Various golf clubs in a bag, including irons and a putter

A golf club is used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a clubhead. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety of shots; Hybrids that combine design elements of woods and irons are becoming increasingly popular; putters are used mainly on the green to roll the ball into the cup. A standard set consists of 14 golf clubs, and while there are traditional combinations sold at retail as matched sets, players are free to bring any combination of 14 or fewer legal clubs.

An important variation in different clubs is loft, or the angle between the club's face and the vertical plane. It is loft that makes a golf ball leave the tee on an ascending trajectory, not the angle of swing; all swings contact the ball with a horizontal motion (give or take a few degrees depending on stance and other details of the player's swing mechanics). The impact of the club compresses the ball, while grooves on the clubface give the ball backspin (which would appear as a clockwise spin on the ball when viewed from the standpoint of a right-swinging golfer, or as a counter-clockwise spin when viewed from the standpoint of a left-swinging golfer). Together, the compression and backspin create lift. The majority of woods and irons are labeled with a number; higher numbers indicate shorter shafts and higher lofts, which give the ball a higher and shorter trajectory.

History[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

In 1744, the rules were officially documented and golf started to gain popularity. Many of the original golf clubs had wooden shafts and steel heads^{[dubious – discuss]} until this time period. Whether the game was being played in Scotland, Belgium, or any other country the golf clubs did not differ in the materials. However in the middle of the 18th century, it had switched to wood and only two golf clubs did not have wooden heads, the “niblick” and the “cleek”. The golf club has changed so much through time, with the ability to be adequately fit to a player’s shape, size, age, or sex. In the beginning stages of golf, those who played would play with cut branches from trees and now have been revolutionized. There is no specific or set standardization as the club now can be varied in many ways. Before, the golfers only had wooden shafts, mostly wooden heads and/or heavy steel heads and thus led to ineffective playing. The golf balls were made of leather and feathers, known as featheries until the gutta-percha was introduced in 1848. The gutta-percha made the golf balls round and smooth making the accuracy difficult to control. Rubber was later included in the balls the players realized balls with dents or creases easily helped with the accuracy. The size and weight of the golf ball varied for a long time until it was decided on 1.62 inches (41.15 mm) and 1.62 ounces (45.93 g) ounces. This was until 1932 when the USGA (United States Golf Association) decided on 1.68 inches (42.67 mm) but left it at 1.62 ounces (45.93 g). These became the international rules as well and have not changed since..

Materials[link]

The shafts of the Golf club woods were made of different types of wood before taken over by hickory. The varieties of woods include ash, greenheart, purpleheart, lancewood, lemonwood, orangewood, and blue-mahoo. In the middle of the 19th century the shafts were then being replaced by hickory wood. Despite this strong wood being the primary material, the long-nose club of the mid nineteenth century was still prone to breaking at the top of the backswing. The club heads were often made from thorn, apple, pear, dogwood, beech in the early times until persimmon became the main material. Golf clubs have been developed and the shafts are now made of steel, titanium, carbon fiber, or other types of metals. The shaft is a tapered steel tube or a series of stepped steel tubes in telescopic fashion. This has helped the accuracy of golfers. The grips of the clubs are made from leather or rubber.

Club types[link]

Wood[link]

Woods are long-distance clubs, meant to drive the ball a great distance down the fairway towards the hole. They generally have a large head and a long shaft for maximum club speed. Historically woods were made from persimmon wood although some manufacturers—notably Ping—developed laminated woods. In 1979, TaylorMade Golf introduced the first metal wood made of steel. Even more recently manufacturers have started using materials such as carbon fiber, titanium, or scandium. Even though most 'woods' are made from different metals, they are still called 'woods' to denote the general shape and their intended use on the golf course. Most woods made today have a graphite shaft and a titanium, composite, or steel head. Woods are the longest clubs and the most powerful of all the golf clubs. There are typically three to four woods in a set which are used off the tee box and, if on a long hole, possibly for the second or even third shot. The biggest wood, known as the driver, is often made of hollowed out titanium with feather light shafts. The length of the woods has been increasing in recent decades, and a typical driver with a graphite shaft is now 45.5 inches (115.6 cm) long. The woods may also have very large heads, up to 460 cm³ in volume (the maximum allowed by the USGA in sanctioned events; drivers with even larger clubhead volumes are available for long-drive competitions and informal games). It has a greater weight in the head and sole than in any other point in the club. This is also the same in irons. The shafts range from regular to extra-stiff depending upon each player’s preference.

Hybrid[link]

Hybrids are a cross between a wood and an iron, giving these clubs the wood's long distance with the iron's familiar swing. The clubhead of a hybrid has a wood-inspired, slightly convex face, and is typically hollow like modern metal woods to allow for high impulse on impact and faster swing speeds. The head is usually smaller than true woods, however, not extending as far back from the face, and the lie and shaft length are similar to an iron giving similar swing mechanics. These clubs generally replace low-numbered irons in a men's set (between 2-5, most commonly 3-4), which are typically the hardest clubs in a player's bag to hit well. By doing so they also generally make higher-lofted woods redundant as well. However, some manufacturers produce "iron replacement" sets that use hybrid designs to replace an entire set of traditional irons, from 3 to pitching wedge. Ladies' and seniors' sets commonly feature a combination of high-lofted woods (up to 7w) and hybrids starting at a 5-iron equivalent, allowing these players to get greater carry distances with slower swings.

Iron[link]

Irons are golf clubs with a flat angled face and a shorter shaft than a wood, designed for shots approaching the green or from more difficult lies such as the rough, through or over trees, or the base of hills. Irons are used during the middle of each hole off the roughs, fairways or sand traps. There are long irons, medium irons, and short irons all with flat heads. As with woods, there are special types. Wedges, invented by Gene Sarazan are a special type of iron that took the place of the “niblick.” They are heavy and shorter than other irons, with a less flat face to loft the ball higher. As with woods, "irons" get their name because they were originally made from forged iron. The higher the number gets on the scale, the lower amount of angle difference from 90 degrees, i.e., a 1-iron has a nearly vertical clubface, while a 9-iron can be angled 45 degrees or more. Irons are often cavity-back or muscle-back, with a few designs marketed as hybrid irons. A Cavity-back iron is any iron in which a small to large amount of the metal across the back of the head is removed, allowing that weight to be re-positioned on the perimeter of the head, farther away from the head's center of gravity. A muscle-back iron is any iron in which there is no cavity on the back of the head, i.e., the weight is more evenly distributed across the back of the clubhead. There are also designs of "iron replacement", marketed as hybrids but different from the "wood-like" hybrids described above; these clubs feature a flat iron-like face, but have more mass in the clubhead to impart greater energy to the ball with a slower swing speed.

Wedge[link]

Another variation of the iron, called the wedge, has a similar look, feel and general construction as a "normal" iron, but with a much higher loft, often 45–64 degrees. Wedge use is generally limited; it is best-suited for short-distance play from close-cut grass on a terrain level similar to that of the green, and as such most skilled golfers choose to use a low-bounce, wide-soled wedge. Wedges are used for a variety of short-distance, high-altitude, high-accuracy shots such as hitting the ball onto the green ("approach" shots), placing the ball accurately on the fairway for a better shot at the green ("lay-up" shots), or hitting the ball out of hazards or rough onto the green (chipping). There are usually six types of wedges with lofts ranging from 45° to 64°: pitching wedge (PW 48°), gap wedge (GW 52°), sand wedge (SW 56°), lob wedge (LW 60°), and ultra lob wedge (LW 64°). Wedges can also be used for chipping, i.e. low trajectory short shots that tend to roll toward the hole.

Chipper[link]

Also present in some golfers' bags is the "chipper" which is designed for low-speed swings to lift the ball a short distance about 25 yards/23 meters, onto the green. The club can be used in place of the pitching wedge with an abbreviated swing to accomplish the same end. Some chippers have two striking faces and thus are prohibited by the rules of golf.

Putter[link]

Putters are a special class of clubs with a loft not exceeding ten degrees, designed primarily to roll the ball along the grass, generally from a point on the putting green towards the cup. Contrary to popular belief, putters do have a loft (often 5 degrees from truly perpendicular at impact) that helps to lift the ball from any indentation it has made. Newer putters also include grooves on the face to promote roll rather than a skid off the impact. This increases rolling distance and reduces bouncing over the turf.

Construction[link]

Shaft[link]

Loft and lie of a golf club.

