Sports Then and Now

Everyone’s got at least one hobby.

It is the competitive nature of certain pastimes that raises the question as to whether they are sports or hobbies. A sport could be defined as a competitive activity that can be performed by an individual or team that is played against others for entertainment purposes. The activity typically involves both physical exertion and skill.

Meanwhile hobbies are understood to be activities done alone or with others in one’s spare time for personal enjoyment. You can immerse yourself in a myriad of ways such as exchanging sports trading cards with others, as well as playing with friends and family. While certain hobbies can be done competitively, practically all sports function on a timetable laid down by an organization responsible for governing all related competitions.

Compare that to competitive hobbies that are done in one’s selected free time.

Some pastimes can be performed either as hobbies or sports, which leads to some general confusion. Are the following activities hobbies or sports? Let’s find out!

Golf

We begin this list with a sport that is often associated with leisure time afforded to older retire gentlemen or a “paper pusher” hoping to make a good impression on his boss.

For some, golf is very much a hobby. This is because it is strictly done during free time. But this game’s long history suggests that it is indeed a sport.

The sport of golf meets all three major requirements to be considered such. Read the rest of this entry →

St. Andrews in Yonkers, New York is billed as the first golf club in the United States. But is it really?

It’s commonly claimed that the oldest golf course to be founded in the United States is St. Andrews, in Yonkers, New York. It’s one of those little bits of trivia meant to show that you are a true aficionado of the sport rather than a mere schlub. Doubt it? Go visit their website. It’s the very first thing they say about themselves.

Except, it isn’t.

It’s not even true that it’s the oldest U.S. course to still be in use, or even in continuous use since it was built. First started as a three hole course in 1888, St. Andrews has been open every year since, providing 126 years of continuous play for golfers in the States. During that time it has expanded from three holes to the “standard” eighteen hole, par 71 course that is known and loved today, and lauded as the first and oldest golf course in the U.S.

Unfortunately, neither claim is true. Those titles were earned earlier, in 1884. There’s just one small problem with naming who holds them. Two courses were founded that year, and no one is quite certain which opened first. One is the Foxburg Golf Club in Pennsylvania. The other is Oakhurst Links in West Virginia.

Which came first? It’s hard to say. Both have a claim for that preeminence. But the exact date of the first game played on the course is uncertain. Without knowing that, it’s impossible to appoint a single winner. So let’s take a quick look at both.
Read the rest of this entry →

The Masters Tournament is held every year at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. Originally established in 1934, the tournament has become perhaps the most renowned on the PGA Tour because of the history and traditions that are associated with it. Organizers have reshaped and redesigned the course over the years, but these traditions remain and will continue to do so well into the future.

Green Jacket

Since 1949, the winner of the Masters has been awarded a green jacket. This golfer is only permitted to keep the jacket until the following year’s tournament, at which time it must be returned to the clubhouse. Past champions are allowed to wear the green jacket that they have won whenever they return to the golf course, but should never wear it anywhere else.

Read the rest of this entry →

Even though he hasn’t won a major tournament in five years, Tiger Woods is still the richest golfer in the sport.

During 2013 we have seen a number of golfers hit the sports rich list keeping themselves amongst the world’s greatest footballer, basket ball stars and boxers. Express Golf has been through the Forbes rich list to pick out the 2013 top 5 richest golfers and a bit of background info on how they achieved these earnings.

5. Brandt Snedeker
The Nashville resident golfer Brandt Snedeker holds the fifth spot in our rankings after a great 2012 where he won the PGA Tour championship which left him at a record high world ranking position of 4 at the beginning of the year. Its estimated that his combined earnings left him with around $19m with $17m of that coming directly from tournament purses and the remainder coming from sponsorship deals.

4. Ernie Els
PGA Tour veteran Ernie Els is still keeping up his position in the rich list with an increase in the sports rich list from position 91 to 78. Ernie Els might not have collected as much in tournament purse as Snedeker but a thriving course design business as well as some high profile sponsorship deals including one with Breitling ensures that he estimated endorsement and sponsorship earnings of $16m take him above the Texan with a combined estimated earnings of $19.5m. Read the rest of this entry →

Adam Scott and Angel Cabrera provided a memorable finish at the 2013 Masters.

The end of the 2013 Master’s really was a scene from a fairy tale. Only months after his excruciating Open defeat, Adam Scott triumphed; becoming the first ever Australian to win the green jacket. Angel Cabrera’s defeat (and the way he embraced it) personified golf.

‘Forward-Looking’
A twelve-foot putt has changed one man’s life forever. Scott’s life, however, was not the only one to change at Augusta. The infamous club had also transformed, allowing female members for the very first time in a breakthrough for women’s rights activists everywhere.

Jack Nicklaus has dubbed current chairman Billy Payne as ‘the most forward-looking steward the club has ever had’. To an extent, this appears true, as Payne has persuaded the committee to allow female members and has expanded the tournament’s outreach, a move that made Guan Tianlang a household name. Guan’s actions, however, and Augusta’s lack of perceived fairness, show how the club still has work to do to change its image and ‘get with the times’. Read the rest of this entry →

Could future PGA Champions be kissing the trophy on foreign soil?

Major American golf championship, the PGA, has announced that it may venture outside of America for future events once or twice a decade.

The PGA International?
The PGA, conducted by the Professional Golfers’ Association of America, is one of the four major golf championships, and is usually the season’s last major title. The first PGA was held in 1916, so it’s not far off from 100 years old. Primarily played in the eastern half of the US, the championship has barely even ventured out of this area.

The event has its venues planned out until 2019, so there’s no chance of the championship being held in another country until then. The move is being considered to raise the profile and prestige of the championship. Despite its title as one of golf’s major championships, it has failed to gain the same popularity like its rivals have – the Masters, the Open and the US Open.

The CEO of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America has said “When we sat down to map our strategic plan to service our members and grow the game, the question arose as to what impact it would have to take the PGA Championship to an international location once or twice a decade.

“It would be something we would only do if we had the cooperation of quite a few groups.”

A History of the PGA
The PGA was created by Rodman Wanamaker, a department store owner. He invited famous golfers and industry leaders to lunch in New York City and together they formed the Professional Golfers’ Association of America. Wanamaker suggested an all-professional annual tournament, and offered up $2,500 worth of prizes. The first tournament was held six months later at the Siwanoy Country Club in New York State.

In 1957, after Lionel Hebert’s victory over Dow Finsterwald, the PGA Championship changed from match play to stroke play. The 1958 championship was televised to an audience of millions. Read the rest of this entry →