Golf Clubs and Grooves - The New Rules

From 1st January 2010 professional golf will be subject to new rules about groove depth and edge sharpness in the design of golf clubs. Rounded groove edges and reduced volume will make a significant difference especially when playing out of the rough.

The makers of this controversial rule change have the future well-being of the game at heart. They want to see a greater emphasis on accuracy rather than sheer power. Inaccurate tee shots into the rough will not always be as easy to recover from as they have in the past. They want to roll back a situation in which technology has to some degree taken over from skill.

Many players think that this is a step in the right direction, even though it means that their equipment will lose a degree of technological sophistication. Others are less convinced.

The UK golf magazine Golf Monthly for January carries a 10-page discussion of the pros and cons of this change. They bring together views from the Royal & Ancient, from 30 players on the European Tour and from club manufacturers.

Their conclusion, after testing clubs with groove configurations compliant with the new rules, and after surveying Golf Monthly readers, is that although top players on tour will in future have to pay more attention to accuracy as against power, the average player will in all probability notice little difference. In any case the rules will not apply to the amateur and club game for several years.

For a detailed look at the facts and the arguments for and against why not subscribe to Golf Monthly? There’s much more in this January issue, and you’ll also have the confidence that you won’t miss an issue in coming months. You’ll be up to date with news, get great training tips and be kept abreast of developments in equipment, as well as being generally well-informed about the world of your favourite sport. What’s more, you get more than 30% discount over buying it from month to month.

Golf News from Around the World

As we start to build the site we’ll be including pages like this from time to time with links to golfing news from around the world. Sometimes these will be accompanied by video clips.

Today we have news of the Asian Tour for 2010, the Chevron World Challenge and a newsy article from the BBC.

Golf365 | Golf News | Asia expand their 2010 Tour

“We are delighted to announce our 2010 Schedule which will include a minimum of 28 tournaments with over US$39 million in prize money, which reaffirms our position as a major international golf Tour,” said Kyi Hla Han, the executive chairman of the Asian Tour. …

Furyk Wins Tiger's Chevron Tournament — Golf FanHouse

Woods, the tournament host, wasn’t around to present the trophy to one of his favorite players on the PGA Tour. He withdrew because of unspecified injuries from his Nov. 27 car accident, yet Woods remained part of every conversation …

BBC - BBC Sport: Iain Carter: Woods is not golf's only talking point

Everyone knows that Tiger boosts viewerships and interest in tournaments so instead of scaring him away from the golf course maybe it would be a positive for the tour if he were to come back sooner rather than later. …

Pebble Beach - History of a Golf Course

It is more than twentyfive years since I was staying in the Monterey area on the California coast with members of my family who were privileged to live there in that beautiful area for several years.

One afternoon I was driven out along the coast and admired the spectacular scenery in the are of the Pebble Beach golf course. I have never played golf there, but the memory of the surroundings of this course have often made me think what a marvellous place in which to hit some balls.

Now, Pebble Beach: The Official Golf History by Neal Hotelling has been published, and Amazon have it available at a very substantial reduction. This would make an excellent gift for a golfing enthusiast family member or friend, especially anyone who has played on the California coast..

Click on the image above to buy from Amazon.com, or for an extended view of what to expect why not take a look at the following article from a recent issue of the The Herald of Monterey County.

Historical links: Pebble Beach golf book released

Editor’s note: Triumph Books has released “Pebble Beach: The Official Golf History,” written by historian Neal Hotelling with photography by Joann Dost.

For more golf books click on one of these two links:
Golf Books (UK)
Golf Books (USA)

The Golf Ball - A Technological Wonder

When anything moves through the air, whether an arrow or an aeroplane, the science of aerodynamics comes into play. This is no less true for the golf ball. From simple balls, probably made of carefully carved wood, in the early days of the sport in Scotland the golf ball has come a long way.

In the 17th century there was a major development. High quality golf balls began to be made from tightly compacted goos feathers surrounded by a thin leather cover, made from eith horse or cow hide. The technology, although now it appears quite basic, was in fact highly innovative at the time. The feathers and leather were assembled while wet, and then on drying the leather shrank, the feathers expanded, and a hard, tightly formed ball was created.

These golf balls were expensive to make as each had to be separately handcrafted, and eventually further progress was made. As tropical supplies of rubber became more widely available this newly popular raw material was pressed into the service of golf. Some thing like mass production became feasible, and good balls became more accessible to a wider range of golfers.

However, there was a problem. With modern knowledge it can now be seen that the aerodynamics of a smooth-surfaced rubber golf ball were not ideal. It was harder to hit a rubber ball the same distance as one of the old style feather balls.

As knowledge of air flow around moving objects became more advanced it was possible to design golf balls for maximum performance. The dimples currently seen on golf balls are there for a reason. They aid the flow of air, and allow the ball to be hit further. The pocket of low pressure behind a moving smooth-surfaced ball drags it back, whereas dimples create a form of turbulence around the ball which eases its passage through the air.