The shaft is a tapered tube made of metal (usually steel) or carbon fiber composite (referred to as graphite). The shaft is roughly 0.5 inches (13 mm) in diameter near the grip and from 34 to 48 inches (86 to 122 cm) in length. Shafts weigh from 45 to 150 grams (1.6 to 5.3 oz), depending on the material and length.^{[citation needed]}

Shafts are quantified in a number of different ways. The most common is the shaft flex. Simply, the shaft flex is the amount that the shaft will bend when placed under a load. A stiffer shaft will not flex as much, which requires more power to flex and "whip" through the ball properly (which results in higher club speed at impact for more distance), while a more flexible shaft will whip with less power required for better distance on slower swings, but may torque and over-flex if swung with too much power causing the head not to be square at impact, resulting in lower accuracy. Most shaft makers offer a variety of flexes. The most common are: L (Lady), A (Soft Regular, Intermediate or Senior), R (Regular), S (Stiff), and X (Tour Stiff, Extra Stiff or Strong). A regular flex shaft is generally appropriate for those with an average head speed (80–94 mph (130–151 km/h)), while an A-Flex (or senior shaft) is for players with a slower swing speed (70–79 mph (110–127 km/h)), and the stiffer shafts, such as S-Flex and X-Flex (Stiff and Extra-Stiff shafts) are reserved only for those players with an above average swinging speed, usually above 100 mph (160 km/h). Some companies also offer a "stiff-regular" or "firm" flex for players whose club speed falls in the upper range of a Regular shaft (90–100 mph (140–160 km/h)), allowing golfers and clubmakers to fine-tune the flex for a stronger amateur-level player.^{[citation needed]}

On off-center hits, the clubhead twists as a result of a torque, reducing accuracy as the face of the club is not square to the player's stance at impact. In recent years, many manufacturers have produced and marketed many low-torque shafts aimed at reducing the twisting of the clubhead at impact; however, these tend to be stiffer along their length as well. Most recently, many brands have introduced stiff-tip shafts. These shafts offer the same flex throughout most of the Shaft, in order to attain the "whip" required to propel the ball properly, but also include a stiffer tip, which cuts back drastically on the lateral torque acting on the head.^{[citation needed]}

Widely overlooked as a part of the club, the shaft is considered by many to be the engine of the modern clubhead. Shafts range in price from a mere US$4 to over US$1200. Current graphite shafts weigh considerably less than their steel counterparts (sometimes weighing less than 50 grams (1.8 oz) for a driver shaft), allowing for lighter clubs that can be swung at greater speed. Within the last ten years^[when?], performance shafts have been integrated into the clubmaking process. Performance shafts are designed to address specific criteria, such as to launch the ball higher or lower or to adjust for the timing of a player's swing to load and unload the shaft at the correct moments of the swing for maximum power. Whereas in the past each club could come with only one shaft, today's clubheads can be fitted with dozens of different shafts, creating the potential for a much better fit for the average golfer.^{[citation needed]}

Grip[link]

In modern times, the grip has undergone a number of iterations. The large variety of models makes it far easier than in the past for a discriminating golfer to find a comfortable model.^{[citation needed]}

Grip rules[link]

According to the rules of golf, all club grips, with the exception of the putter, must have a circular cross-section. The putter may have any cross section that is symmetrical along the length of the grip through at least one plane. Grips may taper from thick to thin along their length (and virtually all do), but they are not allowed to have any waisting (a thinner section of the grip surrounded by thicker sections above and below it) or bulges (thicker sections of the grip surrounded by thinner sections). Minor variations in surface texture (such as the natural variation of a "wrap"-style grip) are not counted unless significant.^{[citation needed]}

Regripping[link]

Advances in materials have resulted in more durable, longer-lasting soft grips, but nevertheless grips do eventually dry out, harden, or are otherwise damaged and must be replaced. Replacement grips sold as do-it-yourself kits are generally inexpensive and of high quality, although custom grips that are larger, softer, or textured differently from the everyday "wrap"-style grip are generally bought and installed by a clubsmith.^{[citation needed]}

Regripping used to require toxic, flammable solvents to soften and activate the adhesive, and a vise to hold the club steady while the grip was forced on. The newest replacement kits, however, use double-sided tape with a water-activated adhesive that is slippery when first activated, allowing easier installation. Once the adhesive cures, it creates a very strong bond between grip and shaft and the grip is usually impossible to remove without cutting it off. Note that the grip is sometimes lubed for easier removal.^{[citation needed]}

Hosel[link]

The hosel is the portion of the clubhead to which the shaft attaches. Though largely ignored by players, hosel design is integral to the balance, feel and power of a club. Modern hosels are designed to place as little mass as possible over the top of the striking face of the club, which lowers the center of gravity of the club for better distance.

Clubhead[link]

Each head has one face which contacts the ball during the stroke. Putters may have two striking faces, as long as they are identical and symmetrical. Some chippers (a club similar in appearance to a double-sided putter but having a loft of 35-45 degrees) have two faces, but are not legal. Page 135 of the 2009 USGA rules of golf states:^[1]

The clubhead must have only one striking face, except that a putter may have two such faces if their characteristics are the same, and they are opposite each other.^[1]

Page 127 of the USGA rules of golf states:^[2]

A putter is a club with a loft not exceeding ten degrees designed primarily for use on the putting green.^[2]

Therefore, any double sided club with a loft greater than 10 degrees is not legal.^[1][2]

Ferrule[link]

The trim ring, usually black (It may have additional trim colors), that is found directly on top of the hosel on many woods and irons. The ferrule is mostly decorative, creating a continuous line between the shaft and the wider hosel, but in some cases it can form part of the securing mechanism between hosel and shaft. Ferrules of differing weights can fine-tune the center of mass of the overall clubhead, but for these minute adjustments, screw-in weighted inserts at specific points on the clubhead are usually used instead.

Club Sets[link]

The rules of golf limit each player to a maximum of 14 clubs in their bag. Strict rules prohibit sharing of clubs unless one or more of a player's own clubs has become unplayable. In an informal setting, occasional lending of a club by one player to another is generally permitted as long as the players each have their own set with which they intend to play the majority of the game (the sharing of one complete bag between two players is frowned on as it slows play when both players wish to use the same club, and is also a violation of strict rules).

The traditional set of men's clubs is:

• 1 driver, usually numbered a 1-wood regardless of actual loft, which varies from 8° up to 13°
• 1 or 2 fairway woods typically numbered 3 at about 15° and 5 (if used) at 18°
• Numbered irons from 2 or 3 to 9
• 2 or 3 wedges, typically pitching and sand and optionally a gap wedge in newer sets
• 1 putter

Variations on this basic set abound; several club options usually exist for almost any shot depending on the player's skill level and playing style, and the only club universally considered to be indispensable is the putter. Some consider the modern deep-faced driver to be equally irreplaceable; this is cause for some debate, as professional players including Tiger Woods have played and won tournaments without using a driver, instead using a 3-wood for tee shots and making up the difference on the approach using a lower-lofted iron.

The most common omissions are the "long irons", from 2-4, which are notoriously difficult to hit well. The player can supplement the gaps in distance with either higher-numbered woods such as the 5 and even the 7-wood, or may replace the long irons with equivalently-numbered hybrid clubs. If hybrids are used, higher-lofted woods are often omitted as redundant, but ladies' and seniors' sets commonly feature both hybrids and high-lofted woods, omitting the long irons entirely and replacing the mid-irons (5-7) with hybrids. The combination allows for higher launch angle and better distance on the long-distance clubs with slower swing speeds. Where a club is omitted and not replaced with a club of similar function, players may add additional clubs of a different function such as wedges; in addition to the traditional pitching and sand wedges, the "gap wedge" (generally lofted between 50-54° with low to moderate bounce depending on specific function and golfer preference) and the "lob wedge" (a high-loft wedge, typically 58-60° and sometimes up to 70°) are common additions to aid the player's short game.

While 14 clubs is a maximum, it is not a minimum; players are free to use any lesser number of clubs they think will be useful, so substitutions for the common omissions above are not always made; a player may simply choose to play without a 5-wood or 2-4 irons, instead going from the 3-wood directly to their 5-iron based on desired distance. Other clubs may be omitted as well. On courses where bags must be carried by the player, the player may take only the odd-numbered irons; without the 4, 6 or 8 irons (the 3 is sometimes removed instead of the 4) the bag's weight is considerably reduced. Carrying only a driver, 3-wood, 4-hybrid, 5-7-9 irons, pitching and sand wedges, and a putter reduces the number of clubs in the bag to 9; this is a common loadout for a "Sunday bag" taken to the driving range or to an informal game. A skilled player can usually overcome the lesser selection of club lofts by "opening" or "closing" the face of adjacent irons when addressing the ball, and/or by reducing their swing speed on a lower-loft iron to get the same carry distance as the next higher loft number.

