ABOUT SPORTS: GOLF

What is golf ?

It is a club and ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Four hours is the estimate most people give for how long it takes to play 18 holes of golf.

Where did golf originate from ?

It's definitely true that golf as we know it emerged in Scotland. The Scots were playing golf in its very basic form - take a club, swing it at a ball, move ball from starting point to finishing point in as few strokes as possible - by at least the mid-15th Century.

The Four Majors

The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the Major Championships, and often referred to simply as "the majors", are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in professional golf. In order of their playing date, the current majors are:

• Masters Tournament

The Masters Tournament, also known as The Masters or The US Masters, is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, it is the first of the majors to be played each year. Unlike the other major championships, the Masters is held each year at the same location, Augusta National Golf Club, a private golf club in the city of Augusta, Georgia, USA

•United States Open Championship

The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. It is staged by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in mid-June, scheduled so that, if there are no weather delays, the final round is played on the third Sunday.

•The Open Championship

The Open Championship, or simply The Open (often referred to as the British Open), is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. Held in the United Kingdom, it is administered by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and is the only major outside the United States. The Open is currently the third major of the calendar year, following The Masters and the U.S. Open, and preceding the PGA Championship.

•PGA Championship

The PGA Championship (sometimes, especially outside of the United States, referred to as the U.S. PGA Championship or U.S. PGA) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers Association of America. It is one of the four major championships in professional golf, and it is the golf season's final major, played in mid-August on the 3rd weekend prior to Labor Day weekend.

Ryder Cup