Tag: golf

September 21st Miniature Golf Day

September Holidays

The first known miniature golf course apparently was built in Pinehurst, North Carolina in 1918 by Steamship magnate James Barber, although St. Augustine claims have the oldest still existing golf course in the United States. Who knows and really, who cares!?! The idea is to have fun, get a little exercise and see just how well you can handle all the trick shots required to play the game. There are even National Miniature Golf contests just like the PGA tours. (Well, maybe not just like) So whoever was the first and whoever is the oldest is all great, just get out and have some fun before the weather covers them up with snow!

How to celebrate – Go play Miniature Golf. Make your own miniature golf course in your back yard. (We did and boy does it require a lot of upkeep) Take the family out to have some fun today.

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October 4th National Golf Day

October Holidays

Today we honor the over 4,300 golf pros that are members of the PGA who do all sorts of charitable work throughout the year. It commemorates the first charity even it held in 1952. Many organizations declare this day in June but the original was started in October. Golf is sort of the reverse of Robin Hood, or kind of anyway… it’s where the rich give to the poor of their own accord (No middle man so to speak). Golf is generally a sport for the more wealthy. They do, however, do a lot of good for the community and people in need.

How to celebrate – Become a golf pro. Attend a golf tournament. Start a putt-putt golf for charity tournament.

October 4th National Golf Day

October Holidays

The Scots invented golf but today belongs to the 4,300 members of the PGA. The day has actually been around since 1952 as professional golfers compete for different charities, giving the winnings to those in need. Golf is not exactly a poor man’s game. The clubs, the outfits, the golf carts and, of course, those hours spent in the clubhouse are expensive! 18 holes can take hours to play and, of course, it covers a long distance between the tee and the hole. It’s great exercise, takes a lot of skill and is a great place to work out business deals and make fashion statements.

How to celebrate – Play around of golf. Buy a golf cart so you can look cool. Take the family to a Miniature Golf Course.

September 21st Miniature Golf Day

September Holidays

Are you a real golfer if your game is miniature golf? Well, it does take an entirely different skill set but with all the attention miniature golf has gotten lately, maybe… after-all, miniature golf has a prime time game show on television and regular golf doesn’t! Both games can be challenging and while regular golf requires the understand and use of a number of clubs, miniature golf just requires one, a putter. But today is not about golf, it’s about miniature golf where instead of sand traps and water hazards you need to worry about windmills and giant frogs.

How to celebrate – Visit miniature golf course. Watch Holey Moley on prime time television. Build your own backyard mini-golf course.

April 10th Golfer's Day

April Holidays

Like to play golf? I like the game but am not very good at it. In fact, I think I am one of few who has been asked to leave the green because I took too long to play a hole (is 100 strokes really over the limit per hole???) Anyway, no one seems to know exactly how this holiday came to be but it probably has something to do with the Professional Golf Association (PGA) being established on April 10th,1916. Even though golf has been around in Scotland since at least the 1700s (and probably even earlier), the 18 hole course was not officially laid out until 1857, and the regulation 4.25 inch hole did not officially become standard until 1891.

How to celebrate – Go play a round of golf. Join a golf club. Hang out at a club house and look cool.

March 22nd National Goof Off Day

March Holidays

Today was created by Monica “Moeller” Dufour with the help of her Grandfather William D. Chase. Monica lives in Davidson, MI. The general idea of today is that it becomes the one day of the year you are allowed to goof off. You know, don’t even bother to go into work… go fishing or play golf, go shopping or get your hair done, sleep in or go swimming (If it’s warm enough) You might want to check with your boss and make sure this is okay. There are some jobs where you really don’t want them to goof off, like a doctor, a pilot or the guy that makes your donuts in the morning. We all need goof off days so that we can pay better attention the rest of the year. William created his own calendar for the year, it did create a goof off day, so if you ever wanted to know what he was up to, you could just go to his calendar and find out!

How to celebrate – Goof off today (If you are able). Create your own calendar so you know what to expect. Go back to bed and forget today ever happened.

October 4th National Golf Day

October Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

It seems like you have to be a golfer these days to be president of the United States. It does sort of make you wonder, a grown man (Or Woman) chasing a little white ball around the hills, forests and ponds to make sure it falls into a hole, the one with a flag stuck in it.

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HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, HI – MAY 15: People play golf as an ash plume rises in the distance from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island on May 15, 2018 in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. The U.S. Geological Survey said a recent lowering of the lava lake at the volcano’s Halemaumau crater ‘has raised the potential for explosive eruptions’ at the volcano. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

They brave alligators, snakes, other golfers and even volcanoes just to get in 18 holes. There is something about the game that draws in the rich and powerful, not being among them.. I do not see it. I have been kicked off some of the finest golf course in America, so I should know.

