Allsports and some facts about Golf

So if your following sports on the web or sports news in the print media, you will have heard that Tiger Woods won the Buick Open for the third time on the weekend. It was Tiger’s 69th PGA tour victory and was hosted at Warwick Hills, in Michigan.

You have to hand it to Tiger as he is so consistent at hitting that ball into the cup. He makes the game look easy when you know darn well that it is not.  You have to respect his game even though he does not necessarily respect other sports as I wrote in a previous article titled, ” Tiger Woods would not know a real man’s sport if it bit him in the Ass”, which I wrote in June of 2008.

The popularity of the game and the attention that it receives in the sports news media got me a little curious as to the origin of the game. What I found is that not everyone can agree on where it’s roots come from. Some would argue that the game was derived from the Roman game called paganica, around the 1st century BC, while others claim that it’s roots are in China where the game Chuiwan was played between the 8th and 14th century. According to the most widely accepted account, however, the modern game originated in Scotland around the 12^th century, with shepherds knocking stones into rabbit holes on the current site of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.

St Andrews is the oldest golf course in the world and the first written evidence that the game was played there was documented in 1552. The course it’s self dates back even earlier to the reign of King James IV, where documents reveal that he purchased golf clubs at the course in 1506.

Today and in 1891

What ever argument you wish to support the game of golf is one of the oldest sports in our recorded history. The North American Indians, with Lacrosse and the Irish, with Hurling may argue that their sport is older but documentation on them is fuzzy at best.

Here is a little allsports trivia for everyone. Did you know that the word golf is actually derived from an acronym. Back in Scotland, when the game as we know it was invented. It was ruled ” Gentlemen Only…. Ladies Forbidden” and thus, the word Golf entered into the English language.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

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