Why does a golf course have 9 holes?

Because of the example established by the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, golf courses have 18 holes. The Old Course is regarded as the Home of Golf and the most significant course in the history of the game, despite not being the first golf course ever constructed.

The Old Course at St. Andrews has more than 18 holes. The Old Course, which wasn’t always called that, actually had 22 holes at one point in its history. There was no established rule at the time regarding the length or number of holes of a golf course. No such thing as a standard round existed. There was no set number or mechanism to compare golf scores from one course to another. Some courses had 12 holes, while others had 20.

That was still true in 1764, when St. Andrews finally decided to make the Old Course an 18-hole course by combining four lesser holes into two larger holes. From the clubhouse to the furthest point on the land, there would be nine holes. Golfers would then make a full turn and play nine more holes in the direction of the clubhouse. Golfers literally went out and came back in after they were finished, which is why the terms “out” and “in” or “out” and “back” are used on a scorecard for the sport.

In order to decide a winner over 36 holes, two 18-hole rounds were played at St. Andrews in 1873. It so occurred that the 1874 host city Musselburgh, which had nine holes, and the numbers 12 and 18 shared an easy multiple. By the time Prestwick added six holes to make it 18 in 1881, St. Andrews’ 18-hole course had already set the benchmark by which all other golf courses would be measured.

Golf courses feature 18 holes, and the majority of them include separate nine-hole sections so that players can go out and return.

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