10 Interesting Facts about Golf

In the age of LLM's researching interesting facts about a topic is a real challenge. Almost every link brings up a list of interesting facts that mirrors every other list. Whether it's about Ab Smith coining the term "birdie" when he exclaimed, "That was a bird of a shot." Or that golf doesn't stand for guys only, ladies forbidden, rather it comes from kolf which means stick, or colve which means to strike, or some other variant of a word that sounds phoenitcally similar to golf. Or the "fact" that Scotland invented golf. This list isn't simply a repeat of every other "interesting fact list", this list comes from the parts of the attic that are covered in cobwebs.

The Ball

1. The dimples in the golf ball allow the ball to fly straighter and further than a ball without dimples, about twice as far. This was discovered when golfers using smooth wooden balls would give there beat up balls to their caddies after the round and the caddies would end up hitting the ball much further. The dimples turbulate the air and lessens the drag that would otherwise reduce driving distance.
2. There are over 5,000 patents granted and related to golf balls.

The Course

1. The origin of bunkers can be traced back to sheep digging with their hoofs to find protection from cold winds. Instead of filling the holes in, it was decided that they should be a feature to avoid for added difficulty.
2. There are approximately 16,000 golf courses in the United States, if there are 18 holes on each course, that means there are 288,000 holes. That means there are more golf holes in the U.S. than there are people in St. Louis, MO, based on 2024 estimates.
3. The longest golf course is 848 miles long! Nullarbor Links is situated along the Eyre Highway on the southern coast of Australia. The idea was to break up the long drive and reduce the dangers associated with driver fatigue. The average distance between holes is around 40 miles and the longest distance between holes is 120 miles. You can buy a scorecard at either end of the course for $70 and at each hole you can get a stamp to certify that you played the hole. https://www.nullarborlinks.com/

The Play

1. The insurance companies that underwrite hole-in-one contests put the odds of a hole-in-one being made at 12,500 to 1 for amateurs and 3,000 to 1 for professionals.
2. Maybe you’ve heard the old adage, “drive for show, putt for dough” that may hold true for amateurs, but between the years 2010-2020, results suggest that the long game accounts for 73% of the variation in total strokes gained compared to short shots at 11% and putting at 17%. To be clear though, those results are from the professional level.
3. Mary Queen of the Scots was one of the first women to play golf. During her visit to France in the 15^th century, she would play while being guarded by French military aides that had the title of cadet. The cadets would carry the royal golfers’ clubs and help them out during the round. Thus the term caddy was born.
4. On average, golfers overestimate their driving ability/distance by 7%.

The Players

1. Lee Trevino has been struck by lightening three times, once during a PGA tournament that he subsequently had to pull out of due to hospitalization.
2. Phil Mickelson is actually right-handed, he just grew up watching and copying his dad's left-handed swing.