Mar
28
Posted under
History
Patty Berg is nationally recognized as one of the most accomplished women golfers. Born on February 13th, 1918 and was a golf school instructor, founding member and leading player on the LPGA, Ladies Professional Golf Association in the 1940’s, fifties and sixties. Berg began playing golf in 1931 at the age of thirteen, and her amateur career in 1934, winning her first title in the Minneapolis City Championship.
Berg turned professional in 1940, after winning twenty-nine amateur titles, and served as a lieutenant in the Marines during WWII. In 1948, she played an integral part in establishing, and later presiding over the LPGA. Throughout her career, Berg won fifty seven events on the LPGA and WPGA circuit, was the runner up in both the 1956 and 1959 LPGA championships, and achieved wins at the 1953, 1957, and 1958 Western Opens.
In addition to her impressive list of victories and wins, Berg was also well known throughout the pro golf circuit for her work within the golf school clinics she conducted on behalf of Wilson Sporting Goods, and she herself estimated that had led more than ten thousand of these clinics during the course of her career.
The LPGA tour began in 1944 as the Women’s Professional Golf Association or WPGA, founded by Hope Seignious, Betty Hicks, and Ellen Griffin. The organization struggled until nineteen fourty eight, when Wilson Sporting Goods began sponsoring it, and in 1951, the LPGA tour was founded, and Patty Berg was elected as president. A year later, the organization had a twenty-one event schedule, and Hall of Fame member Betty Jameson donated the Vare Trophy to the tour in honor of amateur great Glenna Collett Vare. A few short years later, in 1959, the LPGA Tour prize money totaled two hundred thousand dollars.
Without the talent, dedication, and effort of players like Patty Berg, women today would not have the benefit of LPGA affiliation, or the many women’s golf school opportunities that exist. For women who wish to improve their golf game, there are many great golf school opportunities available. In Arizona, golf schools like Wild Horse Pass, Phoenix Goodyear, Prescott, and Napa, in affiliation with the Eagle Golf School, offer three, four, and five day options, all taught by LPGA professionals. These packages include lodging, unlimited practice and play at the courses, daily lunch with an LPGA professional, and all applicable taxes. If you are ready to improve your golf game, Eagle Golf School is a great place to start.
Mar
22
Posted under
History
The incredibly popular game of Golf is said to have it's home in Scotland, more specifically it developed along the east coast on patches of ground known as 'links'. These links got their name because it was an area of hilly grassland linking the sand dunes and beach areas to the arable farm areas situated further inland. This ground is pretty useless for arable farming as the soil is very thin and just below the surface is sand. More stable than the dunes the links are covered in a fine grass which was kept short by the effects of grazing from rabbits, cattle and sheep. Altogether the ground was superbly springy and perfect for a game such as golf and other forms of recreation.
The exact roots of the game of golf are highly debated with both Holland and France also laying claim to it's creation. However, to understand the game's development all cases need to be examined closely and, simply put, the differences are just too great to give the claims any credence. Interestingly an ancient Roman game called paganica holds a curious resemblance in that it included the use of a ball made from a leather pouch crammed full of feathers. In the not too distant past the balls used in golf were also made using feathers and were known, for this reason, as featheries.
The Dutch game of kolven is still played today and is general discounted as the source of golf. and the French games of jeu de mail and chole are equally discounted. The thing is that only the ancient Scottish game of 'gowf' (played since, at least, in the twelfth century near St Andrews) sounds anywhere near golf and it is the only game that has the requirement of hitting the ball into a small hole in the ground using little more than a fancy stick.
The first documented evidence shows that in 1457 King James II of Scotland tried to ban the game of 'gowf' (through an act of parliament) because he believed that people played it far too much at the expense of more important things such as archery. Further evidence appears in 1552 when the people of St Andrews were granted the right to use the links for recreational purposes such as playing golf (by charter). Other documentary evidence can be found in church records which show many people receiving various punishments for playing golf on the Sabbath (Sunday).
As the popularity of the game increased the competition also increased and, in 1744, the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith (now known as the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers) petitioned Edinburgh City Council for a prize of a silver club to be awarded to the winner of the annual golf competition held on Leith Links. However it was not until 1897 that the Scottish game of golf acquired an official set of rules.
The job of drawing up the official rules fell upon the famous Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews who were also to have the final say in such matters. However it was not until 1951 that the global rules of golf were unified with the Royal & Ancient and the United States Golf Association settling many of the differences between the Scottish and American rules of the game. Today the rules are the same the world over but many golfers visit St Andrews to play a round or two on the many courses in the area, especially on the old course.
