Some fun and awesome facts about golf

Before you embark on one of your many golf trips, know and share these fun and awesome facts about your favorite sport with your buddies.

Let's get started:

1. Aim for low scores. Golf is the only sport which aims for the lowest score, also known as stroke play. Unlike any other sport, getting the lowest score in golf is not very easy.

2. How many is a round? A 'round' in playing golf typically consists of 18 holes in the order determined by the course design.

3. Count your clubs. During a stipulated round, only a maximum of 14 clubs is allowed in a player's bag. A 2 stroke penalty is incurred for more than this number of clubs.

4. Hit a bird...ie. The term “birdie” was coined by Ab Smith, an American golfer, as he described his excellent shot as “bird of a shot” in 1899. Later on, it became “birdie”, which means one shot less than a par for a hole.

5. Do the Bogey. “Bogey” comes from the song entitled “The Bogey Man” (later known as “The Colonel Bogey March”). By mid to late 1890s, the term ’bogey score’ referred to the ideal score of a good player who made a hole under perfect conditions. In early Rules books, you can find a section detailing the regulations for 'Bogey Competitions.'

6. Choose your course.  According to the National Golf Foundation, there are 15,753 courses in the U.S as of 2012 (California is the nation's No.2 golfing state with 921 courses. Florida, on the other hand, has 1,051.) So, there are tons of golf vacation destinations to choose from.

7. Hot weather might be good. During hot weather, the golf ball significantly travels farther. The warmer the golf ball, the more elastic it becomes, thus causing the ball to fly further when you hit it with more force.

8. The tournaments. These major championships are the four most prestigious men’s tournaments of the year: The Masters, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship (known in North America as the British Open) and the PGA Championship.

9. Walk the course. Walking roughly four miles on all 18 holes will burn 2,000 calories. Compare that to driving carts, which only burn about 1,300 calories.

10. Why is it called golf? The word “golf” does NOT stand for “gentlemen only, ladies forbidden.” That's an internet myth. As a matter of fact, about 23% of professional golfers are female.  Originally, the term 'golf' derives linguistically from the Dutch word 'kolf' or 'kolve,' meaning 'club.' In the Scottish dialect during the late 14th or early 15th century, the Dutch term became 'goff' or 'gouff.' Only later in the 16th century did it become “golf.”

It won't hurt to share bits of golf trivia to your buddies during one of your golf trips.  Have fun!