Golf, Distance, and Senior Linksters

Bits & Pieces by Don Eskins

While driving through the Ozark Mountains a while back, I heard a young man make an interesting comment about his golf game on a sports radio station that I was listening to.

The young man, one of Misso

uri’s top prep players, had just won a big tournament in the area.

When asked by the broadcasters what he liked most about the golf course he had just won on, the young man replied, “Mostly, I liked the par five holes. Although par fives, they were relatively short ones.

“Because of how long I’m driving the ball right now, I was able to be on or around the green after just two shots,” he said. “So, they became good holes for me to card birdies on.”

After listening to the young man, I had to chuckle just a bit.

As a senior, I guess that’s why I enjoy the par three holes so much. Because of how far I’m driving the ball, I can usually be on or around the green in two also.

Golf Trivia for Duffers

Ever wonder why a golf course has 18 holes? Probably, at one time or another, most people have.

Evidently, the reason I heard, the one I liked the most, wasn’t true.

I once heard that when the game first

started in Scotland, men would take a shot of Scotch after each hole. Each bottle, as you’ve probably guessed, held 18 shots. When the bottle was empty, the round was over.

For me, it was kind of sad to learn that this rendition of why golf courses contained 18 holes wasn’t true at all.

Actually, the 18-hole standard comes from the historic Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. In 1764, golfers redesigned the layout, which originally consisted of 12 holes. At that time, linksters would play down 12 holes and then back for 10, making it a 22-hole course.

Later, however, they combined the first four short holes of the original 12 into one. This reduced the 22-hole round into the 18-hole format, nine up and nine down, as we know today.

Because St. Andrews is considered the birthplace of modern golf, other courses eventually adopted the 18-hole standard as tradition. (AI)

Funny One Liners for Golfers

1. “My golf game is so bad I had to have my ball retriever regripped.”- Bob Hope

2. “You can talk to a fade, but a hook won’t listen.”- Lee Trevino

3. “The reason they called it golf is because all of the other four-letter words were taken.”- Raymond Floyd

4. “If you drink, don’t drive. Don’t even putt.”- Dean Martin

5. “If you hit a ball right, it’s a slice. If you hit it to the left, it’s a hook. If you hit it straight, it’s a miracle.”- Lee Trevino