Golfing Trivia Quiz Questions

Trivia questions about golf and golfing!

Golfing Trivia Quiz Questions with Answers

What is Golf?
A: Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.

Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not utilize a what?
A: A standardized playing area.

Coping with the varied terrains encountered on different courses is what?
A: A key part of the game.

The game at the usual level is played on a course with an arranged progression of how many holes?
A: 18.

Each hole on the course must contain a what to start from?
A: Tee box.

It also must have a putting green containing what?
A: The actual hole or cup (4.25 inches in diameter).

There are other standard forms of terrain in between, such as the fairway, rough (long grass), bunkers (or "sand traps"), and various hazards (water, rocks) but each hole on a course is unique in its what?
A: Specific layout and arrangement.

Where did the modern game of golf originate?
A: In 15th century Scotland.

Where was the 18-hole round created?
A: At the Old Course at St Andrews in 1764.

What is Golf's first major, and the world's oldest tournament in existence?
A: It is The Open Championship, also known as the British Open.

When was it first played?
A: In 1860 in Ayrshire, Scotland.

This is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, the other three being played where?
A: In the United States.

What are their names?
A: The Masters, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship.

While the modern game of golf originated in 15th-century Scotland, the game's ancient origins are what?
A: Unclear and much debated.

Some historians trace the sport back to what Roman game?
A: Paganica, in which participants used a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball.

Others cite chuiwan ("chui" means striking and "wan" means small ball) as the progenitor, a Chinese game played when?
A: Between the eighth and fourteenth centuries.

A Ming Dynasty scroll dating back to 1368 entitled "The Autumn Banquet" shows a member of the Chinese Imperial court doing what?
A: Swinging what appears to be a golf club at a small ball with the aim of sinking it into a hole.

When was the game thought to have been introduced into Europe?
A: During the Middle Ages.

The modern game originated in Scotland, where the first written record of golf is what?
A: James II's banning of the game in 1457, as an unwelcome distraction to learning archery.

James IV lifted the ban in 1502 when he became what?
A: A golfer himself.

To many golfers, the Old Course at St Andrews, a links course dating to before 1574, is considered to be what?
A: A site of pilgrimage.

In 1764, the standard 18-hole golf course was created at St Andrews when members did what?
A: Modified the course from 22 to 18 holes.

The oldest surviving rules of golf were compiled in March 1744 for whom?
A: The Company of Gentlemen Golfers later renamed The Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.

The world's oldest golf tournament in existence, and golf's first major, is what?
A: The Open Championship, which was first played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland.

How did two Scotsmen from Dunfermline, John Reid and Robert Lockhart, first demonstrate golf in the USA?
A: By setting up a hole in an orchard in 1888.

While many holes are designed with a direct line-of-sight from the teeing area to the green, some holes may do what?
A: Bend either to the left or to the right.

This is commonly called a what?
A: A dogleg.

Sometimes, a hole's direction may bend twice; this is called a what?
A: A double dogleg.

Early Scottish golf courses were primarily laid out on what?
A: Links land, soil-covered sand dunes directly inland from beaches.

This gave rise to the term "golf links", particularly applied to what?
A: Seaside courses and those built on naturally sandy soil inland.

Where was the first 18-hole golf course in the United States?
A: On a sheep farm in Downers Grove, Illinois, in 1892.

Every round of golf is based on playing a number of holes in a what?
A: A given order.

A "round" typically consists of 18 holes that are played in the order determined by what?
A: The course layout.

A typical group of golfers will have how many people playing the round?
A: 1-4.

The typical amount of time required for pace of play for a 9-hole round is how long?
A: About two hours and four hours for an 18-hole round.

Playing a hole on a golf course is initiated by putting a ball into play by doing what?
A: By striking the ball with a club on the teeing ground (also called the tee box, or simply the tee).

For this first shot on each hole, it is allowed but not required for the golfer to place the ball on a what?
A: A tee prior to striking it.

What is a tee?
A: At tee is a small peg that can be used to elevate the ball slightly above the ground up to a few centimeters high.

Tees are commonly made of wood but may be constructed of what?
A: Any material, including plastic.

Traditionally, golfers used what to elevate the ball?
A: Mounds of sand.

What were provided for the purpose?
A: Containers of sand.

Why do a few courses still require sand to be used instead of peg tees?
A: To reduce litter and reduce damage to the teeing ground.

Why do golfers use Tees?
A: To help reduce the interference of the ground or grass on the movement of the club making the ball easier to hit, and also places the ball in the very centre of the striking face of the club (the "sweet spot") for better distance.

When the initial shot on a hole is intended to move the ball a long distance (typically more than 225 yards (210 m)), the shot is commonly called a what?
A: A drive.

A drive is generally made with a long-shafted, large-headed wood club called a what?
A: A driver.

Shorter holes may be initiated with other clubs, such as what?
A: Higher-numbered woods or irons.

In stroke play competitions played according to strict rules, each player plays his or her ball until it is what?
A: Holed, no matter how many strokes that may take.

In addition to the officially printed rules, golfers also abide by what?
A: A set of guidelines called golf etiquette.

Etiquette guidelines cover matters such as what?
A: Safety, fairness, pace of play, and a player's obligation to contribute to the care of the course.

Strokes are added for what?
A: Rule infractions or for hitting one's ball into an unplayable situation.

A lost ball or a ball hit out of bounds result in a penalty of what?
A: One stroke and distance.

A one-stroke penalty is assessed if a player's equipment causes the ball to what?
A: Move or the removal of a loose impediment causes the ball to move .

If a golfer makes a stroke at the wrong ball or hits a fellow golfer's ball with a putt, the player incurs a what?
A: A two-stroke penalty.

Most rule infractions lead to stroke penalties but also can lead to what?
A: Disqualification.

Disqualification could be from what?
A: Cheating, signing for a lower score, or from rule infractions that lead to improper play.