There are many fascinating facts about golf that many people know nothing about. For instance, the first golf “balls” were stones, probably rounded pebbles large enough to be used for the purpose. The stones were struck by wooden sticks along open ground close to the sea.

• The longest golf course in the world is the par 77 International Golf Club in Massachusetts which measures a fearsome 8325 yards.

• The highest golf course in the world is the Tactu Golf Club in Morococha, Peru, which sits 14,335 feet above sea level at its lowest point.

• The longest golf hole in the world is the 7th hole (par 7) of the Sano Course at the Satsuki Golf Club in Japan. It measures an incredible 909 yards.

• The largest bunker in the world is Hell’s Half Acre on the 585-yard 7th hole of the Pine Valley Course in New Jersey.

• The largest golfing green is that of the 695-yard, 5th hole, a par 6 at the International Golf Club in Massachusetts, with an area in excess of 28,000 square feet.

• The Ladies’ Putting Club in St. Andrews, Scotland is considered the very first miniature golf course. It was built in 1867 for practical purposes as it was considered unacceptable for women to take the club back past their shoulder during this time period.

• Golf as we know it originated in Scotland. Golf was banned in Scotland from 1457 to 1502 to ensure citizens wouldn’t waste time when preparing for an English invasion.

• Other fascinating facts include that when the golfer feels the ball make impact with the driver face, the ball has already been hit and is actually 14 inches away on its trip down the fairway.

• The chances of making two holes-in-one in a round of golf are one in 67 million.

• Balls travel significantly further on hot days, because they travel faster through warmer air. So try playing on warm days.

• There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball. The first golf balls were made of thin leather stuffed with feathers. Tightly-packed feathers made balls that flew the farthest. Feather balls were used until 1848.

• The longest drive ever is 515 yards.

• The longest putt ever is a monstrous 375 feet.

• The driver swing speed of an average lady golfer is 62mph; 84 mph for an average male golfer. 22.8% of golfers are women.

• The word golf does not mean “Gentleman Only, Ladies Forbidden”.

• 80% of all golfers will never achieve a handicap of less than 18.

• The youngest golfer to achieve a hole in one was Matthew Draper in 1997 at the age of 5.

• Tiger Woods snagged his first ace at the tender age of eight years old. Woods is the youngest golfer to achieve the Career Grand Slam at age 33.

Golf is a worldwide sport that started back in Scotland and gradually became a transcontinental game of enjoyment. There are champions in every sport, even golf. In the earlier days of playing, the top notch player was Arnold Palmer. Today, he is still a legend in the world of golf. Nicknamed “The King”, he is one of the biggest stars in golf history. He is one of the “Big Three” golf heroes who brought the game world renowned fame. He won both the PGA Tour and the Champion Tour multiple times since 1955. Along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, Palmer brought the game of golf to the world’s attention. He hailed the world from the first televised viewing of golf.

A more present day golf star is rising player Tiger Woods. This famous player started at the age of 2. Throughout his life, he has won more major tours than any of his predecessors. He has been named player of the year over four times in a row. And he is the first African American to have won a title in a major PGA event. His long drives made big headway in the golf world. He is one of only 5 players to have completed the Career Grand Slam and he is the youngest player to do so. At age 34, it is clear that we can expect many more great things from this player in the course of his career.

Tiger Woods is not only a great golfer, but he is also a humanitarian. He has donated to multiple charities and even founded his own Tiger Woods Foundation aimed at helping disadvantaged children to be able to pursue a career of their choice. He started a new event within the PGA directed at these children. There are grants and even an educational center to teach children the ways of golf. He has also founded many children’s golf tournaments and clinics nationwide.

A rising star, Rory McIlroy is already ranked 26th in the overall world golf rankings. The scary part is that he is only 20 years old! Having already played in 3 of the 4 majors and achieving a respectable rank in all of those tournaments he is poised to become one of Golf’s future star. He is already ranked 5th in terms of odds to win the 2009 British Open, coming ahead of of experienced players such as Ratief Goosen and Ben Curtis. I will be he will be the dark horse of the British and come in as high as 2nd and if Tiger has a bad game then he may even win!

There are many programs and scholarships for children for any kind of sport.  Very rarely do you hear about programs for golf.  But many non-profit organizations as well as legendary pro golf players have started programs or facilities for underprivileged children.  Not everyone can afford to buy the necessary equipment for their child’s sport interests.  These programs make it possible for underprivileged kids to participate in lifelong fulfilling enjoyment.

Tiger Woods founded a school for children having included a learning center and a private course for children whose circumstances would never enable them to follow their dreams.  Many other programs like Boys/Girls Clubs, Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts, Big Bros/Big Sisters, Children’s Aid, Fresh Air Fund, United Way, high schools, middle schools, and SUNY have come together to help children be able to enjoy a sport they might never have tried due to lack of funds.  There are scholarships and grants to promote kids’ dreams of pursuing careers or hobbies in golf.  Many times the events are sponsored by players who have themselves been in the same shoes as the children they are trying to help.  Usually there is a local pro there to help out and assist in teaching the kids proper technique and form.

Some programs like All Golf Kids even pay for underprivileged children to attend major tournaments and events like PGA, Champions, and LPGA Tour Events and visit private country clubs – Wykagyl (LPGA Big Apple), Winged Foot (US Open 2006), Westchester (Barclay’s Classic), Commerce LI Classic, and other events & venues.  This gives the children an eye opener to what golf can really be like as a professional player.  They can even get a chance to talk to some pro golfers.

