Just about everyone in the world has heard of the game of golf. Played with clubs and balls on large, green fields, it’s a sport that’s commonly associated with world-class athletes, high skill, and international tournaments.
Golf has been around for hundreds of years, and in that time has amassed a huge following that numbers in the millions.
When compared to most other popular sports, however, golf is something of an outlier. Games like football, rugby, cricket, baseball, basketball, and hockey – to name a few – all have very common themes in how they’re played. Many might wander, then, why a game as unique as golf is one of the most popular in the world, something that we’ll explore here.
The History Of The Game
Golf is by no means a new game, even if it isn’t quite as old as football. Starting out in Scotland around the 15th century, the game has been a favourite pastime for the country for countless generations, and when the British began colonising the rest of the world, golf was one of the games that went with them.
It has undergone many transformations, but has fundamentally remained the same in many ways, and while it wasn’t as popular then as it is today, it did gain something of an instant fanbase that continued to grow with each passing century.
The Golf Courses
Most people likely don’t live to far from golf courses; large, open spaces that often consist of neat fields of grass, trees, sand, and usually some kind of club. The golf course is a true staple of the game, and one of the reasons that it’s become so recognisable among the people of today. Golf courses are as old as the game itself, and some of the oldest in the world can be found in both Scotland and France.
The Tournaments
Most sports have big tournaments, but not many of them quite match the events that are hosted by golf every year. The PGA Tour, for example, attracts millions of fans from all over the planet, as well as some of the most skilled athletes of our time.
It’s a true spectacle that’s easy to become addicted to watching and is almost as popular as online gambling casino games.
Tiger Woods
While golf has always been a home for incredibly skilled players, most of them were known only among golfing fans, and didn’t really draw in too much attention from outside. This all changed with Tiger Woods. His charisma and natural talent on the course were enough to change the nature of the game forever. He isn’t considered the best player of all time, but he is regarded as the first player that brought worldwide attention to golf as a whole.
His likeness can be found in media across a number of formats, and his blazing rise to the top was something that inspired people from across the world. And despite his involvement in certain scandals, Woods remains one of the most recognisable faces of the game and is often credited for its widespread popularity.