2006-10-19 09:20:34 · 4 answers · asked by gt108us 1 in Sports ➔ Golf
The size of the hole was set by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.
In 1891, the R&A determined that the hole size should be standard on golf courses everywhere.
The size they decided on was 4.25 inches in diameter.
The reason is that they had invented, in 1829, the first known hole-cutter. The hole-cutter is still in existence and is on display at Royal Musselburgh.
That first hole-cutter used a cutting tool that was, 4.25 inches in diameter.
The folks running the R&A liked that size and so adopted it in their rules for 1891.
The rest of the golf world followed in the footsteps of the R&A.
2006-10-19 09:26:09 · answer #1 · answered by Jay 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How did the hole come to be standardized at its current size of 4.25 inches in diameter?
Like so many things in golf, the standardized size of the hole comes to us courtesy of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, with an assist from the links at Musselburgh.
In new rules issued in 1891, the R&A determined that the hole size should be standard on golf courses everywhere. So the R&A discussed just what exactly that size should be.
The size they decided on was 4.25 inches in diameter. The reason is that the folks at Musselburgh (now a 9-hole municipal course and called Royal Musselburgh Golf Club) had invented, in 1829, the first known hole-cutter.
That ancient hole-cutter is still in existence and is on display at Royal Musselburgh.
That first hole-cutter utilized a cutting tool that was, you guessed it, 4.25 inches in diameter. The folks running the R&A apparently liked that size and so adopted it in their rules for 1891. And as was usually the case, the rest of the golf world followed in the footsteps of the R&A.
The exact reasons for why that first tool cut holes at the now-standard diameter are lost to history. But it was almost certainly a completely arbitrary thing, a notion supported by the story that the tool was built from some excess pipe that was laying about the Musselburgh links.
2006-10-19 09:27:50 · answer #2 · answered by Brite Tiger 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The diameter of a golf ball is 1.67 inches. The diameter of the hole is 1.67 times Pi divided by the distance from the greens keeper's thumb to little finger in inches.
That is the proper method. Most clubs just use a hole cutter
2006-10-19 09:38:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
from tee to center of green
2006-10-19 09:22:17 · answer #4 · answered by bluenose123 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