Regulations[link]

The ruling authorities of golf, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) and the United States Golf Association (USGA), reserve the right to define what shapes and physical characteristics of clubs are permissible in tournament play. Many recently developed woods have a marked "trampoline effect" (a large deformation of the face upon impact followed by a quick restoration to original dimensions, acting like a slingshot), resulting in very high ball speeds and great lengths of tee shots. As of 1 January 2008, the USGA and R&A have settled on a regulation that limits the acceptable "trampoline effect" to a coefficient of restitution (COR)—a measurement of the efficiency of the transfer of energy from the club head to the ball—of .830.^[3]

Other large scale USGA rulings involve a 1990 lawsuit, and subsequent settlement, against Karsten Manufacturing, makers of the PING brand, for their use of square, or U-grooves in their immensely popular Ping Eye2 irons. The USGA argued that players who used the Eye2 had an unfair advantage in imparting spin on the ball, which helps to stop the ball on the putting greens. The USGA utilized John L. Saksun, founder of Canadian golf company Accuform Golf, as a consultant to set up methods of measuring the unique grooves and determining PING's compliance with the rulings.^[4] Saksun, by proposing a cost-effective solution to help PING change the design of subsequent Eye2s, saved PING hundreds of millions. PING subsequently withdrew their US$100 million lawsuit against the USGA. Ping’s older clubs were "grandfathered in" and allowed to remain in play as part of the settlement.^[5] Today, square grooves are considered perfectly legal under the Rules of Golf. However, the USGA has determined that square grooves are illegal in elite-level competition.^[6] According to the USGA, as January 1, 2010, professional golfers on one of the top tours, or those attempting to qualify for one of the three Open Championships, will need to use new conforming wedges (those without square grooves).^[7][8] Moreover, those who plan to qualify for any other USGA championship will need new conforming wedges by 2014. In addition, this regulation might include amateur events as well. Casual golfers may use square groove wedges (and clubs) until at least 2024.^[7]

See also[link]

Golf portal

• Golf glossary
• Golf cart
• Obsolete golf clubs
• Solar Golf Cart

References[link]

• Bade, Edwin. The Mechanics of Sport. A. G. Elliot, New York, 1952.
• Bruce, Ben and Evelyn Davies. Beginning Golf. Wadsworth Publishing, California, 1962.
• Cheatum, Billy Ann. Golf. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 1969.
• Cochran, A.J. Science and Golf II: Procedures of World Scientific Congress of Golf. M. R. Farally, London, 1994.
• Concannon, Dale. The Original Rules of Golf. Bodleian Library, Oxford, 2009.
• Cook, Kevin. Driven: Teen phenoms, Mad Parents, Swing Science and the Future of Golf. Gotham Books, New York, 2008.
• Evans, Webster. Encyclopaedia of Golf. St. Martins Press, New York, 1971.
• Ford, Doug. Getting Started in Golf. Sterling Publishers, New York, 1964.
• Gibson, Kevin H. The Encyclopedia of Golf. A. S. Barnes, New York, 1958.

External links[link]

• How Zip Is Put Into Your Golf Clubs detailed and well illustrated July 1951 article on the manufacturing process for golf clubs

Golf

A golfer in the finishing position after taking a "tee shot"
Highest governing body	R&A USGA
First played	15th century, Scotland
Characteristics
Contact	No
Categorization	Outdoor
Equipment	Golf clubs, golf ball
Olympic	1900, 1904, 2016,[1] 2020[2]

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players (or golfers) use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes.

It is one of the few ball games that does not require a standardized playing area. Instead, the game is played on golf "courses", each of which features a unique design, although courses typically consist of either nine or 18 holes. Golf is defined, in the rules of golf, as "playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules."

Golf competition is generally played for the lowest number of strokes by an individual, known simply as stroke play, or the lowest score on the most individual holes during a complete round by an individual or team, known as match play.

Origin[link]

While the modern game of golf originated in 15th century Scotland, the game's ancient origins are unclear and much debated. Some historians^[3] trace the sport back to the Roman game of paganica, in which participants used a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball. One theory asserts that paganica spread throughout Europe as the Romans conquered most of the continent, during the first century BC, and eventually evolved into the modern game.^[4] Others cite chuiwan ("chui" means striking and "wan" means small ball) as the progenitor, a Chinese game played between the eighth and 14th centuries.^[5] A Ming Dynasty scroll dating back to 1368 entitled "The Autumn Banquet" shows a member of the Chinese Imperial court swinging what appears to be a golf club at a small ball with the aim of sinking it into a hole. The game is thought to have been introduced into Europe during the Middle Ages. Another early game that resembled modern golf was known as cambuca in England and chambot in France.^[6] This game was, in turn, exported to the Low Countries, Germany, and England (where it was called pall-mall, pronounced “pell mell”).^{[citation needed]} Some observers,^[who?] however, believe that golf descended from the Persian game, chaugán. In addition, kolven (a game involving a ball and curved bats) was played annually in Loenen, Netherlands, beginning in 1297, to commemorate the capture of the assassin of Floris V, a year earlier.

The modern game originated in Scotland, where the first written record of golf is James II's banning of the game in 1457, as an unwelcome distraction to learning archery.^[7] To many golfers, the Old Course at St Andrews, a links course dating to before 1574, is considered to be a site of pilgrimage.^[8] Golf is documented as being played on Musselburgh Links, East Lothian, Scotland as early as 2 March 1672, which is certified as the oldest golf course in the world by Guinness World Records.^[9][10] The oldest surviving rules of golf were compiled in March 1744 for the Company of Gentlemen Golfers, later renamed The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which was played at Leith, Scotland.^[11] The world's oldest golf tournament in existence, and golf's first major, is The Open Championship, which was first played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland.^[12]

Golf course[link]

A golf course consists of a series of holes, each with a teeing ground that is set off by two markers showing the bounds of the legal tee area, fairway, rough and other hazards, and the putting green surrounded by the fringe with the pin (normally a flagstick) and cup.

The levels of grass are varied to increase difficulty, or to allow for putting in the case of the green. While many holes are designed with a direct line-of-sight from the teeing area to the green, some holes may bend either to the left or to the right. This is commonly called a "dogleg", in reference to a dog's knee. The hole is called a "dogleg left" if the hole angles leftwards and "dogleg right" if it bends right. Sometimes, a hole's direction may bend twice; this is called a "double dogleg".

A typical golf course consists of 18 holes, but nine-hole courses are common and can be played twice through for a full round of 18 holes.^[13][14]

Early Scottish golf courses were primarily laid out on links land, soil-covered sand dunes directly inland from beaches.^[15] This gave rise to the term "golf links", particularly applied to seaside courses and those built on naturally sandy soil inland.

The first 18-hole golf course in the United States was located on a sheep farm in Downers Grove, Illinois, in 1892. The course is still situated there today.^[16]

Play of the game[link]

1=teeing ground, 2=water hazard, 3=rough, 4=out of bounds, 5=sand bunker, 6=water hazard, 7=fairway, 8=putting green, 9=flagstick, 10=hole

Every round of golf is based on playing a number of holes in a given order. A 'round' typically consists of 18 holes that are played in the order determined by the course layout. On a nine-hole course, a standard round consists of two consecutive nine-hole rounds.

Playing a hole on a golf course is initiated by putting a ball into play by striking it with a club on the teeing ground (also called the tee box, or simply the tee). When this initial stroke (or 'shot') is required to be long due to the length of the hole, it is usual (but not required) for a golfer to suspend (or 'tee-up') the ball on a tee prior to striking it. A tee in this last sense is a small peg which can be used to elevate the ball slightly above the ground up to a few centimetres high. This elevation is at the discretion of the golfer. Tees are commonly made of wood but may be constructed of any material; the ball may even be teed on a mound of grass or dirt (at one time a small pile of sand placed by the golfer was routinely used and sand was provided at teeing grounds for golfers' use).

When the initial shot on a hole is a long-distance shot intended to move the ball a great distance down the fairway, this shot is commonly called a 'drive'. Shorter holes generally are initiated with shorter clubs called irons. Once the ball comes to rest, the golfer strikes it again as many times as necessary using shots that are variously known as a 'lay-up', an 'approach', a 'pitch', or a 'chip', until the ball reaches the green, where he or she then 'putts' the ball into the hole (commonly called "sinking the putt"). The goal of getting the ball into the hole ("holing" the ball) in as few strokes as possible may be impeded by obstacles such as areas of long grass called 'rough' (usually found alongside fairways) which both slows any ball that contacts it and makes it harder to advance a ball that has stopped on it, bunkers (or sand traps), and water hazards.^[13] In most forms of gameplay, each player plays his or her ball until it is holed.

Players can walk to their next shot or drive in golf carts over the course. The game can be played either individually or in groups and sometimes accompanied by caddies, who carry and manage the players' equipment and who are allowed by the rules to give advice on the play of the course.^[17] A caddy's advice can only be given to the player or players for whom the caddy is working, and not to competing players.

Rules and regulations[link]

The rules of golf are internationally standardised and are jointly governed by The R&A, spun off in 2004 from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (founded 1754), and the United States Golf Association (USGA).^[18][19]

The underlying principle of the rules is fairness. As stated on the back cover of the official rule book:

Play the ball as it lies, play the course as you find it, and if you cannot do either, do what is fair.

