This is the slow season for golfers and golf fans. It’s winter. Time to watch football and stay inside. But action continues on links around the world which prompts us to take a quick look at some of the things that make golf an interesting… and rather classy game.
Let’s look at some of the things that make golf special. Golfing is a game of traditions. Some old and some new. Some kind of silly and others very serious. Take that Green Jacket presented to the Masters Champion each year. That jacket is one of the most coveted prizes in all of sports. Besides, considering how most golfers dress out on the links, a green sport coat fits right in.
Did you realize that the US Open is always played on Father’s Day? It’s another of golf’s most cherished traditions and one that gives the players a chance to make a statement like when Justin Rose pointed to the sky and paused a moment after winning the Open. Later he told the press, “Yes, the look up to the heavens was absolutely for my dad; Father’s Day was not lost on me today. You don’t have opportunities to really dedicate a win to someone you love. And today was about him a being Father’s Day.”
One of the coolest things about the game of golf is the international Ryder Cup Competition. The format for the event is just about perfect. We have the passionate golf fans plus the beautiful golf courses around the world and the greatest golfers in the world going head to head competing for their own countries.
It’s even cool that Ryder Cup only takes place every other year. Four years is a long time to wait for the World Cup Soccer Matches and the Olympics. In golfing, a two year wait seems just about perfect.
Another very attractive variation in golfing is provided by the British Open which rotates the event around the British Isles on nine different golf courses. Some of those golf courses over in England and Scotland have been there in constant use since the game was first invented….way back when. And the old British links all have charming names like The Old Course, Muirfield, Royal Troon, Turnberry, Royal St. George’s, Carnoustite, Royal Lytham, St. Annes, Royal Birkdale and Royal Liverpool.
And finally, one of the most admirable…and coolest…things about professional golf is its intense sponsorship of amateur golf. No other sportsmen support their amateur programs so closely as do pro golfers.
