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Golf Courses in Buxton


Golf in Buxton


Golf has been played in Buxton since the 1880s and we're fortunate to have two golf courses in the town. Buxton and High Peak Golf Course is situated to the northeast of the town in the Fairfield area, with Cavendish Golf Club to the west.

Both courses offer superb play over 18 holes and were designed by renowned experts in the field of golf course design. Cavendish golf course by Alister McKenzie (who also designed Augusta National in USA) and Buxton and High Peak golf course by J. Morris.

A Short History of Golf

The game of golf dates back to around 1475 and though it may seem like an innocent enough pursuit it was banned by King James I and by James III and James IV. Why? Because, apparently, it was keeping people from their archery practise. Maybe the various bans helped to increase its popularity, because, as we know, despite royal decree the game flourished and is played enthusiastically around the world.

Originally there was no set number of holes for a golf course and some had as many as 22, with others skimping by on nine or less. The progression to a standard 18 holes was a slow process and it wasn't until 1858 that the rule was first laid down that a match should be played over 18 holes. Over the next few years more golf clubs adopted the standard and by the 1870s most clubs had the required 18 holes.

Common Golf Terms

PAR – A term in use in golf since the 1890s, par means whatever is normal or average. Each hole on a golf course has the optimum number of strokes calculated and that number is the 'par' for that hole. A 'par' may also be given for the number of strokes it should take a player to get round the whole course. The term 'par for the course' has spilled over into everyday language and become a cliché meaning whatever is to be expected during the normal course of events.

BIRDIE – Although the origins of this term are obscure it is thought that it derived from US slang, where a bird was used to describe something that was excellent. In use by golfers since the 1910s, it may have originally implied that the ball 'flew like a bird'. Now a birdie is a shot that is one under par.

EAGLE – in golfing terms, two under par.

ALBATROSS – The better the shot, the bigger and rarer the bird, so an albatross denotes three under par.

BOGEY – Commonly used to denote a score of one stroke over par, the term bogey is associated with Colonel Bogey who was mythically an excellent amateur golf player and so became the standard by which good amateurs could measure themselves. At the same time the term 'par' was used to measure the standard of professional golf players. As amateur golfers are unlikely to be as good as professionals, the term 'bogey' now applies when a player falls below the professional standard, or 'par'.

CADDIE – Golfing caddies are probably so called thanks to the adaptation of language over the years. It may bear reference to army cadets as in France the youngest sons of the the family would join the army and become cadets, and the word was adopted throughout Europe. In 18th century Scotland men who hired themselves out as odd-job-men and who had previously been in the army were known as 'caddies' or 'gentlemen freelancers' to distinguish themselves from privately hired servants.

FORE – The first reference to golfers shouting 'fore' was made in 1881 in Robert Forgan's Golfers Handbook. Although the term's origins are obscure it is thought that it was first used as a warning to the forecaddies. Forecaddies went ahead of the golfers to mark the position of the balls in play, and the name may have been shortened to 'fore' when shouting a warning that he may be in the way of a ball.
 
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