With the golf season not only in full swing but nearing the finish line, we thought we could brush up on the basics of golf in this Fast Fact segment, sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
Origin of “golf”
Contents
show
- The word golf is derived from the Dutch word for club, which is “kolf”.
- The first golf balls were made of feathers and leather. Completely different from today’s rubber core and the patented exterior design with a honeycomb structure.
Current state of golf
- There are currently 34,000 golf courses worldwide.
- There are nearly 400 registered golf courses in Illinois.
Funny golf facts
- Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard used a 6 iron to play golf on the moon.
- If you can run all 18 holes on a normal size course, you will run about four miles … maybe a little more if your looking for high and low.
- The odds of making two holes-in-one in a single round are 1 in 67 million!
Local golf facts
- Naperville Country Club is home to the annual Vern McGonagle golf tournament, which hosts local high school programs for boys and girls.
- This year the association celebrates its 100th anniversary
- Naperville North Boys Golf is the only local program that brings home a state championship (1989/1994).
- Neuqua Valley Girls Golf was runner-up in 2000.
- There was only one individual winner of the Boys State Championship – Thomas O’Brien of Waubonsie Valley in 2010.
- There were two individual station masters for girls – Jessica Yuen from Neuqua Valley in 2013 and 2014 and Leauren Beaudreau from Benet Academy in 2018.
For more segments like the Fundamentals of Golf Fast Facts, visit our Naperville Sports Weekly page.
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?
If you are a high school sports fan please consider making a donation to the Naperville TV nonprofit!
Donate today!