Golf: play or watch the game in UK/British/English/Scottish courses/clubs

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Golf in the UK


Sections:	Introduction
	Competitions
	Playing golf
	Vocabulary
	Links

INTRODUCTION

A brief introduction to golf in the UK. The modern game originated in Scotland in the 15th century (the most famous Scottish club is St Andrews, known as the "Home of Golf").

Buy products connected with golf:

Golf book ; Golf DVD ; Ticket to a golf tournament

COMPETITIONS

The four most important annual tournaments in international professional golf are known as the majors:
April: Masters Tournament (ending on the 2nd Sunday in April) played at Augusta National Golf Club in the US state of Georgia.
June: U.S. Open Championship (ending on the 3rd Sunday in June) played on a golf course in the US.
July: The Open Championship, also known as The Open or as the British Open (weekend containing the 3rd Friday in July) played on a golf course in the UK.
August: PGA Championship (4th weekend after the Open Championship) played on a golf course in the US.

In recent years the British Open is held at one of the following nine British golf courses:
- St Andrews, Scotland (the host course in 2015): http://www.standrews.org.uk
- Carnoustie Golf Links, Scotland: http://www.carnoustiegolflinks.co.uk
- Muirfield, Scotland (the host course in 2013): http://www.muirfield.org.uk
- The Ailsa, Turnberry, Scotland: http://www.turnberry.co.uk/ailsa-golf-course-scotland
- Royal Troon Golf Club, Scotland: http://www.royaltroon.co.uk
- Royal St George's Golf Club, England (near Sandwich, Kent): http://www.royalstgeorges.com
- Royal Birkdale Golf Club, northwest England: http://www.royalbirkdale.com
- Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, northwest England (the host course in 2012): http://www.royallytham.org
- Royal Liverpool Golf Club, northwest England (the host course in 2014): http://www.royal-liverpool-golf.com
For details of this year's competition, see: http://www.opengolf.com.

The Ryder Cup is a team competition between top European and US golfers. It takes place every two years (in even years) in September, alternately at a US and a European golf course.
The official website for this event is: http://www.rydercup.com

For the latest news about golf tournaments, see the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf

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PLAYING GOLF

Putting

Course at Gairloch in Scotland

Fore!

You can find a golf course or driving range using UpMyStreet: http://www.upmystreet.com. Select Find My Nearest … , enter a postcode or town name, select Find by category and choose Sport & leisure then Golf. The nearest ones will be listed first.

If you want to arrange a holiday to play golf on a course in the UK, a company which offers such golf breaks is: http://www.golfbreaks.com.

Click here to subscribe online to: Golf Monthly magazine
	Know the Game: Golf Publisher: A & C Black Date: April 2001	Bluff Your Way in Golf Author: Peter Gammond Publisher: Oval Books (book information) Date: December 1999
	Scotland's Golf Courses: The Complete Guide Author: Vic Robbie Publisher: Mainstream Publishing Date: March 2002	All Courses Great and Small: A Golfer's Pilgramage to England and Wales Author: James W. Finegan Publisher: Simon & Schuster Date: November 2003

VOCABULARY

If English is not your first language, here is some vocabulary which may help you to understand golf on television:

general: a round of golf, a handicap, pin placement, fore!, a play-off, a good/flat lie
equipment: a golf club (shaft, head), an iron (number 1 to number 9), a driving iron, a pitching/sand wedge, a wood, a driver, a putter, a golf ball, a caddy
scores on a hole: level par, a birdie (=1 under par), an eagle (=2 under par), an albatross / double eagle (=3 under par), a bogey (=1 over par), a double bogey (=2 over par), a triple bogey (=3 over par)
course: the teeing ground, the fairway, the putting green, the rough, a sand bunker, a water hazard, out of bounds, a hole (number 1 to number 18), a flag, the clubhouse
shots: a tee shot, a swing, a hook, a slice, a chip, a pitch, a drive, an approach, a lay-up, a putt, a hole in one, a stroke/shot, short/long shot, a trajectory

Distances are often expressed in yards rather than meters. 1 yard is about 0.91 meters.

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LINKS

Sport in the UK: Life/Sport
Monthly guide to events in the UK: Ideas/Events

Home page: Home

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© UK Student Life 2002-2012

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