There are strict regulations regarding the amateur status of golfers.^[20] Essentially, anybody who has ever received payment or compensation for giving instruction, or played golf for money, is not considered an amateur and may not participate in competitions limited solely to amateurs. However, amateur golfers may receive expenses which comply with strict guidelines and they may accept non-cash prizes within the limits established by the Rules of Amateur Status.

In addition to the officially printed rules, golfers also abide by a set of guidelines called golf etiquette. Etiquette guidelines cover matters such as safety, fairness, pace of play, and a player's obligation to contribute to the care of the course. Though there are no penalties for breach of etiquette rules, players generally follow the rules of golf etiquette in an effort to improve everyone's playing experience.

Penalties[link]

Penalties are incurred in certain situations. They are counted towards a player's score as if there were extra swing(s) at the ball. Strokes are added for rule infractions or for hitting one's ball into an unplayable situation.

A lost ball or a ball hit out of bounds result in a penalty of one stroke and distance (Rule 27–1). A one-stroke penalty is assessed if a player's equipment causes the ball to move or the removal of a loose impediment causes the ball to move (Rule 18–2). If a golfer makes a stroke at the wrong ball (Rule 19–2) or hits a fellow golfer's ball with a putt (Rule 19–5), the player incurs a two-stroke penalty. Most rule infractions lead to stroke penalties but also can lead to disqualification. Disqualification could be from cheating, signing for a lower score, or from rule infractions that lead to improper play.^[21]

Equipment[link]

A wood positioned ready to be swung and to strike a golf ball

Golf clubs are used to hit the golf ball. Each club is composed of a shaft with a lance (or 'grip') on the top end and a club head on the bottom. Long clubs, which have a lower amount of degreed loft, are those meant to propel the ball a comparatively longer distance, and short clubs a higher degree of loft and a comparatively shorter distance. Typically, the actual physical length of each club is longer or shorter, depending on the distance the club is intended to propel the ball.

The 'driver' is the largest-headed and longest club. Woods are slightly shorter but still comparatively large-headed clubs, used for long-distance fairway shots. Woods are now typically made of metal; the traditional name remains in general use but is gradually being replaced by the term "fairway metal".^{[citation needed]} Next shorter in length are the irons, the most numerous and versatile class used for a wide variety of shots. Hybrids embody the characteristics of both woods and irons in varying degrees and are increasingly being used in preference to long irons in many places because they are easier for the average golfer to use. Finally, the putter is used to roll the ball across the green into the cup.

A maximum of 14 clubs is allowed in a player's bag at one time during a stipulated round. The choice of clubs is at the golfer's discretion, although every club must be constructed in accordance with parameters outlined in the rules. (Clubs which meet these parameters are usually called 'conforming'.) Violation of these rules can result in disqualification.

The exact shot hit at any given time on a golf course, and which club is used to accomplish the shot, are always completely at the discretion of the golfer; in other words, there is no restriction whatsoever on which club a golfer may or may not use at any time for any shot.

Golf balls are spherical, usually white (although other colors are allowed), and minutely pock-marked by dimples that decrease aerodynamic drag by increasing air turbulence around the ball in motion, preventing "boundary layer" separation, thereby allowing the ball to fly farther.^[22]

A tee is allowed only for the first stroke on each hole, unless the player must hit a provisional tee shot or replay his or her first shot from the tee.

Many golfers wear golf shoes with metal or plastic spikes designed to increase traction, thus allowing for longer and more accurate shots. A golf bag is used to transport golf clubs and the player's other or personal equipment. Golf bags have several pockets designed for carrying equipment and supplies such as tees, balls, and gloves. Golf bags can be carried, pulled on a trolley or harnessed to a motorized golf cart during play. Golf bags have both a hand strap and shoulder strap for carrying, and sometimes have retractable legs that allow the bag to stand upright when at rest.

Stroke mechanics[link]

A golfer takes an approach shot on the fairway.

Golfers start with the non-dominant side of the body facing the target. At address the body and club are positioned parallel to the target line. The feet are commonly shoulder-width apart for middle irons and putters, narrower for short irons and wider for long irons and woods. The ball is positioned in the centre of the player's stance for short irons and putters, more to the front for middle irons and even more for long irons and woods. The golfer chooses a golf club, grip, and stroke appropriate to the distance:

• The drive is used on the teeing ground to tee-off long distances;
• The approach is used in long- to mid-distance shots;
• The chip is used for relatively short-distance shots around the green. The goal of the chip is to land the ball safely on the green allowing it to roll out towards the hole.
• The putt is used in short-distance shots on or near the green. The goal of the putt is to get the ball in the hole.

Scoring and handicapping[link]

Par[link]

A par-3 hole in Phoenician Golf Club, Scottsdale, Arizona

A hole is classified by its par, meaning the number of strokes a skilled golfer should require to complete play of the hole.^[13] Par always includes a stroke for the tee shot and two putts, so the minimum par of any hole is 3. For example, a skilled golfer expects to reach the green on a par-4 hole in two strokes: one from the tee (the 'drive') and another, second, stroke to the green (the 'approach'); and then roll the ball into the hole in two putts for par. This would be termed a 'green in regulation' (GIR). A hole is either a par-3, −4 or −5. Par-6 holes are extremely rare.^[23]

The key factor for classifying the par of a hole is the distance from the tee to the green. A typical par-3 hole is less than 250 yards (225 m) in length, with a par-4 hole ranging between 251 and 475 yards (225–434 m), and a par-5 hole being longer than 475 yards (435 m). The rare par-6s can stretch well over 650 yards (595 m).

The gradient of the hole can also affect its par. If the tee-to-green distance on a hole is predominantly downhill, it will play shorter than its physical length and may be given a lower par; the opposite is true for uphill holes. Par ratings are also affected by factors such as the placement of hazards or the shape of the green, which can affect the play of a hole by requiring an extra stroke to avoid playing into hazards.^[24]

Eighteen-hole courses typically total to an overall par score of 72 for a complete round; this would be four par-3, ten par-4, and four par-5 holes, though other combinations exist and are not less worthy than courses of par-72. Many major championships are contested on courses playing to a par of 70, 71, or 72. Additionally, in some countries, courses are classified according to their play difficulty, which may be used to calculate a golfer's playing handicap for a given course.^[25]

Scoring[link]

In every form of play, the goal is to play as few strokes per round as possible. A hole in one (or an 'ace') occurs when a golfer sinks his ball into the cup with his first stroke from the tee. Common scores for a hole also have specific terms.^[13]

Basic forms of golf[link]

Match play[link]

In match play, two players (or two teams) play each hole as a separate contest against each other. The party with the lower score wins that hole, or if the scores of both players or teams are equal the hole is 'halved' (or tied). The game is won by the party that wins more holes than the other. In the case that one team or player has taken a lead that cannot be overcome in the number of holes remaining to be played, the match is deemed to be won by the party in the lead, and the remainder of the holes are not played. For example, if one party already has a lead of six holes, and only five holes remain to be played on the course, the match is over and the winning party is deemed to have won "6 & 5". At any given point, if the lead is equal to the number of holes remaining, the party leading the match is said to be 'dormie', and the match is continued until the party increases the lead by one hole or ties any of the remaining holes, thereby winning the match, or until the match ends in a tie with the lead player's opponent winning all remaining holes. When the game is tied after the predetermined number of holes have been played, it may be continued until one side takes a one-hole lead.^[13]

Stroke play[link]

In stroke play, the score achieved for each and every hole of the round or tournament is added to produce the total score, and the player with the lowest score wins. Stroke play is the game most commonly played by professional golfers. If there is a tie after the regulation number of holes in a professional tournament, a playoff takes place between all tied players. Playoffs are either sudden death or employ a pre-determined number of holes, anywhere from three to a full 18. In sudden death, a player who scores lower on a hole than all of his opponents wins the match. If at least two players remain tied after such a playoff using a pre-determined number of holes, then play continues in sudden death format, where the first player to win a hole wins the tournament.

Other forms of play[link]

Skins[link]

In a skins game, golfers compete on each hole, as a separate contest. Played for prize money on the professional level or as a means of a wager for amateurs, a 'skin', or the prize money assigned to each hole, carries over to subsequent holes if the hole is tied (or halved). If players come to the end of the round and there are still skins left to decide, play continues with playoff holes (typically repeating the 18th hole) until the final skin has been decided.

9-Points[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

In a 9-Point game three players compete for points on each hole. The player with the most points at the end of the round wins the game. Each hole is worth a total of 9 points. The player with the best score (lowest) on the hole wins 5 points, the player with the second best score earns 3 points and the player with the worst gets 1 point. In the event of a tie for the best score on a hole the two best players will each get 4 and the worst player gets 1 point. If everyone ties then each player gets 3 points on that hole. If there is a tie for the second best score on a hole then the player with the best score gets 5 points and the other two each get 2 points. If a player gets a birdie they will receive an additional 2 points on that hole. If a player gets an eagle, they will receive an additional 3 points on that hole.

