ball games, they are missing that vital ingredient that is unique to golf - the hole. Whatever the argument, there can be no dispute that Scotland gave birth to the game we know as golf today. Now, let us take a look at some of the changes made to this ancient game.
             We will begin with the design and layout of the golf course. Today's golf courses consist of 18 holes or a front nine and a back nine. However, prior to 1764 this was not the case. The Old Course at St. Andrews is the oldest known, and most likely the first course ever constructed. It consisted of 12 holes, 11 of which were played. The course started at the center of St. Andrews and followed the lay of the land out to the town of River Eden. After reaching the 11th hole, the players would turn around and play 11 holes back using the same greens and holes. Thus, a full round consisted of 22 holes and only 11 greens. In 1764, the Royal and Ancient rules committee cut four holes out of the course which reduced the amount of holes on a course to today's common 18. As more courses were built, course architects began to construct 18 separate greens to add both character and safety to the courses (Bartlett, 2).
             Since the major change of the amount of holes in 1764 only slight modifications have been made to courses. Take for instance America's most storied course, The Augusta National Golf Club. Augusta National could quite possibly be the most fiddled-with course in history. After the inaugural Masters Invitational in 1934, the front and back nines were switched to bring the water that was on the front nine into play on the back nine. The idea was to give the tournament a more exciting finish by making
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