When most people think of golf， they probably think of Tiger Woods jet-setting to golf courses around the world winning prestigious tournaments and making a lot of money. It seems hard to believe that what is now an international sport and multimillion-dollar industry evolved from origins as humble as hitting a pebble around sand dunes with a stick.

It is generally agreed that golf was first played in Scotland in the 15th century. Its popularity spread throughout the 16th century， and the first international golf match took place in 1682 between players from England and Scotland. Clubs began forming soon after， and concrete rules of the game were established.

一提到高爾夫球，大多數(shù)人想到的可能是泰格·伍茲乘噴氣客機(jī)到世界各地的高爾夫球場(chǎng)贏得備受矚目的錦標(biāo)賽，并賺進(jìn)大把的鈔票。打高爾夫球現(xiàn)在是一項(xiàng)國(guó)際性運(yùn)動(dòng)，很難相信這個(gè)價(jià)值高達(dá)數(shù)百萬(wàn)美元的產(chǎn)業(yè)，是從隨便拿根棍子，在沙丘上揮打鵝卵石這種不起眼的運(yùn)動(dòng)發(fā)展起來的。

普遍認(rèn)為第一場(chǎng)高爾夫球比賽起源于15世紀(jì)的蘇格蘭。它從16世紀(jì)開始普及起來。首場(chǎng)國(guó)際性高爾夫球賽就是在1682年舉行的，選手均來自英格蘭及蘇格蘭。不久，高爾夫俱樂部開始成立，同時(shí)也制定了具體的比賽規(guī)則。

The Industrial Revolution brought a period of change for golf. Suddenly， with the mass production of golf clubs and balls， the average person could afford to play. New railway lines made it possible for people to go to the country for the day， and thus play on a different course every weekend.

Golf was made an Olympic sport in 1900， by which time there were already more than 1，000 golf courses in the United States. The famous PGA （Professional Golfer Association） was formed in 1916， and by 1944， the equally famous PGA tour consisted of 22 events and was held throughout the year.

Legendary golfers Jack Nicklaus， Arnold Palmer， and Gary Player dominated the game from the 60s into the 70s， wowing fans by winning almost all of the events they competed in. Nicklaus still holds an unbeaten record of five US PGA championships， six US Masters titles， and four US Opens.

Even if you are not a big fan， why not head off to the driving range and have a go？ More than 23 million players exist in the United States alone， and they are all likely to tell you the same thing about golf： Theres nothing like it！

工業(yè)革命為高爾夫運(yùn)動(dòng)帶來了一段變革時(shí)期。突然間，隨著高爾夫球桿及高爾夫球的大量生產(chǎn)，普通百姓也可以玩這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)。新建的到郊區(qū)的火車線路使人們可以在比賽當(dāng)天往返，因此每個(gè)周末可以在不同的球場(chǎng)打球。

1900年，打高爾夫被正式確定為奧林匹克運(yùn)動(dòng)項(xiàng)目，那時(shí)美國(guó)已有上千個(gè)高爾夫球場(chǎng)。著名的職業(yè)高爾夫球員協(xié)會(huì)于1916年成立；到1944年，同享盛名的職業(yè)高爾夫球員協(xié)會(huì)巡回比賽，在1年內(nèi)舉行了22場(chǎng)比賽。

高爾夫球界的傳奇人物──杰克·尼克勞斯，阿諾德·帕爾默及加里·普萊耶一直稱霸于20世紀(jì)60到70年代的高爾夫球壇。他們幾乎囊括了所有的比賽獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)，使球迷們大為贊嘆。尼克勞斯至今仍保持?jǐn)?shù)項(xiàng)無(wú)人能破的輝煌紀(jì)錄：5個(gè)美國(guó)職業(yè)高爾夫錦標(biāo)賽冠軍、6個(gè)美國(guó)高爾夫精英賽冠軍及4個(gè)美國(guó)公開賽冠軍頭銜。

即使你不是頭號(hào)球迷，也可以去高爾夫球練習(xí)場(chǎng)揮一揮桿，嘗試一下。僅在美國(guó)就有超過2300萬(wàn)人從事高爾夫運(yùn)動(dòng)。關(guān)于高爾夫，他們會(huì)異口同聲地說：“沒有比它更好的運(yùn)動(dòng)了！”