Stableford[link]

Under the Stableford system the player gains points for the score achieved on each hole of the round or tournament (1 point for a bogey, 2 points for a par, 3 points for a birdie, 4 points for an eagle, and so on). The points achieved for each hole of the round or tournament are added together to produce the total points score. The player with the highest score wins.^[13]

Team play[link]

Junín Golf Club, in Junín, Argentina.

• Foursome: defined in Rule 29, this is played between two teams of two players each, in which each team has only one ball and players alternate playing it. For example, if players 'A' and 'B' form a team, 'A' tees off on the first hole, 'B' will play the second shot, 'A' the third, and so on until the hole is finished. On the second hole, 'B' will tee off (regardless who played the last putt on the first hole), then 'A' plays the second shot, and so on. Foursomes can be played as match play or stroke play.^[26]
• Fourball: defined in Rules 30 and 31, this is also played between two teams of two players each, but every player plays their own ball and for each team, the lower score on each hole is counted. Fourballs can be played as match play or stroke play.^[27]

Unofficial team variations[link]

• Scramble: also known as ambrose or best-shot; each player in a team tees off on each hole, and the players decide which shot was best. Every player then plays their second shot from within a clublength of where the best shot has come to rest, and the procedure is repeated until the hole is finished. In a champagne scramble, each player in a team tees off on each hole. The best drive is used and all players play their own ball from this spot.^[28]
• Better ball or best-ball: like fourball, each player plays the hole as normal, but the lowest score of all the players on the team counts as the team's score. ^[29]
• Greensome: also called modified alternate shot; both players tee off, and then pick the best shot as in a scramble. The player who did not shoot the best first shot plays the second shot. The play then alternates as in a foursome.^[30] A variant of greensome is sometimes played where the opposing team chooses which of their opponent's tee shots the opponents should use. The player who did not shoot the chosen first shot plays the second shot. Play then continues as a greensome.
• Shotgun start: mainly used for tournament play, this consists of groups starting on different holes, allowing for all players to start and end their round at the same time. All 18 holes are still played, but a player or foursome may, for instance, start on hole 5, play through to the 18th hole, then continue with hole 1 and end on hole 4.

Handicap systems[link]

A handicap is a numerical measure of an amateur golfer's ability to play golf over the course of 18 holes. Handicaps can be applied either for stroke play or match play competition. In either competition, a handicap generally represents the number of strokes above par that a player will achieve on an above-average day (i.e., when playing well).

In stroke play competition, the competitor's handicap is subtracted from their total gross score at the end of the round, to calculate a net score against which standings are calculated. In match play competition, handicap strokes are assigned on a hole-by-hole basis, according to the handicap rating of each hole (which is provided by the course). The hardest holes on the course receive the most handicap strokes, with the easiest holes receiving the least handicap strokes.

Calculating a handicap is often complicated, but essentially it is representative of the average over par of a number of a player's previous above-average rounds, adjusted for course difficulty. Legislation regarding the calculation of handicaps differs among countries. For example, handicap rules may include the difficulty of the course the golfer is playing on by taking into consideration factors such as the number of bunkers, the length of the course, the difficulty and slopes of the greens, the width of the fairways, and so on.

Handicap systems are not used in professional golf. Professional golfers often score several strokes below par for a round and thus have a calculated handicap of 0 or less, meaning that their handicap results in the addition of strokes to their round score. Someone with a handicap of 0 or less is often called a 'scratch golfer'.

Popularity[link]

Part of a golf course in western India.

In 2005, Golf Digest calculated that the countries with most golf courses per capita, starting with the best endowed were: Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Canada, Wales, United States, Sweden, and England (countries with fewer than 500,000 people were excluded). Apart from Sweden, all of these countries have English as the majority language, but the number of courses in new territories is increasing rapidly.

The most notable example of this phenomenon is the expansion of golf in China. The first golf course in China opened in 1984, but by the end of 2009 there were roughly 600 in the country. For the last several years, development of new golf courses in China has been officially banned (with the exception of the island province of Hainan), but the number of courses has nonetheless tripled since 2004; the "ban" has been easily evaded with the government's tacit approval simply by not mentioning golf in any development plans.^[31]

In the United States, the number of people who play golf twenty-five times or more per year decreased from 6.9 million in 2000 to 4.6 million in 2005,^[32] according to the National Golf Foundation. The NGF reported that the number who played golf at all decreased from 30 to 26 million over the same period.^[32]

Golf courses worldwide[link]

Number of golf course by country in 2008^[33]

Professional golf[link]

The majority of professional golfers work as club or teaching professionals ('pros'), and only compete in local competitions. A small elite of professional golfers are 'tournament pros' who compete full-time on international 'tours'. Many club and teaching professionals working in the golf industry start as caddies or with a general interest in the game, finding employment at golf courses and eventually moving on to certifications in their chosen profession. These programs include independent institutions and universities, and those that eventually lead to a Class A golf professional certification.

Instruction[link]

Indoor putting green for practice and instruction

Golf instruction involves the teaching and learning of the game of golf. Proficiency in teaching golf instruction requires not only technical and physical ability, but also knowledge of the rules and etiquette of the game. In some countries, golf instruction is best performed by teachers certified by the Professional Golfers Association. Some top instructors who work with professional golfers have become quite well known in their own right. Instructors use a combination of physical conditioning, mental visualization, classroom sessions, club fitting, driving range instruction, on-course play under real conditions, and review of videotaped swings in slow motion to teach golf.

Golf tours[link]

There are at least twenty professional golf tours, each run by a PGA or an independent tour organization, which is responsible for arranging events, finding sponsors, and regulating the tour. Typically a tour has "members" who are entitled to compete in most of its events, and also invites non-members to compete in some of them. Gaining membership of an elite tour is highly competitive, and most professional golfers never achieve it.

Perhaps the most widely known tour is the PGA Tour, which tends to attract the strongest fields, outside the four Majors and the four World Golf Championships events. This is due mostly to the fact that most PGA Tour events have a first prize of at least US$800,000. The European Tour, which attracts a substantial number of top golfers from outside North America, ranks second to the PGA Tour in worldwide prestige. Some top professionals from outside North America play enough tournaments to maintain membership on both the PGA Tour and European Tour.

The other leading men's tours include the Japan Golf Tour, the Asian Tour (Asia outside Japan), the PGA Tour of Australasia, and the Sunshine Tour (for southern Africa, primarily South Africa). The Japan, Australasian, Sunshine, PGA, and European Tours are the charter members of the trade body of the world's main tours, the International Federation of PGA Tours, founded in 1996. The Asian Tour became a full member in 1999. The Canadian Tour became an associate member of the Federation in 2000, and the Tour de las Américas (Latin America) became an associate member of the Federation in 2007. The Federation underwent a major expansion in 2009 which saw eleven new tours become full members – the Canadian Tour, Tour de las Américas, China Golf Association, the Korea Professional Golfers' Association, Professional Golf Tour of India, and the operators of all six major women's tours worldwide. The OneAsia Tour, founded in 2009, is not a member of the Federation, but was founded as a joint venture of the Australasia, China, Japan, and Korean tours. All of the men's tours that are Federation members, except the China and India tours, offer points in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to players who place sufficiently high in their events. The OneAsia Tour also offers ranking points.

Golf is unique in having lucrative competition for older players. There are several senior tours for men aged fifty and over, arguably the best known of which is the U.S.-based Champions Tour.

There are six principal tours for women, each based in a different country or continent. The most prestigious of these is the United States based LPGA Tour. All of the principal tours offer points in the Women's World Golf Rankings for high finishers in their events.

All of the leading professional tours for under-50 players have an official developmental tour, in which the leading players at the end of the season will earn a tour card on the main tour for the following season. Examples include the Nationwide Tour, which feeds to the PGA Tour, and the Challenge Tour, which is the developmental tour of the European Tour. The Nationwide and Challenge Tours also offer OWGR points.

Men's major championships[link]

Lee Westwood pictured making a bunker shot at the 2008 Open

The major championships are the four most prestigious men's tournaments of the year. In chronological order they are: The Masters, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open) and the PGA Championship.^[34]

The fields for these events include the top several dozen golfers from all over the world. The Masters has been played at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, since its inception in 1934. It is the only major championship that is played at the same course each year.^[35] The U.S. Open and PGA Championship are played at courses around the United States, while the Open Championship is played at courses around the United Kingdom.^[36][37][38]

Prior to the advent of the PGA Championship and The Masters, the four Majors were the U.S. Open, the U.S. Amateur, the Open Championship, and the British Amateur.

Women's major championships[link]

Lorena Ochoa; the recently retired number one female golfer, pictured here in 2007.

