I think Oscar Wilde summed it up perfectly with "We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language"
Now I am not going to go on a grammar Nazi attack here! Not going to mention the fact that there is a U in colour or you pronounce Lieutenant with a F and am not even going near aluminium! Let's stick with golf!
During the truly awful AT&T CBS coverage at the weekend the phrase "double eagle" was used.
A double what?
Now there are some basic terms universal in golf; bogey- 1 over par, par, birdie- 1 under par, eagle- 2 under par and albatross- 3 under par for a hole.
All together AL BA TROSS, albatross. Nowhere near as hard a word as say AL U MIN I UM!
If we even just apply basic logic to the phrase "double eagle" that would mean 2 x eagle which would be 4 under the par of a hole, not 3 under a par of a hole? A double bogey is just that, 2 over the par of a hole, treble bogey 3 over the par of a hole etc, etc.
It really is the most idiotic phrase ever to be associated with golf and that's saying something!
Logically it makes no sense. Mathematically it makes no sense. Historically it makes no sense. In fact, it quite simply makes no sense.
And yes, yes I know birdie, eagle and albatross make little sense either in the grand scheme of things but hey ho we are stuck with them.
While I am on it we play golf on a golf course, not a links!
Links courses basically only exist in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands with few exceptions.
Links is a type of course not every course. A parkland golf course is just that, a parkland golf course not a links.
When golf became popular with us peasants in Scotland all those years ago the landed gentry gave us land we could play our game on. Now they were never going to allow us good arable farming land; after all that was money making land. But, it was the coastal stretches of land that were basically non-farmable that we got to use. This land was the link between the sea and was basically just wasteland; but because it linked the two the phrase links land was used then shortened to links hence a links golf course.
Due to the abundance of brilliant links courses in the UK, the Open Championship is only played on a links golf course. The key terms there are UK and Open Championship.
The UK is Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Great Britain is Scotland, England and Wales.
In 2019 the Open Championship will be held at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland as it was in 1951, so not in Britain.
The Open Championship is run by the R&A (Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews- the golf governing body), not the British R&A, the R&A of Britain or some phantom British Golf Association. That's why is called the Open Championship and not the British Open.
In 1457, the year not the time, King James II of Scotland actually issued an edict banning golf or gowf as it was called back then. There are accounts of Mary Queen of Scots playing at Musselburgh Links in 1567. In 1687 Thomas Kincaid wrote what is to be believed to be the first ever instructions of playing golf at Leith Links. Also from Leith Links we had rules of golf written by the Company of Gentleman golfers in 1744.
We Scots know a bit about golf then?
So on behalf of my nation please, pretty please with pink ribbons and bells on it; quit this double eagle nonsense. Show the Open Championship the respect it deserves and call it by its proper name. Also simply call a golf course a course not a links.
In return we will let you keep "mashed potato" "in the hole" and "you da man"
Deal ??
Now I am not going to go on a grammar Nazi attack here! Not going to mention the fact that there is a U in colour or you pronounce Lieutenant with a F and am not even going near aluminium! Let's stick with golf!
During the truly awful AT&T CBS coverage at the weekend the phrase "double eagle" was used.
A double what?
Now there are some basic terms universal in golf; bogey- 1 over par, par, birdie- 1 under par, eagle- 2 under par and albatross- 3 under par for a hole.
All together AL BA TROSS, albatross. Nowhere near as hard a word as say AL U MIN I UM!
If we even just apply basic logic to the phrase "double eagle" that would mean 2 x eagle which would be 4 under the par of a hole, not 3 under a par of a hole? A double bogey is just that, 2 over the par of a hole, treble bogey 3 over the par of a hole etc, etc.
It really is the most idiotic phrase ever to be associated with golf and that's saying something!
Logically it makes no sense. Mathematically it makes no sense. Historically it makes no sense. In fact, it quite simply makes no sense.
And yes, yes I know birdie, eagle and albatross make little sense either in the grand scheme of things but hey ho we are stuck with them.
While I am on it we play golf on a golf course, not a links!
Links courses basically only exist in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands with few exceptions.
Links is a type of course not every course. A parkland golf course is just that, a parkland golf course not a links.
When golf became popular with us peasants in Scotland all those years ago the landed gentry gave us land we could play our game on. Now they were never going to allow us good arable farming land; after all that was money making land. But, it was the coastal stretches of land that were basically non-farmable that we got to use. This land was the link between the sea and was basically just wasteland; but because it linked the two the phrase links land was used then shortened to links hence a links golf course.
Due to the abundance of brilliant links courses in the UK, the Open Championship is only played on a links golf course. The key terms there are UK and Open Championship.
The UK is Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Great Britain is Scotland, England and Wales.
In 2019 the Open Championship will be held at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland as it was in 1951, so not in Britain.
The Open Championship is run by the R&A (Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews- the golf governing body), not the British R&A, the R&A of Britain or some phantom British Golf Association. That's why is called the Open Championship and not the British Open.
In 1457, the year not the time, King James II of Scotland actually issued an edict banning golf or gowf as it was called back then. There are accounts of Mary Queen of Scots playing at Musselburgh Links in 1567. In 1687 Thomas Kincaid wrote what is to be believed to be the first ever instructions of playing golf at Leith Links. Also from Leith Links we had rules of golf written by the Company of Gentleman golfers in 1744.
We Scots know a bit about golf then?
So on behalf of my nation please, pretty please with pink ribbons and bells on it; quit this double eagle nonsense. Show the Open Championship the respect it deserves and call it by its proper name. Also simply call a golf course a course not a links.
In return we will let you keep "mashed potato" "in the hole" and "you da man"
Deal ??
Good work Ray. Hear, hear.
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