International Lifestyle Magazine Issue 50 | Page 141

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s a sport believed to have originated from the eastern coast of Scotland during the 15th century, the game of golf is considered by many to be legendary in its own right. And as one of history’s oldest sports continues to develop and evolve, we caught up with Spaniard Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen and Masters winner Y.E. Yang to talk more about the history of golf as well as those legends to have played the beautiful game. Why do you think the ‘Legend of Golf ’ is still so strong today?
Miguel Ángel Jiménez
Golf is a sport that crosses gender, age and social status, which is very rare in other sports played today. Many believe that golf was introduced for more affluent members of society, who could afford high end memberships and expensive golf clubs. I think that when Tiger Woods came along, the game reached a Hollywood level of fame and generated appeal for a more widespread audience. Louis Oosthuizen History is what makes the sport. Everyone will always recognise St Andrews as where golf evolved from and that is a great part of the heritage. We’re blessed with the most advanced technology around with the clubs we use today, but there’s nothing that represents the true history of the sport better than the old hickory clubs. They are real collectables these days; fantastic to look at but I am not sure how good my game would be if I took them out onto the course! Y.E. Yang I think it’s very special indeed. I am a little bit of a historian and like to look back at the way that the game used to be played. Everything was so different then – the clubs, the fashion, the rules. Part of me would love to travel back and play golf in the early 19th century.

Legends of Golf

Discovering the

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