Friday, July 17, 2015 – Come On Jordon and They Are Not Called Sand Traps

Friday, July 17, 2015 – Come On Jordon and They Are Not Called Sand Traps

St. Andrews, Scotland – The Home of Golf. Home of The Open Championship, often called the British Open. It is one of the four major championships in golf.

For at least 464 years, golf has been played at St. Andrews in Scotland.

However, before the Old Course could even be born, golf was illegal. Not to mention that GOLF meant Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden.

In 1457, King James II had outlawed the game because it took away from men practicing archery. That’s right: golf was a counter-cultural game. Well, that is what happens when the Stewarts are on the throne.

Almost a half-century later, King James IV ended the ban in 1502. That’s probably because he enjoyed the game. Records show he bought clubs in the village of St. Andrews in 1506.

One of the fundamentals one learns when learning to play golf is that the areas filled with sand are called bunkers, not sand traps. However, often you will hear golfers refer to them as “Oh crap” or some other, more color adjective.

If you look at the bunkers on St. Andrews, they look more like sand prisons. I am not certain I could even climb out of those deep holes filled with sand with a ladder, let alone get a little white ball out of one by hitting it with a stick. It’s a 50-50 chance I can get the ball out of the bunker when the lie is relatively flat. I always succeed on the third attempt when I pick up the ball and throw on the green. I am not certain I could do that given the depth of the bunkers at St. Andrews.

And remember when we all wanted to “play like Tiger?” Well, now we do.

So good luck Jordon Spieth. As the great Harvey Penick said “Take dead aim.” Bring the Claret Jug home to Texas.