Golf—an endless series of tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle.
–unknown

These days you can play a round on the ice floes in the Arctic, in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq and on the plains of Africa. The rich history of the sport has produced a wealth of screwball, outlandish and just plain weird tales:

• Golf was invented in Scotland over 500 years ago, but the Chinese claim a similar game as far back as 943 AD

• In a three-day span on a course in Wales, a mother, father and son each made a hole-in one; the odds of this feat are at least 10,000,000 to one

• The Toonik Tyme Festival in Nunavut features a nine-hole golf tournament on sea ice with fluorescent balls and parka-clad golfers at temperatures of –50˚C

• Lee Trevino, one of golf’s most successful and popular players, was hit by lightning twice

• Four-time long-drive champion Jason Zuback once drove a golf ball over 700 yards on an airport runway

• Nobby Owens traveled on the Concorde to play 18 holes of golf in London, New York and Los Angeles—all in the same day

• Eight of the world’s oldest golf clubs owned by the Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland are worth at least $5 million.

And more…