The great thing about programs like this is that they focus on children who are at a disadvantage from their peers.  Their parents may not have enough money to foot the bill for their child’s interest.  Or maybe they somehow became disabled.  These programs then step in to give these children their dreams and give them a chance to prove themselves when normally it could not happen.

Today’s youth have started taking an interest in golf. When starting to foster a child’s interest in golf there are several thing to think about. The first is to make sure that they have the proper equipment to use. In my opinion the most important is a good pair of golf shoes. You will want your child to be comfortable while they play. The next thing to look at is golf clubs. You will want to keep in your child’s body in mind. There are several manufacturers that have golf sets designed for youth.

When starting a child out, your best bet would be to take him or her to a driving range so they can get use to just hitting the ball and become familiar with the different types of clubs. If you are unfamiliar with golf you can always find a friend that plays or speak to a golf instructor. These people would be able to work with your child to develop their game.

Another good resource for parents these days is your local school. Many schools these days have started their own golf programs.  Regardless of how you get them started, continue to encourage their interest. Golf can be a fun pastime and there are great health benefits to playing golf as well. Golf helps youth get outside and enjoy the fresh air, and they can get great exercise while doing it.

Once they have reached a level where they are ready to compete against other youth you can enter them into local tournaments. This will also help them learn good sportsmanship.  Just remember to let the child decided when he or she thinks they are ready to participate in a tournament. Participating in golf programs and tournaments can foster good social interactions with other child. If you take the time to let your child learn this game, it can be something they will enjoy for a lifetime.

There are several types of golf course. These are broken down into three basic categories, ownership, setting and length. Many of these courses do overlap in categories but here I have broken them down to their basic categories. The first is ownership, just as it implies this type of course is categorized by who owns it and how they make a profit from them. There are several types of these. There is private owned course, which are for members only, public course which is open to anyone,  resort courses that are owned by a hotel or vacation resort and university owned course to name a few. 

The next one is determined by setting. A links course is a seaside course that closely resembles the course that originated in Scotland where golf began. Oceanside course are similar to links course by offering the same great views but with are well above sea level. There are also mountain course, which is kind of misleading in name because of the fact they are not in the mountains, but do offer great views of the surrounding mountain terrain. Desert course are usually found in the US southwest and are heavily irrigated to allow for the course to be made in the desert environment.

Finally there are the courses that are categorized by lengths. The most common one that is played is the full-length course, which can range from anywhere between five thousand to over seven thousand yards. The holes on these courses can range from eighty yards to over six hundred yards. There are also par 3 course which consist entirely of par 3 holes. These holes are the same length as par 3 holes on the full-length courses. Then you have what are called Cayman golf courses. These are a much smaller type of course which require you to use a special ball called the Cayman ball. This ball reduces the distance the ball travels while still allowing you to use a full swing like you would use on a regular golf course. This type of course is typically built to still allow you to enjoy your golfing experience while squeezing a course into a space that the large courses could not fit into.

The main objective of golf is to score lower than all of your opponents.  Par is the word used to describe how many strokes a skilled golfer should require to complete play of the hole.  For example on a par 4, a skilled golfer should take 2 strokes to get to the green and another 2 putts to put the ball in the hole, Thus making for a par 4.  Most players like to get under par on each hole.  Every time you hit the ball, this is counted as a stroke.  There are penalty strokes if your ball lands in a hazard on the way to the green. 

Many of the scoring terms used in golf are associated with birds due to the fact that originally golf was played on seaside courses.  If you have made par, then you are right on track with using the exact amount of strokes to finish that hole.  If you use less strokes to sink the ball, then the name will change.  A hole in one is called an ace.  One under par is a birdie.  Two under par is an eagle.  Three under par is an albatross, and four under par is a condor.  There are also specific names when you shoot over par.  One over par is called a bogey.  Two over par is a double bogey.  Three over is a triple bogey and so on and so forth.   The term bogey was used as a result of one man’s quote during a competition.  It was shortly after the idea of par per hole was implemented. Mr. CA Wellman (possibly Major Charles Wellman) exclaimed to Dr Browne that, “This player of yours is a regular Bogey man”.   From then on, the term “bogey” was used in the game of golf.

The scores from each hole are added together to get a golfer’s score.  The player with the lowest score wins.  If by chance there is a tie, then there are two options to determine the winner.  Either sudden death or playing a pre-determined number of holes is used to decide.  Most times, judging parties declare sudden death in which the opponents play one hole and whoever had the lowest score on that hole wins the game.

The International Golf Federation has been pushing for the inclusion of golf in the Olympic Games. They feel that golf has its right along with all the other sports to be included. Tiger Woods, acclaimed golf legend, is backing the IGF in their bid for golf to be included in the Olympics. Along with Woods, there are several other professional players who are fighting for golf’s right to be included. Golf is an internationally played game. It is played in more than 110 countries by more than 60 million men and women. There are more than 30,000 golf courses and facilities around the globe. There are at least 30 countries who would be willing participants in this endeavor. Players from both the men’s and women’s professional tours want to represent their countries. There are golf courses already in existence in any of the cities that bid to host the Olympic Games. So unlike other sports that may need venues to be built, golf has no need for construction. Another advantage is that golf is a widely televised sport. It is viewed in many different countries, and if it were included in the Olympic Games, many people would watch it. Due to the recent decline in televised viewings of the Olympics, the introduction of golf to the games would benefit greatly. Many people watch golf tours on the television and would most likely follow their favorite players to the Olympic Games which would boost TV ratings. Olympic Games are usually games that have tradition of honor. Golf is a game that has always had a tradition of honor, in which players will call penalties on themselves if necessary. You keep your own score in golf, which depends on the players being honest with the number of strokes it takes to finish each hole.