Ancient Courses
September 25, 2009 by admin
photo credit: danperry.com In golf's early days, course conditions were far from what they are today. Back then, the game was played on fields barely cleared. Courses weren't maintained, they were just accepted.
The first ball in use was called the featherie and it was prone to splitting. It also got much heavier when wet. What followed wasn't much better: the gutta percha ball was introduced in 1848 and was a rounded piece of tree resin.
Greens were hardly distinguishable from fairways (the word fairway wasn't used until the late 1800's), nothing like today's manicured surfaces.
Golf began in the British Isles and was played under horrible conditions. Once the game started, it was customary to complete the round, even in a raging blizzard. How would today's players fare under those same conditions?
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