips
To begin golf game, your golf practice game or your golf putting practice; study the art of keeping your eye on the golf ball.
When putting it seems to be just natural to let your eyes follow the backswing. To correct this you might turn the...
What is Golf Exercise Equipment…And How Can It Help
Golf exercise equipment can be a variety of pieces; but what truly is golf exercise equipment? You’d be surprised to find out it is not expensive; and is not necessarily in a gym or health club either. Yes…there are golf “machines” for stretching...
Yogalates for Golf
To swing a golf club simply rotate back then rotate forward while shifting your weight accordingly around the axis of motion of each hip. To this simple version of the swing, add a few things such as a good grip, proper weight transfer, maintain...
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Your Best Link to the "Links"--A Brief History of Golf
Golf, as we know it today, originated from a game played on the eastern coast of Scotland during the 15th century. Players would hit a pebble around a natural course of sand dunes and rabbit trails using a stick or a primitive club.
Some historians believe that the games of Kolven from Holland and Chole from Belgium influenced the game. The latter being introduced into Scotland in 1421. However, while these are stick and ball games, they are missing that vital ingredient that is unique to golf--the hole. Whatever the argument, there is no dispute that Scotland gave birth to the game we know today as golf.
The status and popularity of golf spread quickly throughout the 16th century due to it's royal endorsement. King Charles I brought the game to England and Mary Queen of Scots, who was French, introduced the game to France while she studied there. In fact, the term "caddie" stems from the name given to her helpers who were cadets in the French military.
The Gentlemen Golfers of Leith (near Edinburgh) was the first club(formed in 1744) to promote an annual competition and to draft the club's rules. The first reference to golf at the historic town of St. Andrews was in 1552. The now famous clubhouse was erected there in 1854 and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews became the premier golf club because of it's fine course, the publication of rules, and it's promotion of the game as a proper sport.
By this time, golfers were using proper clubs and balls. Club heads were made from beech wood and some heads were made from hand-forged iron. Shafts were usually ash or hazel wood. Balls were made from tightly packed feathers wrapped in a stitched horse-hide sphere.
The industrial revolution brought with it many social and economic changes. The growth of railroads gave rise to mass tourism and for the first time, ordinary people could explore the countryside as weekend visitors. Golf courses popped up all over the United Kingdom and people could enjoy the challenge of playing a different one each week.
Since most golf equipment was handcrafted it was, therefore, quite expensive and golf was
dominated by the wealthy. Once metal club heads and shafts and gutta percha balls (1848) began rolling off production lines, the average person was able to afford golf.
The growth of golf as an organized competitive sport in the United Kingdom was paralleled abroad in India and the United States. In 1894, the United States Golf Association (USGA) was established to regulate the game in the U.S. and Mexico.
By 1900 there were more than 1,000 golf courses in the U.S. Chicago was the first to sport 18 holes. Importantly, American golf courses were specifically designed like parklands unlike those in the U.K., which were typically links courses.
The beginning of the 20th century brought several technological innovations to the game of golf. The one piece rubber-cored ball appeared in 1900, and grooved-faced irons were introduced in 1902. In 1905, William Taylor invented the first dimpled ball and in 1910, steel-shafted clubs first appeared. Within a decade, golfers could hit further and with more accuracy than ever before using equipment which was mass produced rather inexpensively.
While there have been thousands of unbelievable golf shots throughout the centuries, the most famous golf shot must surely belong to Alan Shepard who hit a ball on the moon in 1971, watched by an audience of millions around the globe. Golf--the first sport is space! The club he used can be viewed in the USGA museum in Far Hills, New Jersey.
As prize money grows, so does the sport of golf itself. Millions of people around the world now play the sport, and other millions watch the game religiously on television. Golf is a game for young and old, short and tall, thin and hefty. Golf is truly a "people's game," and continues to grow in popularity.
About the Author
Larry Denton is a retired history teacher having taught 33 years at Hobson High in Hobson, Montana. He is currently V.P. of Elfin Enterprises, Inc., an Internet business providing valuable information on a variety of timely topics. For a club house full of advice, resources and suggestions about golf, visit http://www.GolfWhole.com
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