Women's golf does not have a globally agreed set of majors. The list of majors recognised by the dominant women's tour, the LPGA Tour in the U.S., has changed several times over the years, with the last change in 2001. Like the PGA Tour, the (U.S.) LPGA^[39] has four majors: the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA Championship, the U.S. Women's Open and the Women's British Open. Only the last of these is also recognised by the Ladies European Tour. The other event that it recognises as a major is the Evian Masters, which is currently sanctioned by the LPGA only as a regular tour event but will become a major on that tour in 2013. However, the significance of this is limited, as the LPGA is far more dominant in women's golf than the PGA Tour is in mainstream men's golf. For example, the BBC has been known to use the U.S. definition of "women's majors" without qualifying it. Also, the Ladies' Golf Union, the governing body for women's golf in the UK and Republic of Ireland, has stated on its official website that the Women's British Open is "the only Women's Major to be played outside the U.S."^[40] For many years, the Ladies European Tour tacitly acknowledged the dominance of the LPGA Tour by not scheduling any of its own events to conflict with the three LPGA majors played in the U.S., but that changed beginning in 2008, when the LET scheduled an event opposite the LPGA Championship. The second-richest women's tour, the LPGA of Japan Tour, does not recognise any of the U.S. LPGA or European majors as it has its own set of majors (historically three, since 2008 four). However, these events attract little notice outside Japan.

Senior major championships[link]

Senior (aged fifty and over) men's golf does not have a globally agreed set of majors. The list of senior majors on the U.S.-based Champions Tour has changed over the years, but always by expansion. The Champions Tour now recognises five majors: the Senior PGA Championship, the United States Senior Open, the Senior British Open Championship, The Tradition and the Senior Players Championship.

Of the five events, the Senior PGA is by far the oldest, having been founded in 1937. The other events all date from the 1980s, when senior golf became a commercial success as the first golf stars of the television era, such as Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, reached the relevant age. The Senior British Open was not recognised as a major by the Champions Tour until 2003. The European Seniors Tour recognises only the Senior PGA and the two Senior Opens as majors. However, the Champions Tour is arguably more dominant in global senior golf than the U.S. LPGA is in global women's golf.

Other events[link]

• Golf at the Asian Games
• Golf at the Summer Olympics

See also[link]

Golf portal

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about golf on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• The R&A, St Andrews
• USGA: United States Golf Association
• International Golf Federation (IGF)

Tiger Woods
Woods at a Chevron World Challenge charity event (2011)
Personal information
Full name	Eldrick Tont Woods
Nickname	Tiger
Born	(1975-12-30) December 30, 1975 (age 36) Cypress, California
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Jupiter Island, Florida
Spouse	Elin Nordegren (2004–2010)
Children	Sam Alexis (b. 2007) Charlie Axel (b. 2009)
Career
College	Stanford University (two years)
Turned professional	1996
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour (joined 1996)
Professional wins	99[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	72 (3rd all time)
European Tour	38 (3rd all time)[2][3]
Japan Golf Tour	2
Asian Tour	1
PGA Tour of Australasia	1
Other	16
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 14)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005
U.S. Open	Won: 2000, 2002, 2008
The Open Championship	Won: 2000, 2005, 2006
PGA Championship	Won: 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour Rookie of the Year	1996
PGA Player of the Year	1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
PGA Tour Player of the Year	1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
PGA Tour leading money winner	1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Vardon Trophy	1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009
Byron Nelson Award	1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
FedEx Cup Champion	2007, 2009
(For a full list of awards, see here)

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975)^[4][5] is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No. 1, he is the highest-paid professional athlete in the world, having earned an estimated US$90.5 million from winnings and endorsements in 2010.^[6][7]

Woods turned professional in 1996, and by April 1997 he had already won his first major, the 1997 Masters. He first reached the number one position in the world rankings in June 1997. Through the 2000s, Woods was the dominant force in golf, spending 264 weeks from August 1999 to September 2004 and 281 weeks from June 2005 to October 2010 as world number one. From December 2009 to early April 2010, Woods took leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after he admitted infidelity. His multiple infidelities were revealed by several different women, through many worldwide media sources.^[8] This was followed by a loss of form, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of #58 in November 2011.^[7][9] He snapped a career-long winless streak of 107 weeks when he captured the Chevron World Challenge in December 2011.^[9] As of April 8, 2012, he is ranked #8.^[10]

Woods has broken numerous golf records. He has been world number one for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks of any other golfer. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record ten times,^[11] the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times, and has the record of leading the money list in nine different seasons. He has won 14 professional major golf championships, the second highest of any player (Jack Nicklaus leads with 18), and 72 PGA Tour events, third all time behind Sam Snead and Nicklaus.^[12] He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer does. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour. Additionally, Woods is only the second golfer, after Jack Nicklaus, to have achieved a career Grand Slam three times. Woods has won 16 World Golf Championships, and won at least one of those events in each of the first 11 years after they began in 1999.

Background and family[link]

Woods was born Eldrick Tont Woods in Cypress, California, to Earl (1932–2006) and Kultida (Tida) Woods (born 1944). He is the only child of their marriage, but does have two half-brothers, Earl Jr. (born 1955) and Kevin (born 1957), and a half-sister, Royce (born 1958) from the 18-year marriage of Earl Woods and his first wife, Barbara Woods Gray.^[13] Earl, a retired lieutenant colonel and Vietnam War veteran, was of mixed African American, Chinese, and Native American ancestry. Kultida (née Punsawad), originally from Thailand (where Earl had met her on a tour of duty in 1968), is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry. This makes Woods himself half Asian (one-quarter Chinese and one-quarter Thai), one-quarter African American, one-eighth Native American, and one-eighth Dutch.^[14] He refers to his ethnic make-up as "Cablinasian" (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian).^[15]

Woods' first name, Eldrick, was coined by his mother because it began with "E" (for Earl) and ended with "K" (for Kultida). His middle name Tont is a traditional Thai name. He was nicknamed Tiger in honor of his father's friend Col. Vuong Dang Phong, who had also been known as Tiger.^[16]

Woods has a niece, Cheyenne Woods, who is an amateur golfer on Wake Forest University's golf team.^[17]

Early life and amateur golf career[link]

Woods grew up in Orange County, California. He was a child prodigy, introduced to golf before the age of two, by his athletic father Earl, a single-figure handicap amateur golfer who had been one of the earliest African-American college baseball players at Kansas State University.^[18] In 1978, Tiger putted against comedian Bob Hope in a television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. At age three, he shot a 48 over nine holes over the Cypress Navy course, and at age five, he appeared in Golf Digest and on ABC's That's Incredible.^[19] Before turning seven, Tiger won the Under Age 10 section of the Drive, Pitch, and Putt competition, held at the Navy Golf Course in Cypress, California.^[20] In 1984 at the age of eight, he won the 9–10 boys' event, the youngest age group available, at the Junior World Golf Championships.^[21] He first broke 80 at age eight.^[22] He went on to win the Junior World Championships six times, including four consecutive wins from 1988 to 1991.^{[23][24][25][26][27]}

Woods' father Earl wrote that Tiger first beat him when he was 11 years old, with Earl trying his best. Earl lost to Tiger every time from then on.^[28][29] Woods first broke 70 on a regulation golf course at age 12.^[30]

Woods' first major national junior tournament was the 1989 Big I, when he was 13 years old. Woods was paired with pro John Daly, then relatively unknown, in the final round; the event's format placed a professional with each group of juniors who had qualified. Daly birdied three of the last four holes to beat Woods by only one stroke.^[31] As a young teenager, Woods first met Jack Nicklaus in Los Angeles at the Bel-Air Country Club, when Nicklaus was performing a clinic for the club's members. Woods was part of the show, and impressed Nicklaus and the crowd with his skills and potential.^[32] Earl Woods had researched in detail the career accomplishments of Nicklaus, and had set his young son the goals of breaking those records.^[30]

While attending Western High School in Anaheim at the age of 15, Woods became the youngest ever U.S. Junior Amateur champion (a record which stood until it was broken by Jin Liu in 2010).^[33] He was named 1991's Southern California Amateur Player of the Year (for the second consecutive year) and Golf Digest Junior Amateur Player of the Year. In 1992, he defended his title at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, becoming the first multiple winner; competed in his first PGA Tour event, the Nissan Los Angeles Open (he missed the 36-hole cut); and was named Golf Digest Amateur Player of the Year, Golf World Player of the Year, and Golfweek National Amateur of the Year.^[34][35]

The following year, Woods won his third consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur Championship; he remains the event's only three-time winner.^[36] In 1994, at the TPC at Sawgrass in Florida, he became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship, a record that stood until 2008 when it was broken by Danny Lee.^[37] He was a member of the American team at the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Golf Team Championships (winning), and the 1995 Walker Cup (losing).^[38][39]

Woods graduated from Western High School in 1994 at age 18, and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" among the graduating class. He had starred for the high school's golf team under coach Don Crosby.^[40]

College golf career[link]

Woods was recruited very heavily by college golf powers, and chose Stanford University, the 1994 NCAA Division I champion. He enrolled at Stanford in the fall of 1994 under a golf scholarship, winning his first collegiate event, the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational, that September.^[41] He declared a major in economics, and was nicknamed "Urkel" by college teammate Notah Begay III.^[42] In 1995, he successfully defended his U.S. Amateur title at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island^[37] and was voted Pac-10 Player of the Year, NCAA First Team All-American, and Stanford's Male Freshman of the Year (an award that encompasses all sports).^[43][44] He participated in his first PGA Tour major, the 1995 Masters Tournament, and tied for 41st as the only amateur to make the cut. At age 20 in 1996, he became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles^[45] and won the NCAA individual golf championship.^[46] In winning the Silver Medal as leading amateur at The Open Championship, he tied the record for an amateur aggregate score of 281.^[47] He left college after two years and turned professional.

