How Golf Is Not A Team Game

        One man who has greatly influenced society and the game of golf, is superstar Tiger Woods.  When he joined the PGA tour people jumped on the golf bandwagon in increasing numbers.  Golf has began more popular to the American people.  People from all over the country have gained interest in the game of golf.  Stossel states that the number of golfers went up by seven percent in 1997 alone (2).  Golf has become a high source for weekend entertainment for Americans.  More than six million Americans enjoy watching golf on weekends (Stossel 2).  Not only are people watching the sport, they are reading magazines like Golf, Golf World, Golf Digest and Links.  Also for entertainment there have been movies such as Tin Cup and Happy Gilmore (Stossel 2).

Companies currently operating within the golf industry, specifically Calloway Golf, must change their current marketing approaches and strategies to withstand the recession and threats facing the industry. Although Calloway has a strong R&D department that tends to remain competitive with products and technology, there have been little results in reference to scores. It is imperative that if companies are going to market a product that will help golfers drive further and straighter that the results depict this so that not to damage the brand name of a product. Secondly, due to the decline in equipment sales and the number of golfers, prices are dropping and companies are outsourcing to maintain the volume needed to remain competitive. Companies must be cautious and aware so that counterfeiting may be reduced. This reduction would also allow companies to reduce their pricing and have more sales without the competition of these cheaply priced knock-offs. In the instance of

a. Golf throughout history has, at its basics, started from men carrying sticks hitting balls on the ground and become a game with extreme depth, excitement, competition, and relaxation.

Imagine the sun bursting through the trees for the first time of the new day, the smell of freshly cut grass still potent to your nose as you tee the ball up for a round of golf in the cool mist of a spring morning. "That is what brings you back every time, the smell of the air, the coolness of the whether and the beautiful surroundings that make every shot enjoyable." (Suess, PI) This is the game of golf in its finest and most exquisite time to many people and many people it has touched in its long history. Golf is a lifestyle and not just games to people that are avid in playing. The game of golf has a history that is rich in technological advances and personal accomplishments, which through time has shown to shape

This sporting and social event is one of golf’s greatest traditions, and it has a storied past as well as other things about it that are just plain interesting to know.

I play golf for the pleasure of it; have been doing so for number years, as member, Sharjah Golf Club. I am proud of expertize I have acquired in it. It seems to be a game of hitting a dimpled white ball, placed on a holder, between relaxing walks, with a caddy in tow, whereas it requires knowledge of math, science, engineering and technology for one to be a ‘Tiger Woods’.

Golf. A sport that was dull and mundane twenty years ago, evolved when Tiger Woods came to the scene. I started golfing during high school and loved it for the single fact, Tiger Woods played it. Growing up I pictured golf as that once boring sport played by old white men lacking a fan base. Just like myself, many people hated the idea of watching golf, so the sport needed a change. Tour earnings were low, scoring was average, and young people did not want to pick up the sport. Tiger Woods came on the tour in 1997 and astronomically changed the view of golf. The “Tiger Effect” on golf is real and more people have been trying to work harder to get to that “Tiger” bench mark. He single handily brought golf to the limelight and made it interesting to watch this godly like figure tear up the greens while becoming an idol to young golfers around the world.

When people here the word ‘golf’ they often correlate it with a misleading sense of boring, elderly men and women who have nothing better to do. Believe it or not, there is a broader reason why so many retirees indulge in the golf lifestyle. Yes, golf is a lifestyle, not just a sport. Many people, most of whom know absolutely nothing about the sport, do not realize that playing golf regularly can add five years to their life span and also have many other well-being-related benefits (“Health” par. 5). Golf is a great therapeutic activity because it teaches good etiquette, it enriches the mind, and it provides for a healthy lifestyle.

Golfing is a sport that many people enjoy taking part of. It used to be just a sport that older men enjoyed, but now, it is recognized as a sport for people of all ages and races. Men, women, and kids all enjoy the challenge that it presents because you not only have to learn the proper stance, but you have to learn the perfect golf swing.

Fourteen clubs - four wedges, six irons, a rescue, a three wood, a driver, and a putter - this is golf. It is one of the most mentally challenging sports in the world. It can fool beginners who are deceived by its simplicity. Golf is often underestimated by those who have never attempted to play the sport. While it has often been known as a “rich man’s” sport, in recent years this perception has begun to change. There are a number of other generalizations made when talking about golf, yet these are most always from those who have never experienced, played, or followed the game. One should question how a critic with no knowledge of the activity could state whether or not golf should be considered a sport. Golf is a sport, regardless of what any critic has to say. Studies and experimentation, along with the experience itself, reveal all of the athletic aspects that make golf better than most sports.

More than two decades ago, Ely Callaway set out to build a company that would bring more enjoyment and game improvement to golfers of all skill levels. He accomplished much of that goal in 1991, introducing a technological wonder called the Big Bertha Driver. By creating in Big Bertha a larger clubhead without adding weight, the late

Ely Callaway founded Callaway Golf Company in 1982. In the early years, the company was named Callaway Hickory Stick USA, Inc. and specialized in hickory shafted putters and wedges. In 1988 the name of the company was changed to Callaway Golf Company. In the '90s, Ely Callaway and his company changed the golf industry in ways no one could have anticipated. Richard Helmstetter and his R&D department found a way to create a stainless steel driver that had a larger and more forgiving

Obviously a lot of time, effort, research, and money were put forth into the development of the golf ball, as it is manufactured today. The reason for this ongoing process is to help a golfer use some laws of physics to his advantage (i.e. placing spin on the ball to create lift) while finding a work around for other physical properties that can be detrimental to a players golf game (i.e. drag which causes the ball to slow down and fly closer to the ground). When examining the physics, which surrounds the game of golf, one must carefully consider all aspects of the game, not just the golf ball or even just the equipment being used. The stroke is by far the most important aspect to any participants round of golf. Among the scientific community, an event, such as the golf stroke, is thought of as a dynamic process using the physical principals of mechanics based on Newton's Laws of motion. The stroke is actually three separate events; the swing of the club, the impact of the club head with the ball, and the flight of the ball toward the target. It is the sum of these three parts that makes a successful stroke. Before delving into the details of the golf stroke, it is important for one to consider the general concepts of motion that control the swing of the golf club. Two men are most influential in this area of study, Galileo Galilee and Isaac Newton. It is the principles of these two men that

Arnold Palmer said it best. “Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect.” The straightforward yet difficult facet has always drawn me to the sport. Golf has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and I love all aspects about it: the competitiveness, the focus required, the life lessons, and the bonding it can create. The game of golf is my passion.

Many people take up Golf thinking that it is easy, after all, how hard can it be to hit a little white ball with a stick? This thinking evaporates the first time they step onto a driving range and attempt to hit that little white ball. Golf is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. My experience with golf began in May of 2005 when friends came to stay with us; my wife informed me that I would have to take Roy, her friend’s husband Golfing. I had not been to a driving range (since I was in my teens) and I had never played golf on a course before. It was quite an experience; the weather was cold, rainy and nasty the three times we played while they where here, the game hooked me badly, even with the bad shots and the nasty weather.