[Ads-l] Par as in Golf

[Baker, John]

Well, not so much his name as his title.  The book is by Sir W. G. Simpson, Bart., where "Bart." is short for "Baronet."

The baronetcy is the only British hereditary honor which is not a peerage, with the exception of the Black Knight, White Knight, and Green Knight (of which only the Green Knight is still extant).  The current Green Knight is Sir Adrian FitzGerald, 24th Knight of Kerry, 6th Baronet of Valencia (born 1940).  Being the Green Knight may not be as high-status as being an actual peer, but it sounds like an incredibly cool title to have.


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of David Daniel
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2015 4:09 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: RES: Par as in Golf

HeHe! Guess what I just found. See the 1887 reference to W.G. Simpson. His name was Bart, Bart G.W. Simpson. You can see it here
http://chestofbooks.com/sports/golf/Art-Of-Golf/#.Vm8t6dIrJD8
DAD

 a. Golf. The number of strokes which a scratch player should need for a ho= le or for a course (freq. with that number as postmodifier). Also: (as a co= unt noun) a score of this number of stokes at a hole.In early use chiefly i= n par of the green.
1887   W. G. Simpson Art of Golf 8   He easily recalls how often he has don=
e each hole in par figures.
1891   Golf 10 June 291   The par of the green for gentlemen..was nearly at=
tained.
1900   Westm. Gaz. 9 Mar. 3/2   The professionals went round in the par of =
the green=9774.
1924   J. Braid Golf Guide 164   Par Play, perfect golf without flukes. Thu=
s, if a green can be reached in two strokes, the hole is a Par four; two pu= tts being allowed on each green.
1935   N.Y. Times 9 Apr. 26/1   Sinking a 220-yard spoon wallop for a =91do=
uble eagle=92 deuce on the 485-yard, par 5 fifteenth hole.
1973   A. MacVicar Painted Doll Affair viii. 96   Let's see if you can stil=
l keep shooting all these pars and birdies.
2000   Times 7 Aug. (Sport Monday section) 9/1   Westwood's closing 71 took=
 him to a total of 270, 14 under par.

Geoffrey S. Nathan
WSU Information Privacy Officer
Professor, Linguistics Program
http://blogs.wayne.edu/proftech/
+1 (313) 577-1259

Poster:       David Daniel <dad at COARSECOURSES.COM>
Subject:      Par as in Golf
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Could someone with access to the OED please post or send me its entry for "par" in the golf sense? I'm especially interested in origins of use of the= =3D

term which (if memory serves - the "if" being the reason for this request) was first used by the USGA in 1911, and is considered an Americanism that ultimately forced the Brits to stop using their chaotic "bogey" system.
(I've been all over the internet and have lots of answers to this, but woul= =3D d like some OED backup if possible). Many thanks in advance.
DAD




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