I have learned much about the sport on Wilmington golf courses. Not only have I improved my game by receiving great golf stance tips from trainers, but my time spent on these Wilmington, Delaware golf courses has taught me a wealth of knowledge about the history of my favorite game, which is to become an Olympic sport in 2016.
My days on Wilmington golf courses have been fruitful. As my technique improved, I was given the opportunity to disband myself of so many misnomers that pervade the sport. For example, I found out that the word “golf” does not stand for “gentlemen only, ladies forbidden,” as myself and many others long believed. The term, in fact, comes from the word “kolf,” which means “club” in Dutch.
I learned, while receiving wonderful golf grip tips, that a golfer that is swinging a club at approximately 100 miles per hour will carry the ball up to eighty yard farther for each 25 degree increase in air temperature. I now tend to challenge my friends to a round on hotter days.
It was on one of the many Wilmington golf courses that I learned from where the term “birdie” originates. Surprisingly, it stems from 19th century American slang. The word “bird” at this particular time in America was used to refer to anything or anyone that was particular great. I suppose the Trashmen were correct in claiming that “bird is the word” on their most well known single.
It was also on one of the Wilmington golf courses that I learned of King James II banning golf in Scotland. In 1457 the king believed that the game, becoming as naturally popular as it did, was distracting from the military rigor of the Scots. I realized on Wilmington golf courses that I was born into just the right time and place for who I am…a golfer.