Your Best Link to the "Links"--A Brief History of GolfWritten by Larry Denton
Golf, as we know it today, originated from a game played on eastern coast of Scotland during 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 games of Kolven from Holland and Chole from Belgium influenced 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 argument, there is no dispute that Scotland gave birth to game we know today as golf. The status and popularity of golf spread quickly throughout 16th century due to it's royal endorsement. King Charles I brought game to England and Mary Queen of Scots, who was French, introduced game to France while she studied there. In fact, term "caddie" stems from name given to her helpers who were cadets in French military. The Gentlemen Golfers of Leith (near Edinburgh) was first club(formed in 1744) to promote an annual competition and to draft club's rules. The first reference to golf at historic town of St. Andrews was in 1552. The now famous clubhouse was erected there in 1854 and Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews became premier golf club because of it's fine course, publication of rules, and it's promotion of 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 first time, ordinary people could explore countryside as weekend visitors. Golf courses popped up all over United Kingdom and people could enjoy challenge of playing a different one each week.
| | Simple Ways to Groove Your StrokeWritten by Larry Denton
Golf is a game filled with exasperating contradictions. All golfers understand that game requires concentration, but not over-thinking, a strong focus, yet ability to see "big picture," and a rigid routine, but one which allows for creativity. As Bob Hope once remarked, "If you watch a game, it's fun. If you play it, it's recreation. If you work at it, it's golf." Nowhere are contradictions more apparent than on green, where a simple task--pushing a ball into a hole in ground--is loaded with tension and anxiety. Golfers have attempted everything from expert instruction to hypnosis trying to make every putt on green. Relax, even pros can't do that. Rather than making occasional monster 35 foot putt, your goal should be to master a few techniques that will enable you to sink those most important putts--those pesky 3 to 10 footers--with greater confidence and much more frequency. Three primary skills need to be mastered in order to become a proficient putter. First, keep you head down! Seeing ball at impact is a simple idea, but it is too often over-ridden by excitement of wanting to see where your ball is going. Lifting your head, even slightly, to watch path of your ball before it has been struck can mean a change in angle of your putter head, which often results in a line significantly off target, even for short putts. Just as important as keeping your head down is keeping it still. A second major skill is to learn to visualize. Amateur golfers typically read their putts by examining only immediate path from ball to hole. In fact, you should scan as broad a perspective as possible when assessing a putt. Try to develop a mental picture of entire green--where high side is located, severity of tilt, and a general idea of speed, break and ball path.
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