Professional career[link]

Woods in 2001

Woods became a professional golfer in August 1996, and immediately signed deals with Nike, Inc. and Titleist that ranked as the most lucrative endorsement contracts in golf history at that time.^[48][49] Woods was named Sports Illustrated's 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.^[50] In April 1997, he won his first major, the Masters, becoming the tournament's youngest-ever winner.^[51] Two months later, he set the record for the fastest-ever ascent to #1 in the Official World Golf Rankings.^[52] After a lackluster 1998, Woods finished the 1999 season with eight wins, including the PGA Championship, a feat not achieved since 1974.^[53][54]

In 2000, Woods achieved six consecutive wins, the longest winning streak since 1948. One of these was the 2000 U.S. Open, where he broke or tied nine tournament records in what Sports Illustrated called "the greatest performance in golf history."^[55] At age 24, he became the youngest golfer to achieve the Career Grand Slam.^[56] At the end of 2000, Woods had won nine of the twenty PGA Tour events he entered and had broken the record for lowest scoring average in tour history. He was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, the first and only athlete to be honored twice, and was ranked by Golf Digest magazine as the twelfth-best golfer of all time.^[57][58]

Woods at the 2004 Ryder Cup

Woods' victory in the 2001 Masters Tournament made him the first player to hold all four major professional golf titles at the same time.^[59] Following a stellar 2001 and 2002 in which Woods continued to dominate the tour, Woods' career hit a "slump".^[53][60] He did not win a major in 2003 or 2004. In September 2004, Vijay Singh overtook Woods in the Official World Golf Rankings, breaking Woods' record streak of 264 weeks at #1.^[61] Woods rebounded in 2005, winning six official PGA Tour money events and reclaiming the top spot in July after swapping it back and forth with Singh over the first half of the year.^[62]

In 2006, Woods began dominantly, winning his first two PGA tournaments but failing to capture his fifth Masters championship in April.^[63][64] Following the death of his father in May, Woods took a nine-week hiatus from the tour and appeared rusty upon his return at the U.S. Open, missing the cut at Winged Foot.^[65] However, he quickly returned to form and ended the year by winning six consecutive tour events. At the season's close, with 54 wins and 12 majors wins, Woods had broken the tour records for both total wins and total majors wins over eleven seasons.^[66]

Woods at the 2006 Masters Tournament

He continued to excel in 2007 and the first part of 2008. In April 2008, he underwent knee surgery and missed the next two months on the tour.^[67] Woods returned for the 2008 U.S. Open, where he struggled the first day but ultimately claimed a dramatic victory over Rocco Mediate, after which Mediate said, "This guy does things that are just not normal by any stretch of the imagination," and Kenny Perry added, "He beat everybody on one leg."^[68][69][70] Two days later, Woods announced that he would miss the remainder of the season due to further knee surgery, and that his knee was more severely damaged than previously revealed, prompting even greater praise for his U.S. Open performance. Woods called it "my greatest ever championship."^[71][72][73] In Woods' absence, TV ratings for the remainder of the season suffered a huge decline from 2007.^[74]

Upon Woods' much-anticipated return in 2009, he performed well, including a spectacular performance at the 2009 Presidents Cup, but failed to win a major, the first year since 2004 that he failed to do so.^[75][76][77] After his marital infidelities came to light at the end of 2009 and received massive media coverage, Woods announced in December that he would be taking an indefinite break from competitive golf. In February 2010, he delivered a televised apology for his behavior. During this period, several companies ended their endorsement deals with Woods.

He returned to competition in April at the 2010 Masters Tournament, where he finished in a tie for fourth place.^[78] He followed the Masters with poor showings at the Quail Hollow Championship and the Players Championship, where he withdrew in the fourth round citing injury.^[79] Shortly afterward, Woods' coach since 2003, Hank Haney, resigned the position; he was replaced in August by Sean Foley. The rest of the season went badly for Woods, who failed to win a single event for the first time since turning professional, while nevertheless finishing the season ranked #2 in the world.

Woods' performance continued to suffer in 2011, taking its toll on his ranking. After falling to #7 in March, he rebounded to #5 with a strong showing at the 2011 Masters Tournament, where he tied for fourth place.^[80][81][82] Due to leg injuries incurred at the Masters, he missed several summer events; in July he fired his longtime caddy Steve Williams, replacing him temporarily with friend Bryon Bell.^[83][84] After returning to tournament play in August, Woods continued to falter, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of #58.^[9] He rose to #50 in mid-November after a third-place win at the Emirates Australian Open, and broke his winless streak with a victory at December's Chevron World Challenge.^[9][85]

His 2012 season started at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on the European Tour in late January. For the first two days of play Tiger was grouped with Rory McIlroy and world No.1 Luke Donald. He shot under par rounds of 70 and 69 on Thursday and Friday respectively, which left him in joint 4th place at 5-under par. His low round of the week came on Saturday, shooting a 6-under par 66, giving him the joint lead with England's Robert Rock. Woods struggled on Sunday and couldn't mount a big enough charge, shooting a level par 72 and settling for joint 3rd place. Woods' second tournament of the year came at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in early February which he had not played since 2002. His amateur partner for the week was Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Woods shot solid rounds of 68-68-67 on the first three days, and began Sunday in third place, four shots behind leader Charlie Wi. However, he struggled with his putting and shot a final round 75 while his playing partner Phil Mickelson shot a 64 and won the tournament.

His next tournament was the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona. Woods battled to win his first round match against Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, 1-up, and then played Nick Watney in the second round. On the 18th hole, Woods had to make birdie to extend the match, however his 5 foot putt missed and he was knocked out of the tournament. Woods commented that his putting was hindered technically and required some work after battling with it throughout the round.^[86] The following week Woods teed off at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Woods commented that he had referred back to putting basics instead of new technique he had been applying. Woods' putting over the first three days of tournament play was noticeably better, but the ball was struggling to fall into the hole. Tiger began the fourth round on 2-under par, 9 shots behind leader Rory McIlroy. After parring the first hole and being delayed by adverse weather, Woods returned and played the remaining 17 holes in 8-under par including two eagles and no bogeys. A birdie-eagle finish set up Woods to possibly claim the title, however McIlroy kept his cool and won the tournament. Tiger finished joint second, and the round also marked his lowest final round score in his PGA Tour career.

Woods played the following week at the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami, Florida. Tiger spent the first three days near the top of the leaderboard and shot 72-67-68 to start the fourth round in tied 8th place at 9-under par, 8 shots behind leader Bubba Watson. Woods struggled on the front 9 and shot 2-over par going out. He then began to noticeably limp on the next three holes and went on to withdraw from the tournament with an apparent left leg injury, which was later confirmed as a strain on his left Achilles tendon that had been injured previously at the 2011 Masters Tournament. After a short time off, Woods played in the Tavistock Cup at the Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, representing Team Albany, finishing 4th. The same week, Woods began the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After three rounds of 69, 65 and a 71, he began Sunday in the lead at 11-under par, one shot ahead of Graeme McDowell. Woods remained in the lead throughout the round and shot a 2-under par 70 to claim his seventh win at Bay Hill and also marked his first win on the PGA Tour since the BMW Championship in September 2009. After a week off, he returned to Augusta for the Masters Tournament. Over the four days, Woods was never close to contending the title, and shot rounds of 72-75-72-74 to finish tied 40th. After a 3 week break from competition, Woods traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Wells Fargo Championship. Although starting positively with a 1-under par 71, Woods' second round of 73 (1-over) derailed his tournament hopes and resulted in him missing his eighth cut as a professional by 1 shot and second in as many years for the tournament. The following week, Woods played The Players Championship. After an opening round of 74 (2-over), he was in threat of missing a second consecutive cut, a first for his professional career, however after a 4-under 68, he was firmly staying in the tournament as well as being in the hunt for the weekend. However, a weekend charge never mounted despite good ball striking and he settled for T40th at 1-under par.

