The four majors in golf are the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Open Championship, and Masters Tournament. The United States Golf Association governs all the above tournaments, and the Royal and Ancient (R&A) are played on an 18-hole golf course. So, why are there 18 holes in golf?
There are 18 holes in golf due to tradition and standardization. The tradition dates back to the mid-19th century overhaul of the Old Course at St. Andrews, a.k.a. The Home of Golf. The standardization happened gradually over the years with The Open Championship.
Note that the current 18 holes in golf differs from the even older tradition of an 18-hole round popular since the mid-18th century at the St. Andrews Links in Scotland. Also, not all golf courses have 18 holes. Read on to know why there are 18 holes in golf courses today.
Are There 18 Holes in All Golf Courses?
Not all golf courses have 18 holes each. There are 18 holes in around 12,000 golf courses in the United States, out of approximately 16,000. The other 4,000 golf courses in the U.S. have 9 holes each. Note that these numbers constantly fluctuate due to renovations, closures, etc.
You can play an 18-hole round on a golf course that has 9 holes. In that case, golfers play each hole twice, usually on their way out from the first tee box and back to the clubhouse. Like the standard 18 holes in golf, playing a few or all twice in a round is also an old tradition.
How Many Holes Did Golf Originally Have?
Originally, there were 12 holes in golf at the St. Andrews Old Course. Golfers played 10 of these holes twice in a round, totaling 22 holes. In 1764, the Old Course had two holes removed, leaving 10 holes or cups, eight of which were played twice per round, resulting in the standard 18-hole.
As I said earlier, a golf course with 18-hole rounds is not the same as one that physically has 18 different holes or cups. I should also note that the other old golf courses within roughly the same period didn’t have 12 holes.
Consider the second oldest golf course in the world, for example. Musselburgh Old Golf Course originally had 7 holes. An 8th hole was added in 1832, and a 9th hole was dug in 1870.
Another old course, Montrose Links, had 7 holes in the 1810s. This was expanded to have 14 holes after a decade or so, until it reached a maximum of 25 holes in the 1860s. After 1874, the Montrose Links golf course reduced the number and eventually adopted the standard 18 holes.
The other oldest golf courses, like Leith Links and Bruntsfield Links, originally started with 5 holes and expanded gradually. Thus, the evolution of golf witnessed many significant changes not only within the rules of the game itself, but also the conventions surrounding courses, rounds, and holes.
Andrews: The First Golf Course With 18 Holes
St. Andrews Links is the oldest course in the world with history dating to 1552. It was the first globally to have 18 holes or cups. In the 1850s, St. Andrews Links hosted 18-hole rounds, but there were only 10 cups. The 1st and 10th holes were played only once per round. The other 8 holes were played twice.
Eventually, the club decided to have 2 cups replacing each of those 8 holes to offer a distinct out and back (in) golfing experience. Thus, the Old Course became the first golf club or facility to have 18 holes.
The Open Championship
The Open Championship was held for the first time at the Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland in 1860. The golf course at Prestwick had 12 holes, and the participating golfers played 3 rounds of those cups. Thus, the inaugural edition was a 3 x 12-hole event.
The Old Course of St. Andrews Links hosted The Open Championship for the first time in 1873. At this time, the course had 18 holes. The format of the tournament was a total of 36 holes (3 x 12). Thus, the golfers played 2 rounds of the 18 holes at the Old Course.
In 1874, Musselburgh Links was the venue of The Open Championship. The Musselburgh golf course had 9 holes at the time. So, the organizers selected a format of 4 rounds of 9 holes, in effect maintaining the competition standard of 36 holes for the championship.
Standardizing 18 Hole Golf Courses
As you can imagine, expanding the tournament or including other golf courses would have been a nightmare if a layout did not follow the standard 36 holes. Otherwise, the organizers would have had to change the format of the tournament (i.e., the rounds & holes).
You can probably imagine how the tradition of the St. Andrews Links Old Course merged with the standardization requirement of The Open Championship. Naturally, all golf courses that aspired to become part of the tournament adopted the 18 holes as a default standard.
In time, Prestwick Golf Club expanded from 12 to 18 holes or cups. Musselburgh Links followed suit, expanding from 9 to 18 holes. The merged 18 holes tradition & standard became the norm by the time golf attained popularity throughout the world in the 20th century.
The Contemporary Standards for 18 Holes in Golf
The number of holes (18 or 9) is one essential aspect of a golf course. Another important element of contemporary standards is the par concept. You’re probably familiar with par 3, 4, and 5 and how they influence a particular round of golf, be it for practice or a championship.
A standard golf course with 18 holes can be easy, moderately difficult, or immensely challenging based on the par for each cup. While there are golf facilities with all 18 holes having the same par, many courses have a combination of difficulty levels.
Take the common par of 72 for an 18-hole round of golf, for example. All 18 holes having an identical par of 4 gets you 72 strokes. However, a course may have a combination of 4 x par 3, 10 x par 4, and 4 x par 5. You may also find a course with 10 x par 3, 3 x par 4, and 6 x par 5.
Therefore, you must check not only the number of holes and the layout of a golf course but also the par for every individual cup. Also, the par isn’t only about the distance of the green from the tee box. The roughage and hazards for each hole will influence the strokes, and by extension your score.
Conclusion
18 holes are the global standard for golf courses, especially those used for championships and major competitions. However, golf courses with 9 holes are also popular now, particularly in the United States. Also, playing 9 holes twice makes an 18-hole round, like how it once was in Scotland.