Category: History
The sport of golf is over a thousand years old -- so old, in fact, that its origins are shrouded in mystery. The earliest written record of golf dates to 1497, when King James banned golf in Scotland because it interfered with archery practice. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews was formally recognized in 1754. Names from golf's history come easily to any fan of the game: from Old Tom Morris to Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and, of course, Arnold Palmer.
Black Golf History
Before Tiger Woods, there was Charlie Sifford, Lee Wright, Bill Spiller and Lee Elder. Africans Americans have never been fully embraced by the sport of golf, which makes the history all the more interesting.
Just in time for Black History Month, a company called Negro Golf League Clothing has written a press release with some interesting tidbits on African American golf history.
35th Anniversary of The Golf Shot On The Moon
Today is the 35th Anniversary of Alan Shepard’s golf shot on the moon. Shepard hit two with a collapsible club that he had smuggled on board Apollo 14.
The Mystery of David Strath
David Strath was one of the finest golfers of his age, competing against Young Tom Morris, and a three time runner-up in the Open Championships of the 1870s. He had a chance to win in 1876, but refused to participate in a playoff.
Strath disappeared two years later, and no one seeed to know his fate.
It turns out that he ended up in Australia, where he died shortly after arriving.
The story of the discovery of the grave of Strath is in Australia’s The Age.
Top Ten Golfers With One Major
In honor of the passing of George Archer, Sports Illustrated has created a list of the top ten golfers with one major.
Their list: Lanny Wadkins, Tom Kite, Davis Love III, Fred Couples, Corey Pavin, Hal Sutton, Craig Stadler, Ian Woosnam, Paul Azinger, and Mark Calcavecchia.
They also mention Archer, David Toms, Steve Elkington, Justin Leonard and Jim Furyk.
There are, of course, others who won only one major, but many of those were flashes in the pan, such as Jack Fleck, but without a string of other victories, they can’t be considered.
Anyone want to add others to consideration?
How The Scots Gave Golf To America
I really like the coverage of golf in The Scotsman. Here’s an article on how the game of golf migrated from Scotland to the United States. Its a really good history piece.
