12-07-2004, 01:06 PM
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#5
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easily amused
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: my office
Posts: 9,781
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i don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but....
Quote:
Why are there 18 holes on a golf course?
Initially, there was no standard number of holes on a golf course. St Andrews for example had 22 holes until about 1764 when 4 were merged to make an 18 hole course. As far as we can establish, there is no specific date for when 18 holes became the standard number of holes on a course. In 1858, the R&A issued new rules for its members; Rule 1 stated:
“one round of the Links or 18 holes is reckoned a match unless otherwise stipulated”.
We can only presume that, as many clubs looked to the R&A for advice, this was slowly adopted throughout Britain. By the 1870s, therefore, more courses had 18 holes and a round of golf was being accepted as consisting of 18 holes.
http://www.britishgolfmuseum.co.uk/faq.asp
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see also:
http://www.usga.org/questions/faqs/usga_history.html#8
http://www.snopes.com/sports/golf/18holes.htm |
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