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However, it is a good game to keep healthy, get in a little exercise and talk over matters of state while chasing after that elussive ball. The Scots invented the game, though I am not sure it wasn’t just a way to avoid the English soldiers that came after them.

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Entire communities have sprung up around golf courses, and with good reason (It’s where the rich people go!) But the game also serves that community, often raising funds for those in need while affording those contributors to do something they enjoy. That’s a win-win for everybody!

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Today was created by the PGA in 1952 which held it’s first event at Cog Hill Golf & Counry Club in Lemont, Il. The first event raised some $80,000.00, a lot of money now but even more so in the 1950’s. Golf is a good game, it requires skill and talent to play. Two really good qualities the successful normally pocess.

How to celebrate – Play a round of golf today. Contribute to the PGA. Learn about the game of golf.

October 17th National Mulligan Day

October Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

What if you could have a do over? A second chance at something that didn’t quite go the way you wanted, or expected, it to go the first time. Wouldn’t that be great! Maybe Custer would not have made that charge at the Little Big Horn. Perhaps Nixon would re-think the Watergate break-in. Could be Eve wouldn’t be tempted to eat that apple. Only if it could be.

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Well, apparently, at times, do-overs are allowed in golf and that’s where the Mulligan comes into play. There are three claims to the first Mulligan. No one is sure which one is the correct one, or even if any of these three are where it actually started but they seem as logical a choice as any.

The first is associated with one Thomas Mulligan, a Anglo-Irish minor aristocrat, in 1793. According to author Henry Beard, Mulligan was an avid golfer even in the late 1700’s but perhaps not all that good. His status gave him the ability to win favors such as starting his golf shot over if it wasn’t to his liking.

Another offer comes from a David Mulligan, once the manager of the Waldorf Astoria in New York City who was also an avid golfer in the 1920’s.

The third comes to us out of the 1930’s with John A. “Buddy” Mulligan who was a locker room attendant at Essex C.C., N.J..

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Although we may not know who coined the term exactly, there appears to be little doubt that the Mulligan came to us from golf, and maybe it only works in golf. It would really be nice if we could have a second chance at things maybe more important in life, but that’s not the way it works. With golf, which seems to be filled with people who cheat on the score card and drive a cart to the club house, the Mulligan seems to fit in. It seems to be very close to the sport of fishing (maybe that’s why there are so many water hazards on a golf course)!

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How to celebrate – If someone asks you for a Mulligan, give them a shot! You can ask a police officer for a Mulligan if you get caught doing something wrong while driving. If they are a good sport, or a golfer, maybe they’ll give it to you. Start playing golf, even if it’s just putt-putt.

May 18th National Golf Day

May Holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

May 18th is National Golf Day, or, “We are Golf” is held on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.. Golf was first invented in Scotland in the 15th Century, perhaps by Roman noblemen.

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The first written record of golf came when James II banned the game because it distracted men from practicing archery in 1457.  James IV lifted the ban in 1502 leading to the first course at St. Andrews in 1574.  By 1764, the 18 hole game we know today was introduced as a standard for the sport.

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A man playing golf on sunset

Golf was oficially introduced to the US in 1888.

Suggested ways to celebrate: Play a round of golf, wear some sporty socks, take a golf cart for a spin.

April 6th National Tartan Day

Unboxing the Bizarre

Probably the most recognized trademark of being a Scotsman, except possibly golf, is the tartan kilt.  Oddly enough, it probably did not start in Scotland at all.  The oldest tartan outfit have been found in Austria.  There are even some samples that come before that out of China.  But what possibly makes Scotland the real home of the Tartan is that they were used to identify clan members.

First, we must understand what a tartan is.  It is made out of wool, criss-crossed in horizontal and vertical bands of multiple colors.  By repeating vertical and horizontal bands in distinctive patterns of squares is known as “Sett”.

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Perhaps the Black Watch tartan is the most recognized of all the tartans in history. (See example in the featured picture above)  Every member of the military unit wears the exact same tartan so they are easily identified, and respected.  In 1746 the “Dress Act” ban the use of tartans because nearly all use was associated with some sort of military unit or clan.  That law was repealed in 1782.

Tartans have been traced back to Scotland as far as the 3rd century and the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 when Scotland first claimed independence from England.  In 1703, author Martin Martin wrote of how the tartan was used to separate clans from each other, mainly in the Gaelic-speaking Highlands. Today, it is hard to separate Scottish heritage from the tartan.  In fact, on March 20, 1998 the US Senate made a resolution accepting April 6th as Tartan Day to celebrate the many contributions the Scottish people have made to America.  For more on this, contact the American Scottish Foundation.

You can celebrate this day by wearing your kilt. (Though be aware the tartan is not restricted to kilts.  It can be blankets, jackets or nearly any type of material.)  Try to get your own answer to the age old question, “what does a Scotsman wear under their kilt”.  Or take part in some Scottish activity such as golf, log tossing or playing the bagpipes!