Way back in 1764, a round of golf consisted of 22 holes but that all changed when a group of players took to the course at The Old Course at St Andrews.
However, it took another 78 years before change officially came into place.
Incredibly, the first origins of the game of golf date back to 1553 when the first recorded round was ever played at St Andrews.
The first major championship was The Open Championship, which was first played in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland.
However, it was 18 years before that when a hugely significant golfing rule came into place.
It’s commonplace now for golf to be played over the course of 18 holes, but that wasn’t the case when the game first started all those years ago.
The real reason why 18 holes became the standard for the game of golf back in 1842
Originally, a round of golf was played over the course of 22 holes.
However, a group of men decided to change all of that 261 years ago.
The reason for that was the fact that numerous incredibly short holes were included in the 22 which made up a full round.
In need of more of a challenge, multiple St Andrews members decided to combine many of the short holes to make them longer, thus reducing the number of holes played in a round of golf.
However, that’s not where the story ends.
In the round of 18, there were only 10 actual holes, eight of which were played twice.
And incredibly, the 18-hole rule did not become standard practice until 1842.
18 shots for 18 holes myth debunked
One explanation for how the 18-hole round of golf was formed actually made a lot of sense, although it wasn’t true, sadly.
The legend went that the first people to play the game played 18 holes in their round because of the amount of shots in a bottle of whiskey – 18.
While it sounds like a great story, the myth has already been widely debunked.
We have to let the truth get in the way of a good story this time, unfortunately.
Looking back at the history of our great game is always a deeply fulfilling endeavour.
If nothing else, it reminds us just how much the game of golf has stuck to its traditional origins. The 18-hole rule officially came into effect 183 years ago, and the fact that rule still remains as standard practice in the game is truly remarkable when you think about it.