Now we all know the game of golf is centuries old, we also know that the birthplace of golf was St Andrews, and the oldest golf course in the world is The Old Course. But have you ever sat and wondered why a game of golf is played across 18 holes?
Whilst investigating the matter, we came across two plausible explanations that we think best fit the question ‘why 18 holes?’
Reason one: The practicality of 18 holes
When thinking about a round of golf, the test of skill needs to be substantial enough that it tests the endurance of the players, the skill level and won’t take all day.
Now we know what some of you are thinking, a round of golf can take up to four or five hours depending on the pace of the round, BUT the timing of that is just about right – it doesn’t take all day and you feel as though you have played a good game.
On a golf course, each hole adds variety to the golfer’s experience. The round of golf has to test the golfers’ abilities and has to also feel like a fair and balanced competition. Across 18 holes, you usually get a variety of pars, yardage and different widths, lengths and curvature. Times that by 18 and you have a challenging round full of variety!
Reason two: The bottle of scotch
Now this is our favourite reason, and we think the most plausible.
Let’s set the scene…The legend says it all started in 1958 in St Andrews, back when golf courses ranged from 7, to 13, to 22 holes. Tradition was that you took a ‘fifth’ bottle of scotch around the course with you during play. Well, a bottle of scotch is roughly 18 small glasses worth (give or take), and after every hole, it was custom to take a tipple. So, then it was settled. 18 tipples of scotch for 18 holes of golf.
So, not only do we have two very plausible answers to the question ‘Why do golf courses have 18 holes’, we have also discovered what the link is between golf and whisky!
