Why Is The Path To The Green Called A Fairway?
May 26, 2009 by James Brown
Filed under Golf
Did You Know…
The next time you want to dazzle your playing partners with your brilliance, ask them this question:
“Why do you think that closely mown patch of grass that creates a path to the green is called a fairway?”
You’ll more than likely stump them, because unlike everything else in golf, the meaning of the word is hardly obvious.
The golf version of “fairway” is borrowed from a nautical term that describes a safe passageway through potentially dangerous waters. Now that you know that, you can understand why the term was adapted for golf.
Most of the danger in golf lies off to the sides of holes in the form of trees, water, and out-of-bounds areas. That short grass that outlines the recommended approach to a hole from the tee is there for a reason. If you keep the ball in short grass, it stays out of harm’s way.