Golf Nut, who set the standard for a round of golf at 18 holes instead of some other number? Have golf courses always been this length?

That is a great golf question. I’ve seen two versions of the answer to this question, but there is one that I believe is correct.

At St. Andrews, the golf course developed as golfers played the easiest path through the landscape and played to holes that were dictated by the topography. There were actually 11 holes originally at St. Andrews.

St. Andrews is located on a narrow strip of land by the sea. Golfers would play the 11 holes out to the end and then play them again coming backwards. This made a round 22 holes of golf. Then several of the holes were deemed too short and were combined. The result was 9 holes, so now the golfers played 9 holes out and 9 holes in for a total of 18.

When courses around the British Isles recognized the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews as the official rule making body this influenced the length of golf courses. They did not have to be 18 holes, but if they were going to play by the “official” R&A rules, they needed to be 18 holes in length.