Golf is still not very popular sport among people around the world. One of the reasons may be the fact that it is considered by many as a discipline for rich ones. This stereotype may come from the history of modern golf which dates back to fifteenth century Scotland. In these times playing golf was reserved only for those of high birth. The sport had been mentioned for the first time in 1457 when it was prohibited by the king of Scotland. He believed that it took precious time which should be set aside for practicing archery. Thankfully golf survived those hard times and kept evolving. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century it crossed the borders of the United Kingdom and spread all around the world. Thanks to soldiers and immigrants golf started to be known in British colonies and in Europe. The highest grow in the popularity of this discipline in the USA was observed in the first half of twentieth century. The time of war stopped the grow for a moment but it continued afterwards.

The only equipment we need to play golf is a special ball and a club with which we stroke the ball. There are many different types of clubs but the most popular are called wood, iron and putter. They differ in a shape and material from which they are made. The players change them depending on how long is the distance to the hole and what way they want to stroke the ball. The game takes place on the golf course which is a piece of land with nine or eighteen holes. Each golf course is divided into several areas which differ in the height of the grass. The place in which the game starts is called teeting ground or simply tee, while the others are for example rough, fairway or green. On some golf courses we can also find some hazards like sand bunkers or water hazards. If the course is quite big the players can move from one place to another using golf carts. It is especially convenient for those who play alone, as they do not have to carry the equipment by themselves. Not everyone wants to hire caddies, who are responsible for that matter.

Golf can be played as individual game as well as in the team. The rules of it are not very complicated because the players’ aim is to hit the ball into the holes which are numbered. To win in most cases the golfer has to do it in fewer number of strokes than his opponents. However, stroking the ball in a good way is not as simple as it look like when we watch it on TV. There are few techniques which are used by a golfers depending on how far the ball have to be stroked. Players who want to have a professional golf careers practice many hours a day. Most of them later on works in a golf clubs and teach other players. But there is a small group of golfers whose full-time job is to take part in tournaments. Nowadays people like Tiger Woods gets an enormous amount of money not only for winning but also for advertising his sponsors. That is because golf, as well as any other professional sport which attracts viewers attention, is treated as business. However, as long as the game stays on a certain level and brings joy to people it is not a huge problem.