Golf is a very popular sport due to its numerous benefits. First of all it is considered as an excellent way to exercise for anyone who wants to practice. Literally, everyone can play golf including men, women and even children, which makes this sport an interesting activity for the whole family. This sport is very known for its ability to improve balance and muscle strength, although researches on the subject are not yet complete. However the results of recent studies show that elderly people who play golf have stronger muscles. Also, it has been scientifically proven that golf boosts mental health. The latest studies revealed that golf can improve self-esteem, self-confidence, and can even reduce anxiety and depression, which also allows to live longer. In addition, golf allows people to be socialized. Playing golf can be a great way to spend more time with friends or even make new ones. If you already belong to a club, it can be an excellent opportunity to establish contacts in order to expand your professional network with potential collaborators or to develop deeper relationships. Finally, it is a sport that you can practice with family or friends, regardless of their age: golf is good for both physical and mental health and makes life more enjoyable. Are you a fan of Golf or would like to go back to the source of this fascinating sport with tangled origins? Whether you are just curious, amateurs or professionals, you will read this article why golf is not a sport like any other. I asked Franck Peltier to tell us more about it.
Golf: an elite sport?
What are your favorite Gold legends? Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Fijian Vijay Singh, Severiano Ballesteros, Norman Greg, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo, Payne Stewart, Nick Price, Ernie Els, Sandy Lyle, Jose Maria Olazabal, Ben Hogan, etc.? A name is missing? Would you like to complete the list? If so, with what name? Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Gary Player, John McDermott, Jock Hutchison, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, Willie Anderson, James Braid, Harry Vardon, John Henry Taylor, Senior Willie Park, Mungo Park, Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris, etc.? Or with little modesty, Franck Peltier ?
To go through all these big names, the evidence remains: golf, whose modern origins date back to the 16th century European, is an atypical sport.
Derived from the German « Kolbe » meaning « stick », then derived from the Dutch « colf », the term golf refers to an elite sport codified in Scotland in 1754. Sport of precision, endurance, technicality and concentration. Playing in the open air, golf involves sending, in fewer shots possible, a ball in a hole with the help of clubs on a defined course. Golf is usually played on an 18-hole golf course. However the courses with 9 holes or below exist. Savannahs, bushes, lakes, rivers and streams can strew the course. These water obstacles are delimited by yellow or red stakes depending on whether the obstacle crosses or runs along the hole laterally.
Four areas make up each hole: « fairway », « green », « pre-rough » and « rough »; all accompanied by repair areas delimited by blue stakes. This is part of the golf standardization process based on thirty-four (34) rules arranged in eleven (11) sessions.
Golf is a sport that highlights the equipment that a good golfer must have: pairs of shoes, a golf bag, golf tees (wooden or plastic support intended to be planted in the ground at starting from a hole to place the ball), golf balls and wooden golf clubs, iron or putter (short distances) used to hit the ball. Other important elements complete the decor: gloves, pants or short pants for the bottom (for women skirts and shorts), a shirt or a T-shirt for the top, a vest, a cap, a cart and the famous cadet. Called « caddy » in English, it is a bag carrier to do everything, employed as a counselor and moral support of the golfer. Franck Peltier told me he wished to have one to support him on golf courses.
Inspired by ball and stick games from Antiquity to the Roman era, imported from the Netherlands where it was originally practiced following fruitful trade with Scotland until its codification and popularization in the 18th century, golf enjoyed a boom in the second half of the nineteenth century thanks to the emergence of private clubs and a surge of professionalism. Occupied by professionals from all over the world, the first British Open was born in 1860. The Americans put an end to British supremacy since the First World War, which redefined and prioritized leadership in this elite sport. The Second World War marks the opening of the sport to several other nations in Europe, Africa and Australia.
The sport will be recognized as an Olympic discipline after two historic trials in 1900 and 1904 before disappearing from the world sports scene for more than a century. Thanks to a session of the Olympic Executive Board in 2009, golf is back in action at Rio 2016. Franck Peltier was able to witness this major event ! Long practiced by men, opening little by little to the female population despite the colossal challenges related to its popularization, golf is regulated on a global scale by the International Golf Federation (IGF) born in 1958 with Lausanne as its seat (Swiss).
The biggest contemporary golf tournaments in Franck Peltier’s opinion.
On October 9, 2009 in Copenhagen, golf is recognized as an Olympic sport, more than a century after its entry into the Olympic circuit. The contemporary golf circuits, divided into men’s and women’s tournaments, as well as tennis, are well-known and are a hot topic for the media.
The Golf is first practiced locally and can lead to international competitions involving most professional golfers.
The Association of American Professional Golfers (PGA) holds about twenty professional golf circuits. At the top of these circuits rests the Grand Slam with its four major tournaments: the Masters (April), the American Open (June) and the British Open (July) and the PGA Championship (August).
The Women’s Grand Slam has five tournaments after several formulas tested by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA): the Kraft Nabisco Championship (March-April), the LPGA Championship (June), the American Open (June-July), the British Open (July-August) and The Evian Championship (September). The Canadian Open, also called Classique du Maurier, has been supplanted by the British Open.On October 9, 2009 in Copenhagen, golf is recognized as an Olympic sport, more than a century after its entry into the Olympic circuit. The contemporary golf circuits, divided into men’s and women’s tournaments, as well as tennis, are well-known and are a hot topic for the media.
The Golf is first practiced locally and can lead to international competitions involving most professional golfers. That’s one of Franck Peltier‘s hope.
The Association of American Professional Golfers (PGA) holds about twenty professional golf circuits. At the top of these circuits rests the Grand Slam with its four major tournaments: the Masters (April), the American Open (June) and the British Open (July) and the PGA Championship (August).
The Women’s Grand Slam has five tournaments after several formulas tested by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA): the Kraft Nabisco Championship (March-April), the LPGA Championship (June), the American Open (June-July), the British Open (July-August) and The Evian Championship (September). The Canadian Open, also called Classique du Maurier, has been supplanted by the British Open.