{"id":4688,"date":"2016-02-15T06:00:02","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T14:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=4688"},"modified":"2016-02-15T07:50:27","modified_gmt":"2016-02-15T15:50:27","slug":"golf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=4688","title":{"rendered":"Golf :-) #%&@!"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Bob Sparrow<\/p>\n

\"golf<\/a>I love golf.<\/strong>\u00a0 I think it is the greatest game ever invented.\u00a0 It requires both unique mental and physical skills, it combines camaraderie and competition and it\u2019s one of the only sports you can play while smoking a cigar and drinking a beer.\u00a0 Personally, I’ve had the pleasure of playing some magnificent courses from Kapalua, Hawaii<\/strong> to Kiawah, South Carolina.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hate golf.<\/strong>\u00a0 It is exasperating, demeaning and expensive.\u00a0 It brings out the worst in us, it impugns our self-worth and facilitates, no encourages, cheating. \u00a0Personally, my first bad experience with golf was when my high school golf coach said after a round, \u201cThe best two balls you hit all day were on #7 when you stepped on a rake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kapalua\"<\/a>

Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii<\/p><\/div>\n

If you play the game, you know exactly what I\u2019m talking about; if you don\u2019t, there\u2019s no way to explain the fascination of hitting and chasing a little white sphere around a cow pasture.\u00a0 To try to put it in perspective for both camps, I would say that golf can be defined as 4\u00bd hours of a series of calamities interrupted by an occasional miracle<\/strong>, or as John Feinstein put it, ‘a good walk spoiled’.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The subject probably needs a little fuller vetting, so let\u2019s tee it up.<\/p>\n

\"golf<\/a>

Scots skipping work to play golf<\/p><\/div>\n

Golf<\/strong> had an ignominious beginning, (what a surprise) dating as far back as 1261<\/strong>, when the Dutch<\/strong>\u00a0cursed while they played a game with a ball and a club. \u00a0But the modern game of golf is considered a Scottish<\/strong> invention where the first documented mention of golf was in Edinburgh<\/strong> in 1457<\/strong> when King James II<\/strong> banned golf in an attempt to encourage archery practice, which was being neglected. So even back then, men were sneaking out of work to play golf.<\/p>\n

Some say it was named golf because all the other four-letter words were taken, but the word for \u2018club’ ‘striking\u2019 or \u2018cuffing\u2019 – lord knows I\u2019ve \u2018cuffed\u2019 the ball many a time, has an interesting etymology. \u00a0The word started out spelled as \u2018gowfe\u2019<\/strong> which led to \u2018gouff\u2019<\/strong>, which led to \u2018gowf\u2019<\/strong>, which led to golf<\/strong>, which led to club throwing, sandbagging, and in the 70s, white men dressing like black pimps. Personally, I think the word will ultimately evolve into \u2018goof\u2019<\/strong>. And it\u2019s probably not a coincidence that golf spelled backwards is flog<\/strong>. Some say the name golf came from initials that meant G<\/strong>entlemen O<\/strong>nly L<\/strong>adies F<\/strong>orbidden, but that is just an ugly rumor probably started by a man whose wife could beat him at the game.<\/p>\n

And why, you ask is golf made up of 18 holes, not 10 or 20 or an even dozen? \u00a0The story goes something like this:<\/p>\n

\"KiawahIsland\"<\/a>

Kiawah Island, South Carolina<\/p><\/div>\n

During a discussion among the club’s membership board at\u00a0St. Andrews, Scotland<\/strong>\u00a0in 1858<\/strong>, one of the members pointed out that it takes exactly\u00a018 shots<\/strong>\u00a0to polish off a fifth of Scotch<\/strong>. By limiting himself to only one shot of Scotch per hole, the Scot figured a round of golf was finished when the Scotch ran out.<\/p>\n

A great story, but unfortunately not true. Early courses were 5-7 holes, played two or three times. It wasn\u2019t until 1764<\/strong> that golfers at St. Andrews<\/strong> decided to combine the first four short holes into two to produce a round of 18 holes, although it was still a 10-hole course with 8 holes being played twice. However, it would be over 100 years before 18 holes became the standard for golf frustration.<\/p>\n

In my opinion the best explanation of the origin of, and exasperation with, the game of golf comes from the late, great\u00a0Robin Williams<\/strong>; even if you’ve seen this before or not a fan of golf, I think you’ll enjoy this short video. \u00a0Spoiler Alert: there are a few f-bombs in the video, OK quite a few, so get the children out of the room before listening.<\/p>\n