User:Danielumbro/Scottish Golf

Intro:

Golf was invented in the United Kingdom but more specifically it was created in the country of Scotland. When golf first started out they did not have metal clubs or any high end clubs you see today. They had to use pebbles and modified wooden sticks in order to play There were no groomed golf courses when the sport first started and they had to play in a natural course and they had to use rabbit holes . Ever since the start of the game, it was reported to quickly take off. 18 hole courses started to be made, clubs were being made to hit balls rather than rocks and pebbles, and it was slowly being recognized as a sport . The sport that originated in the small country of Scotland is now recognized by majority of the world. It is reported that there are roughly 38,000 courses around the world and in 250 countries .

King James VI

Background to the sport in the country:

In 1457 parliament banned golf in Scotland. Parliament did this because guys were golfing a lot and it was distracting them from training for the military. After the ban by parliament people were still playing golf. In 1502 golf was unbanned by King James VI. When King James VI unbanned golf he started to play golf. No one knows where he first played but he enjoyed playing the sport . The rabbit holes that the shepherds used is where the St. Andrews course is now . When St. Andrews first started they did not have as many holes as modern courses have. They started out with 11 holes . So golfers would play 22 holes. In 1764 they changes the amount of holes from 11 to 9. This lowered the amount of holes played from 22 to 18 which people were happy with. Modern courses follow the 9 and 18 hole course after St. Andrews changed the number of holes.

Style of play:

In addition to Scotland being the birthplace of the sport, it is also the birthplaces of the different way you can play the game. The main ways to play the game are match play, best ball, scramble, stroke play, etc . The main way to play golf in Scotland is match play . Majority of the tournaments in the country are all on a match play format. It is believed by most of the country that this is the most fun and creative way to lay the game . A win the hole style of play makes players focus on winning each individual hole rather than trying to collectively shoot a lower score. This is very different then the rest of the word due to everyone else following more of a stroke play format. Interestingly enough ten years after St. Andrew's Society of Golfers was created, stroke play was invented. Stroke play is when golfers count the number of hits it takes to get the golf ball into the whole. Each hole is assigned a number of strokes that it should take you to get the ball in the hole. The assigned number of strokes depends on the length and the difficulty of that hole . Even though this style of play originated in the country it is really not played that much.

Tournaments held in the country:

The Open Championship

Scotland is recognized as the home of golf. There are many famous tournaments that are held in Scotland. One of the biggest tournaments that is held in Scotland is The Open Championship. This tournament is usually held in Scotland but sometimes it is held in England. If the tournament is held in Scotland then most of the time the St Andrews will host the tournament. St Andrews is one of the oldest courses in the world. Another famous golf tournament that is hosted in Scotland is the Scottish Open. In 2011 the Scottish Open changed the course that they play. They used to play at Loch Lomond Golf Course. Now they play at Castle Stuart Golf Links.

Courses:

Scotland is home to the first golf courses ever created due to the sport originating in the country. These golf courses are very different than golf courses created today in the United States and all over the world. These original courses are referred to as Links style courses. These courses are found in Scotland, Ireland, and England. Many courses in America claim to be link courses in their titles but they do not really encompass what a true links course is. A true links course is usually found along a coast line with a lot of sandy soil . This type of terrain was great for golfing for many reasons. One of the main reasons was because the specific soil on the land caused the grass to not really grow that much, meaning that course maintenance was never needed. In addition the rain received in Scotland did not cause any issues to the land due to the soil being so forgiving that it naturally drained the water that would come from the rain .

Example of Links Style Course

Links style golf courses are also believed to be one of the hardest type of courses to play. Since a lot of the link style courses sit on water fronts, this means there is a lot of wind coming from the water along side the course. Causing the area around the course to be incredibly windy . That being said there are a lack of trees and surrounding structures to help slow down the wind, causing the wind to be very un forgiving. The wind plays a huge factor on how players handle the course. Players that shoot their golf ball high into the air will struggle a lot due to the wind taking their ball . Very skilled players are capable of this so people who are able to flight the ball lower have a lot of success on courses like these.

Scotland is home to some of the best and nicest courses around the world. Below is a list of some of the top courses in the country .

• St. Andrews
• Kingsbarn
• Turnberry
• Carnoustie
• Royal Troon
• Muirfield
• Royal Dornoch
• Royal Aberdeen

Famous Golfers:

Scotland has some of the oldest and best courses in the word. Scotland also has some of the best golfers .

• Old Tom Morris 4 Tour Wins 4 Majors
• Young Tom Morris 4 Tour Wins 4 Majors
• James Braid 19 Tour Wins 5 Majors
• Colin Montgomerie 54 Tour Wins 3 Major Wins
• George Ducan 22 Tour Wins 1 Major
• Sandy Lyle 32 Tour Wins 2 Major
• Paul Lawrie 15 Tour Wins  1 Majors
• Benard Gallacher 22 Tour Wins
• Bob Fergason 3 Tour Wins 3 Majors