According to the St. Andrews Links Trust, golf has been played on the Links at St. Andrews since around 1400 A.D. There are 10 courses in the immediate area and more than 30 within a 30-minute drive of St. Andrews. In 1457, King James II of Scotland banned golf, deciding it was distracting young men from archery practice; the ban was later revoked by King James IV.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews was established in 1754 and evolved through two and a half centuries as a leading authority in the world game. When the Club celebrated it’s 250th anniversary in 2004, a group of companies collectively known as The R&A was formed to take over the responsibility for the administration of the Rules of Golf worldwide, except in the United States and Mexico, which are governed by the USGA. The R&A also oversees the running of The Open Championship and other key events, and the development of the game in existing and emerging golfing nations. As a separate entity, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews remains as a private golf club with a world-wide membership of 2,400.

Inaugurated in 1984, the St Rule Trophy is the top amateur event for women played over the Old and New Courses. Previous winners include today’s top stars, including Annika Sorenstam and Catriona Matthew. There is also a team event and a prize for the best finisher in the under 18 category.

PGA of America and the United States Golf Association are joining together for the first Patriot Golf Day on Saturday, September 1st. Public facilities will request an extra $1 for each green fee and private facilities will ask for donations. The money collected will go to Wounded Warriors, Inc. This is to support families of wounded, injured and fallen soldiers.

Dan Rooney, a PGA member, is leading the creation of the Patriot Golf Day in which at least 2500 golf courses have registered to take part in. Mr. Rooney has flown 2 tours of duty in Iraq.

Go golf this Saturday and honor our troops and their families who serve our country. Click here to see which courses close to you are participating.

In western North Carolina Tiger Woods is planning his first golf course in the US. He announced on August 14^th that he will be design The Cliffs at High Carolina near Asheville, NC in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He has already designed a golf course in Dubai, U.A.E.

He wants to make his golf courses very unique and add his style to them. He’s looking to let the land be the canvas for the layout. The land is beautiful and the 50 mile views of Asheville and the Blue Ridge Mountains make it a wonderful place to have a golf course. They plan on working with the land, beauty and conservation to enhance the golf experience at The Cliffs at High Carolina.

Asheville has received many honors such as being one of the “Top 20 Places to Live in the World” by Barron’s, “Best Five Places to Retire” by Money Magazine and #1 Adventure Town in America by National Geographic Adventure.