Today’s Word of the Day is “links.” That’s right. You heard me. “Links.”
Let me start off by saying that I love Jimmy Dean sausages. And I’m very fond of quick Internet connections. But I hate golf. Now if you are a golfer yourself, or are close to someone who is, take heart: This post is for you. And if your name is Tiger Woods? Well, hell buddy. I say: Go for it! Someday if you play your cards right and keep your nose clean, it might even lead to a Presidential Medal of Freedom. <The rest of us will just have to find a way to power through the sand traps, I guess.>
Me? I couldn’t hit a 200-yard drive straight or sink a 30-foot putt even if you promised me a million bucks and gave me a hundred chances. But it’s the “egalitarian” thing that really lies at the heart of my quibble with the game of golf. I suppose if you’ve got enough free time and ample funding to afford it, the game’s OK. Well, that plus a ton of patience. But most people lack at least one of these three key ingredients. And for some of us? Well, it’s one-two-three-strikes you’re out. But that’s a different Great American Pastime.
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My own commonplace passions run more toward hiking dirt trails than strolling manicured fairways. Maybe that’s why this blog has a category called “RoxHikes” and none called “MyHandicap.” In my book, golf should be consigned to the ash heap of history along with fox hunts and bagpipes and everything else our American ancestors gave up when they relocated from the Old Country to the New World. But we here at dewconsulting.net/blog are nothing if not exceedingly egalitarian. So we’re willing to afford the loyal opposition, if not equal time, then at least a tee time. Plus, you’ve been very patient waiting for the Merriam Webster payoff. So, here you go.
Did You Know?
The game of golf originated on the sandy hills of Scotland on a type of terrain known as links or linksland. Eventually, the game’s layout came to be called by the same name as the land, and links developed the meaning of “a golf course built on the coastline.” This eventually broadened to include any golf course.
Links is ultimately derived from the Old English word hlincas, the plural of hlinc, meaning “ridge.” It teed off in 15th-century Scottish English as a name for sandy, hilly terrain. Britain has a number of old-fashioned links courses built to resemble the Scottish landscape, located on the coastline. There are a few in the United States as well.
There. Yer welcome.
Now, let’s take a hike!
Bonus photo from today’s hike in Castlewood Canyon: