Golf soon started to take shape and throughout the 16th century, it became one of the most popular sports of its time. This created a demand for golf courses. The first basic course was at Perth, shortly followed by Carnoustie.
Carnoustie, founded in 1527 as a basic golf course, has since been developed by progression in the game. This course has matured into a championship course, known for its immaculate design and expert green-keepers.
The quality of courses in the 16th Century improved greatly. Holes became more difficult and more bunkers were appearing along with trees, thick rough and hazards such as water and out of bounds. In the late 16th century, parkland courses started to emerge along with many links courses due to the environment some courses were situated in. One of the first and most famous golf courses in the world is Royal St Andrews. It is the most popular championship course in Scotland. It is known for the difficulty and attention to detail in its design.
Championship Golf courses are situated all over the world from Royal Melbourne in Australia to Shinnecock Hills in North America. All of these courses have been created to be legendary. The greens on golf courses can make a course extremely difficult.
An example of a difficult green is Shinnecock Hills in the PGA Championship this year. Normally a two to four foot putt would not be a challenge but a slight miss hit or over reading a putt was very costly. Some putts when hit very lightly, could travel off the green. The greens were intensely fast due to the heat that day; they had to water the green every fifteen minutes to stop the grass from burning.
If we compare the greens now to what they were, the contrast would be great. Now the greens are cut “as low as they go” and are treated with the utmost care. However in earlier times they were cut short but nothing compared to what they are now. Also they are fertilised and treated now as before they were not.
Major golf tournaments and matches started in the early 20th Century. Golf tournaments 1940s had golfing legends playing in them such as Jack Nicklaus, Billy Casper and Arnold Palmer. These three players were the first ever to have received more than a million dollars in career tournament earnings. Prize money in tournaments was not very much to begin with. You had to play in many majors to get anywhere near the million-dollar mark.
After golf had received more funding, more and more players started to become professionals and showed great talent. In 1996, one of the most famous names in golf started to appear - Tiger Woods. 1996 is remembered “as the year of the tiger.”
Tiger Woods impressed the world with his tournament wins and his skill for golf. After playing in only his 15th professional competition, Tiger won the Masters with a performance that transcended the game. The world was amazed by the success of this player who became the youngest player ever to win the Masters at the age of 21.
Major Tournaments in the present day include The Masters, The British Open, The USPGA and The US Open. They have been around since the start of golfing tournaments. Golfing Competitions have players from all over the world turning up to play their sport: from Great Britain, New Zealand, the USA, Australia, Africa and many other locations. These competitions were in place to determine who the best golfer that year was and who had the most talent. They have always been very competitive. Players wanted to win every Major to prove they were the best. Golfing events have now rapidly increased; now there are events all over the world. Where as before there were very few events.
Having looked at the contrast between the start of golf and the present day you can see how much the sport has changed, from prize money to the differences in courses. Golf has changed rapidly due to it increasing in popularity and taking the world by storm. Just as it was always intended.
