The two common forms of playing golf are match play and stroke play. In match play, two golfers (or two teams) play holes one at a time. The golfer with the lower number of strokes (number of times the golfer used to get his ball in the hole) wins that hole. If the two have the same number of strokes, the hole is "halved" (drawn). The golfer that has the greatest number of holes wins. In "stroke play", the golfer (or team) with the smallest number of strokes all together wins. There are different forms of these rules, some given in the "Rules of Golf" making them "official.
The four different types of clubs used in golf are woods, irons, putters and wedges. Woods are used to hit the ball very far, usually off the tee (but also on the fairway). The name of woods is different every number, for example, No.1 wood is called "driver", No.2 is "brassey", No.3 is "spoon" and so on. There are many types of irons, which can be used to hit varying distances. They are numbered 1-9 with a 1 iron hitting the ball farther than a 9. The 1 iron is no longer common in the game. Even the 2 iron is getting uncommon. Putters are used when on the green. The rules do not let the golfer use over 14 clubs in a game.
Golfers call the four (or five) biggest tournaments in professional golf "majors", and they play them at nearly the same time every year. The four majors are:
In 2013, women's golf added the fifth major. The Evian Masters, held in France.
Vincent Clark won the first ever open championship which was held in St Andrews in 1860.
Spirituality
Spirituality is a name given to matters of the spirit. These can be any kind of meaningful personal activity or peaceful experience. There is not one agreed upon way to explain what happens. It is a concept so people can see and understand it in different ways. Some people believe spirituality is a part of religion. Others who are not religious, still seek and have spiritual experiences.
"Matters of the spirit" may include the meaning in a person's life (or in all life), and how to find and improve on it. They may also include someone's search for God, the supernatural, a divine influence in their lives, or information about the afterlife, and how to best deal with each. "Matters of the spirit" may also include how to live among others as a group, or in a certain environment.
Some who do not believe in an organized religion may still be interested in the "spirits" of humanity or of nature and live a certain way, or worship ancestors or creation because it gives them a sense of happiness to do so.
Another common usage refers to people who ascribe to ideals "greater than themselves." For many, this leads to a pursuit of some form of enlightenment, often through meditation, yoga, philosophy or, in some cases, a study of Metaphysics.
Many philosophers work to find answers to spiritual questions, although some may deny the existence of a 'god' or any supernatural influences. Throughout the world however, philosophers have often had ideas about spirituality. The following are a few 20th century examples:
2002
2002 (MMII) was .
2003
2003 (MMIII) was .
1999
1999 (MCMXCIX) was .
1998
1998 (MCMXCVIII) was .
1997
1997 (MCMXCVII) was .
1996
1996 (MCMXCVI) was . It was also a common year starting on Tuesday of the obsolete Julian calendar.
1995
1995 (MCMXCV) was .
1994
1994 (MCMXCIV) was .
1993
1993 (MCMXCIII) was .
1992
1992 (MCMXCII) was .
1991
1991 (MCMXCI) was .
2005
2005 (MMV) was .
2006
2006 (MMVI) was .
In the Chinese calendar, 2006 was the Year of the Dog. Chinese New Year is January 29.
"for more information, see Category:2006 births."
2007
2007 (MMVII) was .
The year 2007 was called:
1989
1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was . A wave of counter revolutions ended the Eastern Bloc and the Cold War during the year.
Common year
A common year is a year that is not a leap year. In the Gregorian calendar a common year has 365 days. This means a common year has 52 weeks and one day. So if a certain year started on a Monday, the following year will start on a Tuesday. Stated differently, a common year always begins and ends on the same day of the week. (For example, 2021 (the current year), both January 1 and December 31 falls on a Friday.)
In the Gregorian calendar, 303 out of every 400 years are common years. In the Julian calendar, 300 out of every 400 years were common years. All the other years are special and known as leap years.
These are the 12 months in a year.
There are 7 months with 31 days. There are 4 months with 30 days. There is 1 month with 28 days. In the Julian calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC, every 4 years there is 29 days in February which is called a leap year. This happens because every year is 365 and 1/4 days but instead of us having a spare quarter of a day in each year we add them all up every 4 years and make an extra day to avoid confusion and make things easier for everyone.
In the Gregorian Calendar, which was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, because the Julian calendar added slightly too many years, three leap years were removed for every 400 years. These are those that are multiples of 100, but not multiples of 400. Thus, in the Gregorian calendar, 2020 is a leap year, but not 2019 and 2021, 1900 is not a leap year even though 1904 and 1896 are, and 2000 is a leap year even though 1900 and 2100 are not.
Decade
A decade (pronounce: DEK-aid) is a period of 10 years. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word for ten: "deka". 10 decades make a century, while 100 decades make a millennium. A decade is any 10 year period: There are different ways to refer to different groupings of ten years. For example, the period from 2001 to 2010 can be described as the 1st decade of the 21st century. An individual who has been alive two full decades is referred to as being in their 20s for the next decade of their life, from age 20 to 29. Decades are also considered specific groups of ten years sharing the same tens digit, identified by name, as in the nineteen-eighties (1980s) referring to the period from 1980 to 1989 and the nineteen-nineties (1990s) referring to the period from 1990 to 1999. This is the sense meant when someone refers to decades without other context, for example saying 'next decade' in any year between 2020 and 2029 would indicate the 2030s. Sometimes this is shortened to just the decade, where the context is clear, as in the eighties (80s) or the nineties (90s). No apostrophe is used before the s in the names of these decades.
Some decades also have nicknames, such as the Roaring Twenties (1920s), the Gay Nineties (1890s) (US), the Naughty Nineties (1890s) (UK), and the Swinging Sixties (1960s).
19th century
The 19th century was the century from 1801 to 1900. Most of this century is normally called the Victorian period because Queen Victoria ruled the United Kingdom.
The Industrial Revolution started in this century in most western countries. George Burns was also born in the 19th century until he died at the age of 100 in 1996.
Sonata form matured during the Classical era to become the primary form of instrumental compositions throughout the 19th century. Much of the music from the 19th century was referred to as being in the Romantic style. Many great composers lived through this era such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Richard Wagner. The list includes:
Note: Years before or after the 19th century are in italics.
21st century
The 21st century started on January 1, 2001 and will end on December 31, 2100. It is the current century.
Note: movie years before or after the twenty-first century are in "italics".
Ijtihad
Ijtihad is the process of reaching a legal decision on the basis of one's own interpretation of Islamic law. The word is related to the better-known "jihad".
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