In the article “Golf” we will tell about the favorite game of English monarchs, consider brief rules of the game, as well as find out what is the secret of the golf ball.
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The Chinese believe that modern golf came from the ancient Chinese game of Gul Wang. It was popular in the Celestial Empire 2,300 years ago. A similar game was played in Holland in the 13th century. The French and Belgians also consider golf their ancestral heritage.
But officially it is believed that golf as we know it today was born in Scotland. According to legend, the game was invented by Scottish shepherds who drove small stones into rabbit holes with their sticks for fun. And then this simple game evolved into a classic golf. Its homeland is the Scottish town of St. Andrews.
The game soon spread throughout Scotland. It became so popular that in the 15th century it led to an amusing incident. Parliament had to issue a special decree that forbade the game of golf because it made soldiers stop practicing archery. But the game was so popular, and proved so viable, that no amount of prohibition stopped its admirers from continuing to pursue their favorite pastime.
So the first golf clubs, as well as the rules of the game, also appeared in Scotland, where the first tournaments were held. Then the game was picked up by the British, and then golf began its victorious march across the planet.
In addition, golf is the only interplanetary sport on Earth. During the third expedition to the moon, astronaut Alan Shepard decided to play golf. From one blow of the club, the ball was able to fly several thousand meters because of the weak gravity.
It is all the more strange that with such a solid history, golf did not receive Olympic recognition for a long time. In the second and third Olympic Games, golf was played, but then it was cancelled. Attempts to bring the game back into the Olympics were repeated from time to time. Finally, the patience and perseverance of fans of the sport have been rewarded, golf was officially included in the list of competitions in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
While golf may appear to be a pedantic and sedate game, the rules of golf are varied and the challenges are not limited to hitting the steel tool on the ball. In the game, the participant is supposed to pass a certain number of holes, usually 18, and necessarily in a given order.
On the field of play, in addition to the holes, there may be various barriers, water obstacles, obstacles with sand, as well as trees, bushes and tall grass. The hole is not only the hole where you have to put the ball in, but also the area where it happens. Each site has three zones, the starting tee, the main fairway and the green. On the green and is the very hole in which the player must drive his ball.
This is the approximate procedure:
First, the ball is on the tee. The player hits it with his club and sends it flying. His task is to make sure that the ball lands on the court, preferably with the first strike. Then the player takes a few strokes through the fairway, which are different obstacles. And finally, when the ball is on the green, roll it into the hole.
After the player puts the ball in the hole, he moves on to the next section, another hole. Depending on where the ball ends up after the next shot, the player chooses the putter for the next shot.
There are clubs for long strokes, for short accurate strokes, clubs for sand, for grass. A player is allowed to use a maximum of 14 types of clubs in one game. Each stick has its own name. The game starts with a stick called “wood”, it is heavy and allows you to send a ball 300 meters in flight. Further into the game are lighter weapons, they also have names: “Iron”, “Wedge”, “Putter”.
In addition to the name, sticks differ in numbers. The game ends with a putter, which is used to roll the ball on the 3rd zone, the green. Not only do you have to deal with all the clubs, but each course has its own rules. So, golf is a whole science.
International golf tournaments and mini-golf are held quite often. The most important one is the Masters, the championships in the U.S. and Great Britain.
Golf has been around for quite some time and has evolved from a game of shepherds to a sport with big money prizes. The richest sportsman in the world is also a golfer, Tiger Woods. He won all the major tournaments, and more than once. He became famous in his youth, when he was a junior.
In 2000, he became the No. 1 player in golf and maintained that reputation for 19 consecutive years. Over the course of his career, Tiger Woods was able to earn the status of the highest-paid athlete on Earth. This man can calculate the accuracy of a stroke with the accuracy of one millimeter.
In our country golf is not yet as popular as in Western countries, but we have our own heroes. The first professional Russian golfers were Denis Zherebko and Alexander Strunkin, and golfer Maria Verchenova set an Olympic record in 2016 by having the best round score at the games.
