Urban Golf Special – Part 1 Although it is played by enthusiastic golfers on US college campuses and there are now organized competitions for it across the world, urban golf is still mostly unknown to many golf enthusiasts.
Urban Golf Special - Part 1 What are the main rules of urban golf? Welcome to the first in a three-part series that focuses solely on the urban golf phenomenon. In this unique set of three articles, we look into the game’s true nature, its history, how it is played, its regulations, the locations throughout the globe where it is played, as well as some surprising players. Finally, we’ll look to the future and consider if urban golf could help to grow the popularity of the wonderful game of golf.
What do we mean by ‘urban golf’? Urban Golf Special – Part 1 A kind of golf called “urban golf” is played outside of the typical parkland’s lush vegetation or links courses’ sand dunes. Instead, a flexible (and usually arbitrary) set of rules are used, and the game is played in populated locations.
Before anyone holds their breath and imagines the somewhat unsettling thought of a group of golfers teeing up their Titleist ProV1s while getting their drivers ready to smash their ball down a busy city street, it is crucial to note that safety and consideration of others are key issues for all variations of urban golf. Therefore, it’s crucial to eliminate these ideas from the mind.
Urban golf’s core concept is that players employ the distinctive difficulties of their immediate urban environment to play a hybrid game of golf that falls between “traditional” and “crazy golf.” Roadways, pathways, gutters, lampposts, trees, hills, cobblestones, and even fences can all be included as part of a hole.
It is significant to highlight that in urban golf, a “hole” has a figurative rather than literal significance. The sole restriction on what can be used as a “hole” in urban golf is the golfer’s creativity. Any hole can be directed at a concrete pillar, a chalk mark on the floor, or even just a distant patch of bare ground.
The game proceeds as it would in regular golf, save from these significant modifications. Players try to take the fewest number of shots necessary to bring the ball to the intended objective. The contestant who uses the fewest number of shots overall wins. Shots taken on each hole are tallied up between competitors.
Urban Golf Special - Part 1 How was the game developed? Urban Golf Special – Part 1 According to Wikipedia, the game was created by young people who wanted an alternative to having to pay exorbitant fees or dress in uncool attire to play golf on private courses. Some claim that a Californian called Brian Jerome Paterson, who created a crude version of the game in 1999, is responsible for its subsequent evolution. The game had previously been seen primarily as a “drinking game,” with holes being played from one pub to the next. The popularity of the game in its early years undoubtedly stemmed from its association with drinking, yet since Mr. Paterson created his version, it has greatly evolved from these origins.
While it may be true of the modern game, records indicate that Mr. Duncan Thomas may have played his own version of the game as early as 1741, teeing off in front of the White Hart Inn in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland!
Since then, urban golf has been increasingly popular, particularly in the US, where several illustrious institutions have their own urban golf societies and even have their own urban golf courses on campus. The UK’s inaugural Urban Golf Open took place in London in 2005.
The sport was initially perceived as a reaction to the stuffy and staid culture of private golf club membership, which is sometimes thought to have a lot of rules and regulations that seem to exclude many individuals from playing. No matter where they were, how much money they had, or what they were wearing, anyone could pick up a golf club and play the game of urban golf.
Does this actually happen when you wind up harming your golf equipment or you’re (or someone else’s) property?
Really not, It’s important to keep in mind that urban golf is non-intrusive. It involves intelligently utilizing the urban setting to present the player with fresh golfing obstacles and the ability to put their golfing prowess to the test in a fun, interesting way.
We’ll look at some of the specialized gear and the areas where courses or holes are set up in our future posts to make sure that no harm comes to your equipment, the community, or the property of others. We’ll also look into some of the game’s (limited) rules and how players throughout the world approach it differently.