Clock golf is a game based on

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

, originating in the mid 19th century. Players putt a

golf ball A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf. Under the rules of golf, a golf ball has a mass no more than , has a diameter not less than , and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits. Like g ...

from each in turn of 12 numbered points arranged in a circle as in a clock face, to a single hole placed within the circle. Alternative names include Clock-Golf, Round the Clock Golf, and Golf Around the Clock. Jaques of London's description suggests that clock golf can be played wherever there is space for "an approximate circle of 10–30ft in diameter", and that shrubs and other obstacles can add to the interest. The hole is not placed centrally, so the 12 "holes" of the game can be of different lengths. A writer in ''Landscape Architecture Magazine'', 1926, suggests that it needs a circle of 20-24ft, and lists it among "the lawn sports now commonly played".

SHAPE America The Society of Health and Physical Educators, known as SHAPE America, is an American organization that provides support to professionals in health, physical education, recreation and dance. SHAPE America has had six previous names, most recently ...

offers a set of instructions for "Golf Around the Clock" as a "lead-up game" useful as a preliminary for learners of golf.

History of clock golf

The firm

Jaques of London Jaques of London, formerly known as ''John Jaques of London'' and ''Jaques and Son of London'' is a long-established family company that manufactures sports and game equipment. History Dating itself from 1795 when Thomas Jaques, a farmer's son ...

claim that they "originated the popular garden game of Clock Golf in the mid 19th century". The

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

's earliest illustration of the use of the term dates from 1905. The wording on an early boxed set of equipment was "Clock Golf - A new game for the lawn - Interesting to golfers and a most popular amusement at garden parties". Metal roman numbers for clock golf have been made by F.H.Ayres of London and

Hamleys Hamleys is a British multinational toy retailer, owned by Reliance Retail. The world's oldest toy store, it was founded by William Hamley as "Noah's Ark" in High Holborn, London, in 1760. It moved to its current site on Regent Street in London's ...

. The firm of A.G. Spalding of New York manufactured a set using numbers 1–12 around 1900, and in the late 1920s the firm of P.S.P. Inc sold a stylish set of 1–12, painted alternately red and white, presented in a tin under the name "Round the Clock Golf". The game has often been offered to hotel guests as an entertainment. A 1905 print of "Clock golf at the

Royal Palm ''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the Cuban royal palm or Florida royal palm, is a species of palm that is native to Mexico, parts of Central America and the Caribbean, and southern Florida. A large and attractive palm, it has been planted ...

otel Miami, Fla" is held by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

, and in 1909, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' reported that 30 guests, both ladies and gentlemen, had taken part in a clock golf tournament at the Pocono Mountain House hotel at

Mount Pocono Mount Pocono is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It is located nearly centered in the southernmost county of five in the northeastern corner that are part of the Pocono Mountains. The ...

. A 1925 advertisement for a hotel in Bournemouth, England offers "Croquet, Clock Golf, Billiards, etc." while in 2016, a hotel in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, England says that "the children's play area, clock golf and putting green, provide plenty of fun activities for children of all ages" and at one in

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).E. F. Benson makes reference to clock golf in Chapter 8 of his novel ''

Lucia in London ''Lucia in London'' is a 1927 comic novel written by E. F. Benson. It is the third of six novels in the popular Mapp and Lucia series, about idle women in the 1920s and their struggle for social dominance over their small communities. The secon ...

'' (1927) in the

Mapp and Lucia ''Mapp and Lucia'' is a 1931 comic novel written by E. F. Benson. It is the fourth of six novels in the popular Mapp and Lucia series, about idle women in the 1920s and their struggle for social dominance over their small communities. It bring ...

series. Daisy and Robert Quantock are playing the game on their lawn. British novelist

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

makes reference to country house lodgers playing clock golf in ''

Summer Moonshine First US edition ''Summer Moonshine'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 8 October 1937 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, and in the United Kingdom on 11 February 1938 by Herbert Jenkins, London.McIlvaine, E., ...

'' (1937). Clock golf is played by the guests of Lord Emsworth in Wodehouses's novel, ''

Something Fresh ''Something Fresh'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published as "Something New" in the United States, by D. Appleton & Company on 3 September 1915.McIlvaine, E., Sherby, L.S. and Heineman, J.H. (1990) ''P.G. Wodehouse: A comprehensive bi ...

''. Agatha Christie's novel ''4:50 from Paddington'' (1957) also features a (rusty) clock golf. Clock Golf is also played in Christie’s novel 'The Seven Dials Mystery.' Clock golf was available to passengers on the promenade deck of the Short S.23 flying boat. The first course in Denmark is said to have been at Gråsten Palace where Queen Ingrid enjoyed playing with her family.

Clock golf today

Jaques of London still sell equipment for the game, comprising a set of 12 markers numbered I to XII (with spikes on the back for insertion into the lawn), balls, and a pre-formed hole with flag. a Danish firm offered to install a prefabricated clock golf playing area with artificial grass surrounded by a granite border.

References

External links

*{{cite web , title=Adirondack Attic: Clock Golf lawn game , last=Flynn , first =Andy , publisher=Hungry Bear publishing , date=2008 , accessdate=19 August 2016, url=http://www.hungrybearpublishing.com/2012/08/adirondack-attic-clock-golf-lawn-game.html Forms of golf Lawn games