Endorsements[link]

Woods has been called the world's most marketable athlete.^[87] Shortly after his 21st birthday in 1996, he began signing endorsement deals with numerous companies, including General Motors, Titleist, General Mills, American Express, Accenture, and Nike, Inc. In 2000, he signed a 5-year, $105 million contract extension with Nike. It was the largest endorsing deal ever signed by an athlete at that time.^[88] Woods' endorsement has been credited with playing a significant role in taking the Nike Golf brand from a "start-up" golf company earlier in the past decade, to becoming the leading golf apparel company in the world, and a major player in the equipment and golf ball market.^[87][89] Nike Golf is one of the fastest growing brands in the sport, with an estimated $600 million in sales.^[90] Woods has been described as the "ultimate endorser" for Nike Golf,^[90] frequently seen wearing Nike gear during tournaments, and even in advertisements for other products.^[88] Woods receives a cut from the sales of Nike Golf apparel, footwear, golf equipment, golf balls,^[87] and has a building named after him at Nike’s headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon.^[91]

In 2002, Woods was involved in every aspect of the launch of Buick's Rendezvous SUV. A company spokesman stated that Buick is happy with the value of Woods' endorsement, pointing out that more than 130,000 Rendezvous vehicles were sold in 2002 and 2003. "That exceeded our forecasts," he was quoted as saying, "It has to be in recognition of Tiger." In February 2004, Buick renewed Woods' endorsement contract for another five years, in a deal reportedly worth $40 million.^[88]

Woods collaborated closely with TAG Heuer to develop the world's first professional golf watch, released in April 2005.^[92] The lightweight, titanium-construction watch, designed to be worn while playing the game, incorporates numerous innovative design features to accommodate golf play. It is capable of absorbing up to 5,000 Gs of shock, far in excess of the forces generated by a normal golf swing.^[92] In 2006, the TAG Heuer Professional Golf Watch won the prestigious iF product design award in the Leisure/Lifestyle category.^[93]

Woods preparing for a photo shoot in 2006

Woods also endorses the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series of video games; he has done so since 1999.^[94] In 2006, he signed a six-year contract with Electronic Arts, the series' publisher.^[95]

In February 2007, along with Roger Federer and Thierry Henry, Woods became an ambassador for the "Gillette Champions" marketing campaign. Gillette did not disclose financial terms, though an expert estimated the deal could total between $10 million and $20 million.^[96]

In October 2007, Gatorade announced that Woods would have his own brand of sports drink starting in March 2008. "Gatorade Tiger" was his first U.S. deal with a beverage company and his first licensing agreement. Although no figures were officially disclosed, Golfweek magazine reported that it was for five years and could pay him as much as $100 million.^[97] The company decided in early fall 2009 to discontinue the drink due to weak sales.^[98]

According to Golf Digest, Woods made $769,440,709 from 1996 to 2007,^[99] and the magazine predicted that by 2010, Woods would pass one billion dollars in earnings.^[100] In 2009, Forbes confirmed that Woods was indeed the world's first athlete to earn over a billion dollars in his career (before taxes), after accounting for the $10 million bonus Woods received for the FedEx Cup title.^[101][102] The same year, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $600 million, making him the second richest "African American" behind only Oprah Winfrey.^[103]

Honors[link]

Woods driving in 2007

On August 20, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver announced that Woods would be inducted into the California Hall of Fame. He was inducted December 5, 2007 at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento.^[104][105]

He has been named "Athlete of the Decade" by the Associated Press in December 2009.^[106] He has been named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year a record-tying four times, and is the only person to be named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year more than once.

Since his record-breaking win at the 1997 Masters Tournament, golf's increased popularity is commonly attributed to Woods' presence. He is credited by some sources for dramatically increasing prize money in golf, generating interest in new audiences, and for drawing the largest TV audiences in golf history.^{[50][107][108][109][110][111]}

Tiger-proofing[link]

Early in Woods' career, a small number of golf experts expressed concern about his impact on the competitiveness of the game and the public appeal of professional golf. Sportswriter Bill Lyon of Knight-Ridder asked in a column, "Isn't Tiger Woods actually bad for golf?" (though Lyon ultimately concluded that he was not).^[112] At first, some pundits feared that Woods would drive the spirit of competition out of the game of golf by making existing courses obsolete and relegating opponents to simply competing for second place each week.

A related effect was measured by economist Jennifer Brown of the University of California, Berkeley who found that other golfers played worse when competing against Woods than when he was not in the tournament. The scores of highly skilled (exempt) golfers are nearly one stroke higher when playing against Woods. This effect was larger when he was on winning streaks and disappeared during his well-publicized slump in 2003–04. Brown explains the results by noting that competitors of similar skill can hope to win by increasing their level of effort, but that, when facing a "superstar" competitor, extra exertion does not significantly raise one's level of winning while increasing risk of injury or exhaustion, leading to reduced effort.^[113]

Many courses in the PGA Tour rotation (including Major Championship sites like Augusta National) began to add yardage to their tees in an effort to slow down long hitters like Woods, a strategy that became known as "Tiger-Proofing". Woods himself welcomed the change as he believes adding yardage to the course does not affect his ability to win.^[114]

Playing style[link]

Woods practicing before 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

When Woods first joined the professional tour in 1996, his long drives had a large impact on the world of golf.^[115][116] However, when he did not upgrade his equipment in the following years (insisting upon the use of True Temper Dynamic Gold steel-shafted clubs and smaller steel clubheads that promoted accuracy over distance),^[117] many opponents caught up to him. Phil Mickelson even made a joke in 2003 about Woods using "inferior equipment", which did not sit well with Nike, Titleist or Woods.^[118][119] During 2004, Woods finally upgraded his driver technology to a larger clubhead and graphite shaft, which, coupled with his clubhead speed, made him one of the Tour's lengthier players off the tee once again.

Despite his power advantage, Woods has always focused on developing an excellent all-around game. Although in recent years he has typically been near the bottom of the Tour rankings in driving accuracy, his iron play is generally accurate, his recovery and bunker play is very strong, and his putting (especially under pressure) is possibly his greatest asset. He is largely responsible for a shift to higher standards of athleticism amongst professional golfers, and is known for putting in more hours of practice than most.^{[120][121][122]}

From mid-1993, while he was still an amateur, until 2004, Woods worked almost exclusively with leading swing coach Butch Harmon. From mid-1997, Harmon and Woods fashioned a major redevelopment of Woods' full swing, achieving greater consistency, better distance control, and better kinesiology. The changes began to pay off in 1999.^[123] From March 2004 to 2010, Woods was coached by Hank Haney, who worked on flattening his swing plane. Woods continued to win tournaments with Haney, but his driving accuracy dropped significantly. Haney resigned in May 2010 and was replaced by Sean Foley. ^[124]

Mike "Fluff" Cowan served as Woods' caddy from the start of his professional career until March 1999.^[125] He was replaced by Steve Williams, who became a close friend of Woods and is often credited with helping him with key shots and putts.^[126] In June 2011, Woods fired Williams and replaced him with Woods' friend Bryon Bell, on an interim basis. Joe LaCava, a former caddy of both Fred Couples and Dustin Johnson, was hired by Woods shortly after.^{[citation needed]}

Equipment[link]

As of 2011:^{[127][128][129]}

• Driver: Nike VR Tour (8.5 degree; Graphite Design Tour AD DI 6x shaft)
• Fairway Woods: Nike VR Pro 15° 3-wood and Nike SQ II 19° 5-Wood with Mitsubishi Diamana Blueboard 103 shaft
• Irons: Nike VR Pro Blades (2-PW) (Tiger will put his 5 Wood or 2 Iron in the bag depending upon the course setup and conditions). All irons are 1 degree upright, have D4 swingweight, standard size Tour Velvet grips and True Temper Dynamic Gold X-100 shafts.^[130]
• Wedges: Nike VR Pro (56 and 60 degree; True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts)
• Putter: Nike Method 001
• Ball: Nike ONE Tour D (with "Tiger" imprint)
• Golf Glove: Nike Dri-FIT Tour glove
• Golf Shoes: Nike TW '13
• Driver club cover: Frank, a plush tiger head club cover created by his mother. Frank has appeared in several commercials.^[131]

Career achievements[link]

Woods has won 72 official PGA Tour events including 14 majors. He is 14–1 when going into the final round of a major with at least a share of the lead. He has been heralded as "the greatest closer in history" by multiple golf experts.^{[132][133][134]} He owns the lowest career scoring average and the most career earnings of any player in PGA Tour history.

He has spent the most consecutive and cumulative weeks atop the world rankings. He is one of five players (along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus) to have won all four professional major championships in his career, known as the Career Grand Slam, and was the youngest to do so.^[135] Woods is the only player to have won all four professional major championships in a row, accomplishing the feat in the 2000–2001 seasons.

• PGA Tour wins (72)
• European Tour wins (38)
• Japan Golf Tour wins (2)
• Asian Tour wins (1)
• PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)
• Other professional wins (15)
• Amateur wins (21)

Major championships[link]

Wins (14)[link]