Pub trivia: Golf
Golf
To Twain it was a good walk spoiled, but many millions seem to relentlessly disagree. Here are some fabulous fairway facts to while away the hours looking for lost balls.
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Fact
Not content with being the best golfer in the world, Tiger Woods had to go and have a really cool name as well. That said, he was actually born Eldrick Woods. "Tiger" was originally a nickname given to his dad's old army buddy, Vuong Dang "Tiger" Phong – whom the Woods family now refer to as Tiger One.
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Fact
There's a long-standing myth that the word "golf" is an acronym of Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden. Which is amusing, but unfortunately complete rubbish. The word actually stems from original 15th Century spellings that included "gouf", "goulf", "goiff" and "gouff" (indecisive lot, 15th Century Scots).
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Fact
If at any point a Martian asks you to describe golf, you'd do well to remember Winston Churchill's words on the subject. "It is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose."
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Fact
Ever wondered where the golfing term "birdie" comes from? It seems we have an American named Ab Smith to thank. While striding around a course in 1899, he played what he described as a "bird of a shot", which became "birdie" over time. ("Bird" was 19th American slang for anything really, really good. Kind of like "cool" is for us.)
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Fact
Golf was outlawed in Scotland in 1457. James II was the killjoy behind the ban – he was preparing for an English invasion and wanted his citizens to concentrate on useful hobbies like archery. The ban was eventually lifted in 1502.
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Fact
Dormie, the golf jargon word referring to a player decisively leading a game, comes from "dormir", a word of shared French and Latin origin which means "to sleep". In other words, the player's so far in front he can afford to sleep.
Danny Wallace interview
His book Yes Man has been turned into a Hollywood film, so we caught up with Scottish-born comic Danny Wallace for all the glitzy goss.
Dara O'Briain interview
Suavely suited and booted, Irish wit Dara O'Briain's tongue is as sharp as a jagged razor blade. We chatted to the big man (he's 6' 4'') about college, cartoons and off-the-cuffery.
