Animals in Golf

Today we are going to look at the Golf Course itself. The main purpose of a golf course's design is to provide myriad and varied challenges to sinking that little ball into that really tiny hole. The fact that they make the courses beautiful and a haven for some animal species is an added bonus. Links courses in particular, with their proximity to the coast and more natural settings become animal habitats.

Whether animals live on the course or not, they are certainly referenced there. How many of us have been stymied by that "Dog-leg to the left?" I don't mind the ones to the right, I have a terrible slice. The term "Dog-leg" refers to just that, the shape of a dog's hind leg. From hip to paw, the dog's leg first goes in one direction, and then at the ankle, turns to the other direction. The purpose for the dog is to make him an agile, fast and powerful hunter. The purpose on the golf course is to obscure the hole from the tee box. (Like it wasn't hard enough all ready.)

Have you ever landed in the "kitty litter," – the sand trap? Or worse yet, in the "jungle," – the rough? Both terms are self-explanatory. The one that continues to baffle, however, is the Scottish term for the fringe of grass that separates the fairway from the green. They call it the "Frog Hair." We all know frogs don't have hair, so here's the challenge. You're a smart group. Can any of you tell me how that term came about?



Thanks to Trooney for the photograph.