Golf is regarded as an elite sport that is popularly played as a solo sports. While best known as a recreational activity, it is also a competitive sport featured at the Olympic games. Golf is also the only sport that comes under the category of the alphabet ‘C’ in the Olympic sports list! Golf has a rich history with its origins presumably dating back to the 15th century. It is assumed that the sport was first played in the Netherlands and then spread to other regions. The first set of rules for golf was established in Scotland, in a town known as St. Andrews –referred to as “the home of golf” back then.
Table of Contents
Golf at the Olympics
Golf was first introduced as an Olympic sport in the 1900 Paris Games. Soon after it was removed from the Olympics sport list as it did not garner much attention. However, after much discussion in 2009, the decision was implemented to reinstate the game at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. For the men’s game, Justin Rose from Britain won the title while Inbee Park from the Republic of Korea achieved the women’s title.
The most recent basic set of rules for a game of golf are as follows:
- Every round consists of 18 holes with typical professional tournaments adding up to four rounds.
- Each hole has a preset number of shots known as the par score which a golfer must complete.
- The first shot (tee shot) is aimed at finishing it in the nearest hole.
As for longer holes, a golfer should target the fairway – another mown area from where they can throw a shot into the hole.
The Best Golfers of All Time
With the Professional Golfers’ Association of America, we present you with a list containing some of the best-known names in the field of golf.
As for the world ranking for the best golfers, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, and Jon Rahm are the top 3 golfers, as of 2023 who have won major golf tournaments. There are four recognized tournaments for golf which include the Masters, US Open, (British) Open Championship, and (US) PGA Championship.
Xander Schauffele scored a gold medal in golf for America at the recent Olympic Games held in Tokyo 2020.
As for the women’s gold games, South Korea has been a dominating country with some notable names in the field such as Kim Sei-young and Ko Jin-young. As for the 2020 Tokyo Games, Nelly Korda from America won the gold medal while Mone Inami from Japan and Lydia Ko of New Zealand tied for second position with the same points.
Lydia Ko became the youngest golfer to rank as the number one when she achieved the top ranking for the Women’s World Golf in 2015 at just the age of 17. Truly an impressive milestone in her ongoing career – being an inspiration for all the young aspiring female golfers out there! Moreover, Atthaya Thitikul from Thailand ranked as the world’s number-one female golfer in 2022. Meanwhile, just behind Min jin Lee from Australia and Brooke Henderson from Canada claimed the second major rankings in 2022.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT GOLF
What is a tee shot?
This is the first shot that is taken on a hole.
Q. What does par score stand for?
In golf, par is the predetermined number of strokes that a proficient golfer should require to complete a hole, a round, or a tournament.
Q. Who is the best golfer of all time?
Jack Niklaus is regarded as the number 1 golfer having the highest number of world championships and other titles.
Q. Is golf an expensive sport?
Yes, golf is one of the most expensive sports out there.
Author’s opinion
Golf is a sport that requires great focus and determination, it is not a cheap sport as it comes with an expensive set of equipment! It is beginner-friendly yet not easy to master.
While a lot of people love playing golf – both as a leisure activity as well as a professional sport, there is a large chunk of people who perceive golf as a boring sport! Yes, that is true and this includes mostly the youth! Golf players are mostly older people such as businessmen who even have casual business meetings over a game of golf. I bet you might have seen this in some movie or TV show!
Hence, the big question is: is golf an interesting sport? As for me, I am somewhere between the two statements as I haven’t played it much. But I do believe that it serves as a great pastime activity which is healthy and productive!