Nowadays in our country golf clubs are being opened in many cities and golf courses are appearing. This is not a simple matter, because the golf course is a complex engineering object. The structure of the course is like a layer cake, and the quality of each layer depends on the quality of the game.
At a depth of 1 meter is a drainage system. Without it, any, even the shortest rain can turn the game into a mud fight. Therefore, for every 100 m2 there is 1 well, where the extra moisture flows down through special pipes.
The second layer is the complete antipode of the second, it is an irrigation system. After all, it is not only necessary to get rid of groundwater and precipitation, but also to water these expanses. At a depth of 50 cm, plastic communications are located, from which sprinklers are removed.
And finally, the third layer, the green. The course is covered with special grass, which is the product of many years of genetics. Golf is actually a large-scale game, the length of the standard course is 7.5 km, an area of 75 hectares.
It must be said that some golfers believe that it is possible to play not only on the green grass, sand and even snow will do. And the eccentric members of the golf club from Scotland even bought a plot of land for the course on the moon.
If you look at the way a golf ball flies, it looks like it has some kind of engine built inside. It flies so far and so high. The ball has no engine inside, but it has properties that give it unique characteristics.
The old balls, covered with many dents from hundreds of hits, flew longer distances than their newer counterparts. Manufacturers also noticed the amazing quality of the old balls and decided to conduct an experiment – to release balls previously covered with small dents. The results exceeded all expectations.
The smooth balls were immediately forgotten about. After much experimentation the best shape and size of the indentations on the surface of the balls was found and they have since got their present shape.
A golf ball is said to be the fastest in the world; neither a soccer nor a basketball can compare with it. Its flight speed is 70 m/s, ie about 250 km per hour, which equals the speed of a racing car.
What is the secret of the golf ball? It turns out that notches improve the aerodynamic qualities of the ball. In other words, they reduce the drag that the air exerts on the flying ball.
Immediately after impact, the air begins to flow around the ball, rubbing against its surface and, of course, getting into the recesses. The air is trapped in the small pits, forming vortices. These swirls remain in the pits and move on with the ball.
Thus, these eddies form a kind of lubricant between the ball and the air flow coming at it. And just as normal lubrication reduces friction inside the moving parts of the mechanism, this air lubricant reduces the resistance of the ball as it flies through the air.
Also, as the ball flies, the air presses harder against the bottom of the ball than the top, which creates a pressure differential and lift that also helps the ball stay in the air longer.
Golfers always face a difficult question in choosing clubs, and only experience gained from golf practice will help. Though there are not yet so many golf courses and professional golf clubs in Russia, but if you are fascinated by this sport, you can find out where you can learn to play it.
The sections where I teach the game exist mainly in the central part of Russia. Some sections accept children as young as 5 years old, because there are no heavy physical loads in golf. But this sport perfectly develops memory, eye measurements, movement coordination, concentration and determination.
If it happens that you do not have a golf course or a sports club in your town, do not worry. You don’t need 14 clubs to learn the rules, but you do need to understand the game.
About Golf
FAQs
What is golf?
Golf is a game sport in which a participant or team tries to roll a ball into a hole in as few strokes as possible. In the game, the athlete must pass several holes in a given order bypassing artificial obstacles (trees, bushes, water objects, sand).
Who in golf wears clubs?
This responsibility is assigned to the caddie. The caddie means "afterbirth" in French; his tasks include not only carrying inventory, but also helping with advice, moral support, and keeping score in the game. The caddie has its own association and even has its own hall of fame.
Why are there big prizes in golf?
Golf is a very expensive sport, as it requires considerable resources: the purchase and maintenance of courses (the average course size is 30 hectares), the cost of golf equipment (clubs, golf carts), the cost of training and the time spent on acquiring skills. Moreover, every game on the course costs money, regardless of whether it is a practice or a small tournament.
