Golf

See also: Golf (homonymy)

The golf is a being played sport of precision in the open air and which consists in placing a ball in a hole using clubs. The goal of the play consists in carrying out a course codified in less possible blows. Precision, endurance, technicality, mental force are essential for this sport.

The origins of this Scottish play in France, with the name of cof , then in Holland under the name of goof , go back at least to XVe century (first mention in 1457). The modern golf is codified in 1854 by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of Saint-Andrews. The first course in France and on the continent of Europe is inaugurated with Pau in 1856. The British are at the origin of this establishment, because it before was very intended for their curists. On the other side of the Atlantic, the first course of golf of the American continent sees the day with Montreal (Canada) in 1873.

Between these two dates, it is advisable to quote the first edition of the British Open of Golf. The October 17th 1860, the British Willie Park Sr is essential on Prestwick on seven other competitors after three courses of 18 holes. Today, the golf counts more than 100 million practitioners throughout the world, in particular with the the United States and the Japan. In France, there is 367  000 bachelors for 550 courses.

Etymology

golf In spite of the very widespread joke (but distorts) indicating that " GOLF" would be the Acronyme of " Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden " (reserved with the men, prohibited with the women), the true origin of the word would be Scottish and would come from the word " gowf" meaning " frapper" as an old Scot.

History

See also: History of the golf of 1353 to 1850, History of the golf of 1851 to 1945, History of the golf of 1945 to 1999, History of the golf of 2000 to our days

The origins of the golf make debate like fascinating root at the same time in China, with the Netherlands and in Scotland. A play somewhat similar to the golf for the first time was mentioned in Dongxuan Records (in Chinese,), a Chinese book of XIe century. This play was also mentioned the February 26th 1297 in the Netherlands in a city being called Loenen aan of Vecht. It is in this place-even that the Netherlanders played this play, equipped with a stick and a leather ball. However, the Scot consider the golf as an invention of their country where the play was supposed to be mentioned in two laws of XIVe century prohibiting to practice the play of gowf .

Principles

" The Golf consists in playing a ball with a club since the starting surface to the hole by striking it of one or several blows successive in accordance with Règles" (rule).

Ground or course

See also: Golf course

The golf is practiced on a ground (or course) of golf. Generally, a course counts 18 holes but it can also comprise only 9, even less of them. Sometimes on a course of 9 holes, it is a question of carrying out 9 holes in a direction (to go) then to remake same the 9 holes (return), that is to say a total of 18 holes. There exist initiatory mini-courses of less than 9 holes which one names compact (or pitch and putt ). The major difference lies in the length of the holes, definitely lower than that of a course of 18 standard holes. It is possible to make competitions on the grounds of 9 holes but not yet on the compact grounds.

According to its establishment and the Architecte which conceived it, a course can present raised parts, bushes or shrubs, but also of the , water levels Rivières or Ruisseau X, which one names obstacles of water , delimited by yellow stakes (if the obstacle crosses the hole) or of the red stakes (if the water obstacle skirts the holes laterally). Placed at strategic places in order to make the ground gravitational, sand parts, called bunkers allow to spice the play. The course is the object throughout the year, and more particularly during the golfic season, of very attentive care.

Each hole comprises four zones: the fairway (where the grass is mowed short), the green, around the hole, (where the grass are very short, of a few millimetres), the semi-high grass (pre-rough) (where the grass is higher than on the alley) and the high grass (rough) (the grass is highest). Zones in repair, delimited by stakes of blue color, can also meet on the course and do not form part of it. In addition, the ways of approach and the zones around the buildings of service and the buildings themselves do not form part of the course. A ball arriving on these zones is regarded as lost. The imagery which consists in representing players to take again their blow on the roof of the club house is obviously a joke.

A fairway can have various forms to return the life of the Joueur a little more difficult. Most obvious is a narrow and lengthened form, up to approximately 10 m. The difficulty consisting in of course for the player drawing right and thus not seeing its ball arriving in the rough or being declared lost. Another form is the hole bent (dog-legg), on the right or on the left, ground forming an elbow with a more or less marked angle. The architects of course ingénient themselves to use many artifices for to mislead the player and to induce it in error or to return the more difficult life to him: false prospects, false slopes, masking hillocks, trees badly placed,…

The material

See also: Material of Golf

The material is composed of irons, wood and a rail (putter). The series of iron exist iron 1 with the lob-wedge, iron very open which makes assemble the ball very high after striking without making it roll after impact on the green. Irons 1,2,3,4 and 5 are made to carry out long distances mainly on the fairway whereas irons 6,7,8 and 9 are used for intermediate distances. The sandwedge, relatively open iron (approximately 56°) being used to leave the bunkers, and the lob-wedge are mainly studied for the approaches in edge of green.

Wood exist in faces 1,3,5,7 and 9, but can are rendrent up to 13. They are also called " wood of parcours" (except for wood 1 also called driver which makes it possible to send the ball far with a trajectory tended thanks to its very weak opening ranging between 8° and 11,5° which is generally used on the hillocks as departure) owing to the fact that the players use them mainly on the fairway in order to traverse a maximum of distance. The material is also composed of balls, essential to play, of tees for the departures, of raise-pitch which is used when you made holes on the green and of a glove. In competition, the player does not have the right to carry more than 14 clubs of golf in his bag.

