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GOLF
In
praise of the green |
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Golf
is like love, Not savored unless taken seriously, heart
-breaking if you take a defeat too much to heart
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Avast tract of well-manicured
grass as far as the eye can see. In the player's hand a club.
All attention on the tiny littleball on the ground. The epitome
of concentration. Then the club traces a wide arc through the
air and connects with the ball on the ground. And, following a
violent collision, the ball rolls into a hole meters away.
That's golf for you.
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Concentration at the moment of contact is highly important in
the game of golf. Be alert, for the slightest hesitation can
mean a bad shot |
A FORBIDDEN SPORT
Golf spread throughout the
world five centuries ago after originating among the English
aristocracy. Legend has it that when Scottish sailors went
ashore they picked up sticks which they struck against the
stones as they walked. This caught the attention of the
English, and in time this game of 'sticks and stones' moved
onto the lawns of palace gardens. Go/f, which is played by
hitting round balls into holes in the ground with thick
clubs, was prohibited by James II in
1457 on
the grounds that it interfered with military activities.
ames IV however was a golf lover, and the game started to be
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played
again in 1502, eventually filtering down from the palace to
the common people.J A circular issued in 1552 by the
Archbishop of St Andrews in Scotland granted permission for
a golf tournament to be held in the city for the first time.
The first woman golfer was the Mary, Queen of Scots, in
1567. Golf was recognized as an Olympic sport at the Paris
Olympic games in 1900.
60
MILLION GOLFERS WORLDWIDE
Golf is
played by over
60 million
people in the world today, 13 million of them licensed, 50
million unlicensed, on a total of 27 thousand golf courses.
The largest number of courses and golfers is in the u.S.,
which has 16,900 courses and 4.5 million players, followed
by Austria, with 1303 courses and 484 thousand players, and
Australia with 1268 courses and 371 thousand players. The
main reason for the widespread popularity of golf is that it
is one of the sports least harmful to the health or to the
environment. What's more, everybody, man or woman, from 7 to
77 can play. In the world of sports, golf is both very
special and very 'cool'.
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TURKEY
JOINS THE FRAY
Turkey has the land, climate and water resources
conducive to golf. Although it is new to the country,
golf has already made huge inroads. Antalya's Belek
region in particular, with its matchless cultural,
historical and natural assets and quality golf courses
and facilities, has a great potential for world golf
tourism. Most of the |
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golf
courses in Turkey are located near the coasts on the grounds
of ultra modern hotels and resorts, close to shopping
entertainment and the country's historical sites. In other
words, spots tailor-made for people who want to both take a
holiday and engage in sports. Based on international
criteria, there are nine courses and close to 600 golfers in
Turkey today, and the sport is the focus of such intense
interest that, besides Antalya, golf courses to
international standards are planned to open in Istanbul,
Ankara and Mugla within a couple of years.
HOW TO
PLAY?
Before
starting golf, you need
a
comfortable pair of pants. And on top, a T-shirt if it's
summer, a sweater if winter. As for the basic equipment, a
golf club bag, two pairs of golf shoes, one normal, the
other with cleats, gloves, and a set of 14 golf clubs: three
drivers, one putter, a pitch wedge, a sand wedge, and eight
irons. In order to play this sport you of course also need a
9- or 18-hole golf course anywhere from 100 to 600 meters
long with a number of natural and artificial obstacles. In
international competitions, a round of golf, which can be
played alone without a partner, consists of an average of
70-72 strokes on an approximately 70-hectare area with 18
holes. For the initial stroke, the ball, whose surface is
pitted with 350-500 tiny indentations, is placed on a tee,
from which it is then struck by the player. If the hole is
228 meters away, the player is expected to take three
strokes, if 229-434 meters four strokes, if farther five.
The player who finishes the round with the fewest strokes is
the winner. There are two styles of competition: match play
and medal (or stroke) play. In match play the player who
fishes all the holes with the fewest strokes wins. In stroke
or match play, each player is pitted against all the other
players in the tournament, the strokes are tallied up
separately for each hole, and the player who wins the most
holes wins the game.
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STRICT RULES
Although it looks easy, golf actually demands strict
discipline. As in everything, this sport also has its
rules. If you are thinking of going on
a golf
course in a shirt and jeans, forget it. Setting foot on
a golf course without golf shoes is another no-no. And
this is just the tip of the iceberg. When a player is
taking a shot, the other players must stand a respectful
distance away and be quiet. Nor is it permitted to step
into another player's line of drive. The flag at the end
of each green is set into the ground in such a way as
not to disturb the hole. And before exiting from a sand
bunker, a player must cover up any tracks and footprints
he has left.
AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART
Besides being a sport, golf is also a form of tourism.
For golfers especially enjoy playing on different
courses. |
Unsurpassed touristically for its
historic and natural assets,
Belek also boasts international
quality golf courses and lodging |
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Consequently
golfers are also frequent travelers. What's more, golf is a
sport that can be played by people of any age. Walking a
minimum of 6 km over a green area for 4-5 hours and making
some 100-150 strokes during a round is very beneficial to
the health. At the same time golf is a sport played with the
brain. It's very important to concentrate during the game,
because if you're distracted you won't be able to hit the
ball. Only twenty |
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percent of the
game of golf consists of mechanics and technique. The other
eighty percent is philosophy, recreation, romanticism,
stubbornness, environmentalism and conversation. And if you're
beaten, of course it's a tragedy. In other words, golf is like a
love affair, not savored unless taken seriously, shattering if
you take a defeat too much to heart.
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Played
under a blue sky on green turf that stretches to the
horizon, golf is at the same time an environment-friendly
sport
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Source: Skylife 09/04
Cahide Somunošlu & Timurtaž Onan |
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