These and other changes steadily improved the performance of golfers, both as to the length and controllability of shots, until at last in 1921 the modern standard weight and size golf ball emerged. There is now a wide variety of golf balls. They must comply with certain basic criteria to be acceptable for competition use, but still the technology advances.

Woods and Federer: A Friendship of Champions

When people daydream about becoming the best of the best, the top of their chosen field, few pause to consider the potential drawbacks that such elevation may bring. Yet, for those who are truly remarkable within their own discipline, being so vastly superior to all the other competition can be surprisingly difficult to comprehend. Being the best has its perks, but one must also concede that it can be worryingly lonely.

It is therefore little surprise that two champions, who have dominated their respective sports for much of recent memory, have forged a friendship based on understanding how lonely being the best can be.

In golf, Tiger Woods has been there and done it all. The king of the greens, he is so vastly superior to most other players on the golfing circuit that few bother to even imagine success against him.

In tennis, Roger Federer has very nearly – with the exception of the French Open, which proves elusive – been there and done it all. The king of grass, he plays with the grace of a ballet dancer and many opponents know they have lost before the first ball has even been served.

Woods and Federer have become close friends, these two giants of their own sports. The two were brought together by Nike, who saw the potential of these two living sporting legends and united them for an ad campaign. They have since starred, together with footballer Thierry Henry, in advertisements for razor brand Gillette alongside their Nike commitments. Before the 2007 Wimbledon final – in which Federer played his tennis arch-rival Rafael Nadal – Woods recorded a video message for Federer, via Nike, encouraging his friends to win his fifth title. Both men confess to a friendly rivalry as to who can win the most majors in their respective sports; currently, Woods holds the record at 14, with Federer on 13.

Their friendship has extended beyond the advertising suite. In 2006, Woods was photographed supporting Federer from Federer’s own players’ box as he bid for the US Open title. Both have also openly talked of their friendship in interviews and how it has helped them; citing that only each other, out of everyone on the planet, can really understand the position they are in.

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!

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

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. 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.

Golf Clubs – No, The Other Kind

When you take up golf, one thing that you will almost always seek to do is get membership of a club. The fact that a club is both something you use to hit a golf ball and something you join in order to get the chance to hit a golf ball has led to no small amount of confusion in the past. But simply put, if your friend tells you he is going to join a golf club, he probably does not mean that he is going to attach himself to a reinforced titanium stick while, unless your friend is very wealthy, should he tell you he is going to buy a golf club on his lunch break, he probably doesn’t mean he is off to put a down payment on several acres of real estate.

Joining a golf club is actually surprisingly difficult in many cases. There has been no small amount of controversy in the past over people seeking to join one and being refused on what seemed like either very arbitrary, or possibly heavily discriminatory, grounds. One of the world’s most famous clubs, the Augusta National (home to major golf competition the US Masters), first had a black member in 1990. As of yet, it has never had a female member, although it does allow women to play the course as guests of its members. The Augusta National is far from the only club not to have female members, but it is – as the current permanent home of the Masters – the highest-profile club with single-sex membership. Its chairman, Hootie Johnson, says that the club may well have female members in the future, but that he will not be threatened into making a change.

In general, though, most golf clubs have a far more relaxed membership policy than the Augusta National or Scotland’s Muirfield, although in many cases membership policy is dictated by the club’s current members whose own opinions and motivations are theirs and theirs alone. The best way to ensure you can get membership of a club is to be friends with someone who is already a member. A little light lobbying on their part, and if you are lucky, you’ll be given the call.

Tiger Woods – A Golfer Like No Other

There is something amazing about the world’s number one male golfer in this day and age – and it is not just his race, although this makes him pretty unique. No, Tiger Woods is remarkable for so many reasons that he transcends race, and makes the curiosity value that surrounded him for much of his early career completely irrelevant. Whether you like golf or not, you will undoubtedly have heard of him, and this is not something that could have been said for most of the people who preceded him in golf’s premier ranking.

From an early age it was clear that Tiger Woods was a phenomenon. At the age of two – yes, that’s right, two – he appeared on American television showing his adeptness at putting and a year later he played nine holes at California’s Navy Golf Club, making his way around in 48 shots. Now if you don’t know much about golf, take it as fact that that is amazing. Many adult amateurs would dream of shooting 48 for a nine-hole round. To do it at the age of three is incredible.

Tiger Woods turned professional at the age of twenty – not especially remarkable in this day and age, but certainly one of the younger players ever to do so. By the time he had turned professional he was already marked out as one of the most exciting prospects the game had ever seen – in fact, probably undeniably the most exciting. There was no doubt that in terms of coverage, he gained some extra attention for being of mixed race. But the coverage was far more than anything due to the fact that he just kept winning.

As things stand, with Woods just back in the game after eight months out following surgery on his left knee, he remains the top-ranked golfer on the PGA Tour. Despite the injury – with which he played the entire US Open in 2008, and won – Woods’ place was untouched, and at the age of 33 he has spent 536 weeks (more than ten years) at the top of the world rankings. That is more than the three next most successful men in the rankings put together. Those three men? Greg Norman, Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros.