Golf: An ancient sport with a lot of jargon. The most widely accepted account of the origin of golf is that it started in the 15th century in Scotland. There are, however, references to a game resembling golf from the year 1297 in the Netherlands, a game which involved a wooden club and ball.

Some say that golf was introduced from China during the Middle Ages through the Chinese game of chuiwan. Others trace golf back even further, to ancient Rome in the 1st century BC. A Roman game called paganicus played at the time involved using a curved stick to hit a stuffed leather ball. According to this theory, games that were precursors to the modern game of golf were spread across the Europe with the expansion of the Roman Empire.

Terminology in Golf

The earliest confirmed reference to the version of golf that modern sports fans would be familiar with is from 1457 when King James II of Scotland made golf illegal, along with football, because he believed that it interfered with archery training. The ban was lifted in 1502 by King James IV, after which it became a popular sport.

Because of its long history, golf has gained a lot of traditions and interesting jargon, as well as the development of specialized equipment and multiple styles of golf carts . Some terms are common and well-known, while others are quite obscure or have lost their original meaning. Let us look at a sample of golf terms and their origins.

Links – A type of golf course that is common in Scotland built on the coast. One example would be the Saint Andrews course, one of the oldest courses in the world, dating back to the 16th century. Although many golf courses are called links, what makes a true “links” is a coastal course with grass covered dunes where there are no trees. The word links comes from a Scottish Gaelic word meaning “dune” or “ridge.”

A related term is linksland which refers to a coastal dune environment. This reflects the historical development of golf and how it was played. Early golf courses had to be built in areas away from farmland and where there was enough natural uneven topography that it was not necessary to do a lot of earth-moving, which was expensive in those days. Coastal dune fields are unsuitable for farming and provide natural uneven topography, so they made ideal places for playing golf.

19th hole– Another name for the clubhouse bar, this term comes from the fact that a game of golf has 18 rounds. After finishing a game, golfers will go to the clubhouse for drinks, so, when they say they are playing the 19th hole, they are enjoying drinks after the game.

Tee – The stand used as a platform to make the first strike at the ball at each hole, the word comes from the Scottish Gaelic tigh meaning “house.” It is related to a term used for the circular goal area into which players are supposed to push rocks in the game known as curling. This is reasonable, since golf players are supposed to swing their clubs in a circular motion to knock the ball off the tee. A related word is tee-box which is an old word for the teeing ground. It reflects the fact that, before the 20th century, golf balls struck off piles of sand carried in little boxes instead of tees.

Snowman – To score eight on a hole, this comes from the fact that the Arabic numeral for eight looks kind of like a snowman.

Ace– To get a golf ball directly into a hole from a tee-shot; it is also called a hole-in-one. It is easiest to do with the shortest distance golf hole (par 3 holes), but some skilled golfers can accomplish a hole-in-one for the longest distance holes, though this is not possible for most of them.

Although there is some skill involved in these shots, a lot of it is considered luck. Thus, many professional golfers do not consider it as impressive as do non-golfers, since you don’t necessarily need skill for it. This, however, did not stop the rise of the urban legend that the North Korean government claimed that the Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il made 5 aces his first time playing golf to make him appear supernaturally gifted in golf-playing skills.

Kikuyu – A type of thick, fast-growing grass native to southern Africa. It is not easy to grow in temperate or woodland climates but is used in African golf courses. These golf courses take an extra element of skill since the golfer needs to know how to putt the ball through thick grass and avoid getting eaten by cheetahs. Yes, a golf course can be a dangerous place .