Hobby Thread - May 10, 2025 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies(TM) a spin and it came up with golf!

By quasi-popular demand, golf is the hobbying theme for the week. Somehow we have made it almost a year of Hobby threading without golfing. Roughly one in seven Americans play golf at least once a year. Some of you live in places with golf-friendly weather all year. Others are in locales with more variable weather, so spring means hitting the links and shaking off the winter rust.

TRex has a small brain and short arms, so golfing is not on the roster of dino hobbying. Going to need some help from the Gray Box friends for this one.

Are you a golfer? What courses have been memorable? What courses are on your bucket list to play someday? Are you a regular? Do you play through inclement weather? Do you play with the dawn patrol? Have you played in charity events or work-related events with interesting people? Are you good enough to be a competitive golfer in tournaments?

Do you watch golf? Have you been to high profile events like Pebble Beach or the Masters?

Are you more comfortable with golf of the miniature variety that features wind mills rather than sand traps?

Did Mark Twain really say that "golf is a good walk spoiled?" While he is often credited, he may not be the culprit.

In August 1948 The Saturday Evening Post published an article about the genesis of golf in Scotland. The first paragraph dubiously assigned the joke to the famous humorist from Hannibal, Missouri....In conclusion, the earliest citation in 1897 indicated an anonymous attribution, and the quotation marks signaled that the quip was already in circulation. The ascriptions to Mark Twain and William Gladstone are currently unsupported.

I love aerial views and St. Andrews provides a great place for a flyover.

How was a famous island green constructed?

Dimples:

How golf clubs are made:

Does CBS pipe in artificial bird noises for its Masters coverage? The answer is elusive.

Masters 2022: Solving the mystery of Augusta National's missing (?) birds

Why does John Daly keep showing up at Augusta for the Masters when he isn't playing?

John Daly makes an absurd $780K in annual Hooters appearance at Masters - despite not playing since 2006

Daly's team told ESPN that last year, he made $780,000 selling $40 hats, $10 autographed golf balls and $250 boxes of cigars, among other wares - and they estimate it could be even more this year.

Mini golf traces its origins to the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club in Scotland.

The oldest mini golf course in existence, according to Guinness World Records, can actually be found in Scotland: The St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club was formed in 1867 as a members-only green for women golfers. The club was a result of the conventions of the day that decreed it improper for a lady to "take the club back past their shoulder." Metal Floss

The club's website includes an origin story that references friction with the caddies:

Before 1860 the caddies had laid out a small putting area near where Rusacks Hotel now stands. They would play to pass the time while waiting for a bag. When the course was quiet a few young ladies would play.

There was some tension between the caddies and these adventurous ladies so much so that Mr D. L. Burn decided that a piece of ground be found where the ladies could play outwith the public gaze and away from the caddies. Mrs Boothby suggested that there was a piece of ground to the north of the Swilcan Burn. The ground was rough with whins which were used by local washerwomen to dry clothes, and pitted with rabbit holes. A fifteen hole course, a "miniature links," was laid out by Old Tom Morris requiring a cleek and a putter and so the St Andrews Ladies' Golf Club was formed in 1867. Old Tom gradually smoothed out the surface and cut back the whins so that over time only putters were needed.

The hilly course became known as the Himalayas and is open to the public. No mini golf gimmicks or novelties - just terrain.

Golf across borders?

A Map of the Strange Border between Sweden and Finland that Crosses a Golf Course

Play one round of golf at the Green Zone Golf Course and you get to do it in two countries. The course and the surrounding towns were built on the delta of the River Tornio which also marked the border between Sweden and Finland.

But wait, there's more...

Despite all the friendly relations between the two towns, Sweden and Finland actually lie in two different time zones. This makes for some strange experiences. Residents often celebrate New Year's Eve twice the same night. And on at least one border-straddling hole on the golf course, your ball will land an hour after you hit it.

Pebble Beach is the most well known public golf course in the United States.

Even if you're not a golfer, 17 mile drive is worth the trip.

A Complete Tour of 17-Mile Drive (Part 1)

A Complete Tour of the Spectacularly Scenic 17-Mile Drive (Part 2)

Perhaps you were looking for a different golf?

Horde Hobbying from Teresa in Fort Worth:

I just finished the stitching on my latest Christmas stocking (#14). I haven't put a name on it, as it is for an as-yet-born grandchild (or great-grandchild).I will be getting it finished by a local needlepoint shop which has finished all of my other stockings that I have made over the past 40 years. I am going to see if they can finish it in such a way that some future stitcher can access the name panel to stitch a name on it when a recipient is "found." I am thinking they might be able to rig up the lining so that the area behind the name portion looks like the back of a removable pillow sham.

Very nice! Thank you!

Horde Hobbying update from polynikes - this painting is called "The Chapel at Twilight"

Good stuff as always. Thank you!

What are you hobbying these days? Does spring weather open up new options for your hobbying? As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Your participation does not need to limited to the theme. All hobbying is welcome. However, politics, current events and religious debates can live in threads elsewhere. Play nice. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls. Pants, as always, are optional.

Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We talked Canadian travels. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

Notable comments from last week:

Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, hijack the thread for your hobbying as you see fit. We will feature a different theme next time. What are you hobbying? We love showing off Horde hobbying. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.

posted by Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

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