Famous Things

Golf

Golf Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions ☀

1. Have you ever played golf?

2. Is golf a popular game in your country?
3. Do you know when and where golf was first played?
Golf is a game in which players must hit a small, white ball into a
4. Do you know what a golf course looks like?
small circular cup embedded in a circle of mown grass. To get to
this cup, players must hit their ball over or through a landscape that 5. Do you know what materials were used to make the
includes rough grass, trees, and brush, as well as small lakes or first golf balls and clubs?
streams and areas of sand.

There are 18 cups, or holes, on a golf course, and players must

complete each hole (numbered 1 to 18) before they can move on to
the next one. Players use different wood- and metal-faced clubs to
do this. The player who completes the game with the least number
of hits, or strokes, wins.

The modern game of golf was first played near St. Andrews,
Scotland, in the 1400s. Players used a stick or club to hit pebbles
around the area’s sand dunes. At some point, hand-sewn leather
balls filled with feathers replaced pebbles. Wooden clubs continued
to be used because they did not rip the leather balls. The first rules
of golf were set out by the Honorable Company of Edinburgh
golfers in 1744.

Around 1850, a solid, molded rubber ball was created. In 1905, a

new technique improved the balls so that they were sturdier and
could be hit farther with heavier clubs. Iron clubs were introduced in
the early 1900s. Steel clubs were developed in 1925 and used until COMPREHENSION ✍
the 1980s. Today, clubs are designed by computers and use space-
age materials such as titanium and zirconia. A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the
statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is
During the 1800s, the British built golf courses in India, South false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.
Africa, Egypt, Hong Kong, and Australia. In North America, the 1. The game of golf originated in North America.
first recorded game of golf was played near Montreal, Quebec, in
2. The first golf course in North America was in Yonkers,
1826. The Royal Montreal Golf Club was founded in 1873, the first
New York.
in North America. In 1888, Yonkers, New York, became home to the
first golf course in the United States. 3. The first golfers used to hit small stones with a stick.

4. Golf was first played over six hundred years ago.

5. The materials used to make golf clubs have stayed the

same throughout history.

1
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 Famous Things
Golf
B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences.
1. What is the objective in a game of golf?
2. Describe a golf “hole”.
3. What does a golf course or landscape look like?
4. Who is the winner in a golf game?
5. How has the golf “ball” changed throughout history?
6. When and by whom were the first rules of golf developed?
7. What materials have been used over the years to make golf clubs?

VOCABULARY REVIEW ✍

A. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right.

_____ 1. circular a) method

_____ 2. embed b) a hill of sand DISCUSS
_____ 3. rough c) prepare a plan or drawing 1. Have you ever watched a golf tournament on
_____ 4. brush d) round TV? If so, did you enjoy it?

_____ 5. stroke e) shaped 2. Have you ever heard of Tiger Woods? Have
you heard of any other famous golfers?
_____ 6. dune f) place firmly in surrounding area
_____ 7. set out g) put down in writing 3. Why do you think golf is such an expensive
game to play?
_____ 8. molded h) low growing bushes
_____ 9. found i) establish 4. What is the most popular game or sport
played in your country? Do you play this
_____ 10. record j) hit game?
_____ 11. technique k) not smooth
5. Golf is a popular game amongst people of all
_____ 12. design l) start an organization ages. Why do think that is?

B. Choose the correct word from the list below to complete the following sentences.
mow - landscape - stream - pebbles - rip - improve - sturdy

1. If you practice playing tennis every day, you will _____________________ quickly.
2. Her children like to go to the beach to collect pretty shells and _____________________ .
3. The grass has grown quickly with all this rain. You should _____________________ it today.
4. This chair is not very _____________________ . A heavy person should not sit in it.
5. The _____________________ here is so beautiful. I wish I had my camera with me to take a picture of it.
6. Her boyfriend left her, so now she is going to _____________________ up all his old letters and throw them away.
7. He likes to go fishing at the nearby _____________________ on warm summer days.

2
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 Famous Things
Golf

ANSWER KEY

Please note: The reading for this topic is also available in full-page format at the end of the lesson (page 4).

PRE-READING QUESTIONS

1-5. individual answers

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

A. True or False
1. F 2. F 3. T 4. T 5. F

B. Written Answers
1. The objective of golf is to hit a small, white ball into a small circular cup.
2. A golf hole is a small circular cup embedded in a circle of mown grass.
3. A golf course has many different features including rough grass, trees, brush, lakes, streams and areas of sand.
4. The winner is the player who completes the game with the least number of strokes of the ball.
5. Originally, golfers used pebbles as golf balls. Eventually, hand-sewn leather balls filled with feathers replaced pebbles.
Around 1850, a moulded rubber ball was created.
6. The first rules of golf were set out by the Honorable Company of Edinburgh golfers in 1744.
7. Golf clubs were first made of wood and later of iron and steel. Today, clubs are made from space-age materials such as
titanium and zirconia.

VOCABULARY REVIEW

A. Match the words

1. d 2. f 3. k 4. h 5. j 6. b 7. i 8. e
9. l 10. g 11. a 12. c

B. Fill in the blanks

1. improve 2. pebbles 3. mow 4. sturdy 5. landscape
6. rip 7. stream

3
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photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details.
 Famous Things
Golf

Golf

Golf is a game in which players must hit a small, white ball into a small circular cup embedded in a circle of
mown grass. To get to this cup, players must hit their ball over or through a landscape that includes rough grass,
trees, and brush, as well as small lakes or streams and areas of sand.

There are 18 cups, or holes, on a golf course, and players must complete each hole (numbered 1 to 18) before
they can move on to the next one. Players use different wood- and metal-faced clubs to do this. The player who
completes the game with the least number of hits, or strokes, wins.

The modern game of golf was first played near St. Andrews, Scotland, in the 1400s. Players used a stick or club
to hit pebbles around the area’s sand dunes. At some point, hand-sewn leather balls filled with feathers replaced
pebbles. Wooden clubs continued to be used because they did not rip the leather balls. The first rules of golf were
set out by the Honorable Company of Edinburgh golfers in 1744.

Around 1850, a solid, molded rubber ball was created. In 1905, a new technique improved the balls so that they
were sturdier and could be hit farther with heavier clubs. Iron clubs were introduced in the early 1900s. Steel
clubs were developed in 1925 and used until the 1980s. Today, clubs are designed by computers and use space-
age materials such as titanium and zirconia.

During the 1800s, the British built golf courses in India, South Africa, Egypt, Hong Kong, and Australia. In North
America, the first recorded game of golf was played near Montreal, Quebec, in 1826. The Royal Montreal Golf
Club was founded in 1873, the first in North America. In 1888, Yonkers, New York, became home to the first
golf course in the United States.

4
Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details.