Fore the Love of Caricatures

I’ve played golf maybe three times in my life.

I’d probably play more a) if it wasn’t so expensive for equipment and club membership, b) I didn’t have to spend more money actually learning to develop the mechanics to properly use the golf club to begin with, and c) I didn't invariably end up in an ear, eyes, nose and throat clinic for all the cursing I’d be bellowing out every time I screwed up a shot.

Welcome to the Spring Links edition of Not Your Usual Caricature Artist from Caricatures by Joel.

Some interesting factoids about the game:

* Although the sport is generally regarded to have originated in 15^th Century Scotland, some historians trace its roots to the Roman Empire in the first century B.C., when participants in a game called “Paganica” used a bent stick to hit a small stuffed leather ball.  Others cite “Chuiwan,” a Chinese game played between the eighth and 14^th centuries.

* The Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, considered the holy shrine of the sport, dates to around 1574.

* It was at St. Andrews that the standard 18-hole course was created (replacing the 22-hole course!).

* Two Scotsmen, John Reid and Robert Lockhart, first demonstrated golf in the United States in 1888 by setting up a hole in an orchard. In that same year, America’s first golf club was established as the St. Andrews Golf Club, in Yonkers, NY.

* The countries with the most golf courses per capita, in order: Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Canada, Wales, Unite States, Sweden and England. By far, the most golf courses are located in the U.S., at well over 15,000.

What “fact” eludes me is how many caricature artists have used golf as a subject.

Well, throughout this issue are seven from yours truly. None of these individuals is an actual professional golfer. But, as commissioned art from family or corporate members, they probably all wish they were.

(Well, the guy above is, at least, holding a golf ball...)

See you again the first Tuesday of next month for another chip shot from Not Your Usual Caricature Artist.