Competition formulas of play, index and handicap of play

See also: Competition of Golf

The golf is characterized by a certain number of formulas of play of which most known and the most played are the part by blows (Stroke-play) where all the played blows count in the final pointing, the part by holes (Match-play) where two players clash and the winner of the hole is that which returns his ball with less blows. The final winner partly by holes is the player having gained the most hole in the part.

The vocabulary of the Golf

See also: Vocabulary of the Golf

The vocabulary used in the golf holds its source mainly in the English language because of its origines.
This is why, it is not rare to hear words such as by (normal - number of maximum blow to make on a hole not to lose points), birdie (oiselet - to make a blow in lower part of by), eagle (eagle - to make two blows under by), fairway (gone), green (green),…
Some of these words were preserved in French, such as drills which is the term that a player must shout if its ball is likely to fall on other player. In France and in the majority of the French-speaking country, one says ball quite simply. The renâcle French federation to translate all the terms, fearing that those then do not represent any more large-thing (birdie would become oiselet, eagle devriendrait eagle,…). It should be stressed that in Quebec the commentators of the international tournaments of golf use regularly the terms oiselet and eagle . These terms are accepted by the North-American French-speaking people and in the majority of the French-speaking countries others that European.

Techniques of the golf

Effects on the ball

Certain techniques of striking make it possible to apply an effect to the ball, in particular to play on its direction in flight or the ground.

Most known is the effect retro (" back spin"), which makes it possible the ball to rebound behind in contact with the ground, or to roll less, by applying a rotatory effect to him backwards (within the meaning of the course). This technique is used with the approach of the green so, for example, to avoid an obstacle (bunker, not water) located behind the green: the ball retrogressing, one avoids the obstacles of behind, but it can happen that because of a " effect; back spin" badly controlled, it is found in the obstacle located in front of the green…

The professionals manage to induce the effect retro on the first, the second, even the third rebound.

The effect making it possible to make go the ball from left to right instead of sending it straight is called the external hook (" slice"). The light external hook (" fade") is similar, but the ball changes direction to a lesser extent, and most frequently at the end of the vol. " is called; quick slice" an effect which leaves directly towards the line the objective and which continues to turn towards the line in flight (this blow is in general regarded as a missed blow!)

On the other hand, the interior hook (" hook") allows to carry out a trajectory curves from right to left. There exists also the light hook interior (" draw"), which induces an effect on the end of the trajectory of the ball. The " quick hook" is contrary to the " quick slice": it is a blow which runs directly to the left the objective and which continues to turn towards the left in vol.

The effects result from a balance between the speed of the ball penetrating in the air and its number of revolutions on itself. When the latter takes the top, the discounted effect becomes visible. They allow those which can control them more or less to make roll their ball on the long blows, and sometimes to circumvent obstacles placed on the trajectory (trees, etc), or to control the trajectory of the ball in the event of wind of through.

Even it is not a question itself strictly speaking of blows “for purpose”, one can mention here the other possible trajectories of ball:

  • the " push" ( to push English ): the ball leaves the objective on the right according to a rectilinear trajectory.

  • the " pull" ( to draw English ): the ball leaves the objective on the left according to a rectilinear trajectory.
" push" and " pull" can combine with the " hook" and " slice". One can make for example a " sweater hook" , the ball thus runs directly to the left and, at the end of the trajectory, has an effect towards the left. These blows are often described as " ratés" , because far from controllable.

Attention: the direction indicated is valid for the droitiers, for the left-handeds person, it is necessary to reverse left and right:

Life of the sport

Principal competitions

| valign=" top" width=" 50%" | |}

  • Challenge Turn

  • Alps Turn, dominated by the young French avant-garde of which the Basque Michael Lorenzo-Vera and the Lyonese Jean-Nicolas Block

Longdriving

Longdriving is a competition of golf of skill and force. It is necessary to succeed in placing further possible its golf ball on a surface of 40 rods (yards) broad. The candidate has 6 minutes and 6 balls to be carried out. The competitors have free choice in the length and the size of the head of the club which they will play. The most known competition is the world final of REMAX which is held has Mesquito (the USA). The world champion most known is Canadian Jason Zuback.

Famous players

  • List of golfers

Anecdotes

  • the astronaut Alan B. Shepard typed some blows on the the Moon with iron 6 and the two balls which it had carried in the capsule of the space mission Apollo 14. With the throw of javelin of Mitchell, also astronaut of Apollo 14, the golf thus joined the row of the extraterrestrial sports!

See too

Related articles

  • List of the large American courses of Material golf

  • of golf
  • list of the articles of Wikipédia on the golf

; Plays close to the golf

  • the Swin golf is played with only one club with three faces and a larger soft ball, on rustic grounds.
  • the Minigolf (or minis-putt) is played on tracks from approximately 1 meter broad and from 3 to 15 meters length with obstacles.
  • the Pitch and Putt, course with 9 holes of 70 meters each one, 2 by 2 (a pitch and a putt).
  • the Speed golf
  • the urban Golf
  • the Disc golf is played with frisbees of small size and consists in bringing the disc by successive throws in a kind of metal basket.

; Films treating of the golf

; Press on the golf

External bonds

  • Mechanical of the golf

References

Random links:1999 in music | 2nd regiment of marines | Canton of Capdenac-Station | Van of fire | Geomobile | Nelspoort,_cap_occidental