Watch The Birdie? No, Wait, Was That An Eagle?

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Watching golf can be a very confusing way to spend time if you are a novice to the sport. Like any sport, it has its own scoring system, but that is a little idiosyncratic in itself.

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Then there is the way the players dress, which in some cases is enough to confuse anyone in possession of a working pair of eyes. But perhaps the most confusing element of watching a game of golf is the seemingly arcane terminology used to refer to different elements of the game. This can make the whole sport seem like some sort of prank being played on an unsuspecting novice. So maybe some of the terms need to be explained better.

Firstly, what is with those terms used in the scoring system? Well, “par” had been used for anything that was considered an acceptable standard for years before its application in golf. So in this respect, it was a new application of existing terminology. But why “Bogey” for a bad score? Well, the story goes that a song of the late 19th Century had the lyric “I’m the Bogey Man, catch me if you can”. This led to people seeing the “bogey” on the golf course as something to be aimed for – and among amateurs, who still tend to play off a handicap, it still is. But the term was used interchangeably with “par” for many years, only adopting its current meaning in the early 20th Century.

As for “birdie”, this comes from further back than “bogey”. Early in the 19th Century, the word “bird” was used in much the same way as people nowadays would say “cool” – something that really stands out and impresses. Playing a hole in one shot fewer than is expected – now that is cool, surely? Hence the term “birdie” came to be used in reference to people doing just that. So why an “eagle” for someone playing a hole in two shots less than the par? Well, it’s obvious, is it not? It’s a kind of birdie, but it is bigger. And as you may have guessed, the use of the term “albatross” to describe playing a Par 5 hole in two shots is simply a continuation on that theme.

A History of Balls And Holes: Golf Through The Ages

In terms of the sports modern society is used to, golf has one of the longest and most interesting histories. This is a sport that has been dominating the public conscious for nearly 500 years, and as with anything with roots in Medieval times, has been forced to adapt and change as the world around it does so too.

The first game of recorded golf was in 1456 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
This, however, does not mean the Edinburgh game was the first time the sport was played, merely that it was the first time a person took the time to write down the events. In a period of low literacy levels, it is little wonder that some golfing historians say the game has social origins up to 200 years before the first recorded date.

The game itself was recorded in the archives of the Edinburgh Burgess Golfing Society, and can still be seen today. This confirms golf as a primarily Scottish game, which soon became popular throughout Europe and eventually the world. Much of the spread from Scotland is attributed to King James, who in 1603 became the first monarch of both Scotland and England, creating what we now know as the United Kingdom. Having grown up in Scotland, when King James became King of England following the death of his kinswoman Elizabeth I, the game came south with him. Golf obviously now has a worldwide appeal, yet the Scottish roots remain, with many famous courses still being played by world famous players in the northern country.

The foundation of golf is widely accepted to be the act, usually done by shepherds, of knocking stones into rabbit holes in Scotland during tedious watchings of sheep flocks. From these humble beginnings, the worldwide popular game we now know and love is believed to have stemmed.

All of the traits we associate with modern golf originated and were developed in Scotland. This includes the first 18-hole golf course, the first set of written rules of play and the first membership of golf clubs. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Saint Andrews is a popular destination for the golfing fan, due to their vast collection of documentation about the foundation of the game.

While some argue that golf has changed and developed from a basic game of hitting stones into rabbit holes to the cultural phenomenon it is today, others say simply: it’s still just about hitting stuff into holes. While this opinion may be crude, it is nevertheless truthful.

So, Having Minus Points … That’s Good?

If you have never followed golf before, or if you are explaining it to someone who never has, the weird and wonderful world of golf scoring makes for an interesting way to spend a bit of time. In so much of life, we look to have positive numbers. Minus ten degrees is really cold, while plus sixty is nice and mild. On your bank statement, you never want to see a minus and if you do, the number next to it had better be pretty small. We even assign the words “positive” and “negative” where numbers are concerned, and nothing can be more prejudicial than that, right?

So to have a sport where you actively set out to record as low a score as possible will always be confusing for some. It makes perfect sense to the golfer and the golf enthusiast, though. Indeed, it helps to think of golf as a race of sorts – a race between men in ill-designed knitwear and slacks rather than lycra, but a race nonetheless. When you’re watching athletics, you know it’s been a good race if the numbers next to the winner’s name are low. Although if, as in golf, those numbers are in the negative then maybe it’s time for drugs tests all around.

The thing to keep in mind with golf is that you have a set number of shots which is judged as a fair limit in which to get around the course, called a par. On an eighteen-hole course this will almost always be between seventy and seventy two. The ideal is to get a score that is less than this – to get around the course in, for example, sixty eight shots. If you hit 68 on a course with a par of 72, then you have recorded a score of four under par, which is recorded on your score card as –4. In a professional tournament, there may be as many – indeed there usually will be as many – as four rounds. So for a competition around a par 72 course, the competition par will be 288, and the winner will always be the person with the lowest score.

Clubbed To Death? Your Wallet May Think So.

Anyone who takes up golf will have one immediate and expensive concern to take care of – the equipment. And we are not talking about offensively garish knitwear and those hats with sun visors on them although, if you are interested, those will cost a pretty penny too. No, think more along the lines of the equipment you will need in order to actually play the game. If you are going to play golf with any kind of regularity, and any kind of seriousness, then let’s just say that golf clubs – in both senses of the word “clubs” – will take up quite a bit of your disposable income.

This piece, though, will concentrate on the clubs that you carry around with you, the ones you use to hit the ball. A casual glance may have you believing that these are very simple items, made from metal, wood or some combination thereof, with a rubber grip. But if you are to fit in down at the country club, you will need state-of-the-art clubs to play with. The latest clubs are all the result of a lot of research and some extremely technical design work, built to optimise the distance you can get on your drives, the spin on your approach shots, and the accuracy in your putting game. These are the kinds of club that Woods, Mickelson and Els use and, although they won’t make you play like the professionals, they will give you some of the advantages those guys have.

The fact is, for a decent beginner’s set of golf clubs you will be looking at potentially getting no change from an outlay of $300. This will be a set that contains three woods (unfortunately, not Tiger – he would help anyone’s game), five irons, a driver, a putter and two recovery clubs (usually a pitching wedge and a sand wedge). There are more clubs available, and the average professional will have a few more in their bag so that every situation is covered. But those guys can afford to pay a caddy to carry their bag, and pay them handsomely to carry more weight. Unless you have that kind of money to spend, it is worth taking into account that the average beginners’ sets will suit your needs admirably, and individual clubs can always be added as and when you feel the need (and as your caddy’s upper-body strength improves).