Why do full golf courses have 18 holes, not 20, or 10 or even a dozen?
Scotland is a land of legends and the birthplace of golf, a sport that according to the most reliable indications would be re-enacted at least in the mid-fifteenth century.
In any case, the history of this sport is associated with that of the club of St. Andrews , located on the east coast of the country. There you have to look for the reason – not clear and still subject to controversy – why the golf courses have 18 holes in their competition.
Good fans know the legend that this number was established as the exact number of shots (short drinks) that can be served from a bottle of Scotch whiskey.
Such a decision would have been made in St. Andrews, a town that is cited in the first written reference about this sport, a 1552 document where the archbishop of the place, John Hamilton, recognized the villagers’ right to use certain land to play primitive versions of soccer and golf.
Two centuries later, in May 1754, the famous St. Andrews golf club was inaugurated with the dispute of the first Silver Cup in its green hills.
5, 11, 18, 22 …
Since then, the rules of modern golf would be indissolubly associated with this institution. At that time, the number of holes varied from the five of the Leith and Bruntsfield fields, in Edinburgh, to 11 of St. Andrews, where each match was played in two rounds until completing a 22-hole course.
In 1764 the obligation to play 18 per game was established, although the final reason is still under discussion.
Almost a century later, in 1842, new club members had to abide by their first rule, which stated that “the eighteen holes are recognized as a match unless otherwise stipulated.”
From that moment, and throughout the nineteenth century, the rest of the fields in the United Kingdom incorporated the regulations of St. Andrews as a reference in their regulations.