[Kim Maengnyoung's Golf English Conversation] The Origin of "Out" and "In" Courses

"Out course and in course."

Golf courses around the world are typically set up with a standard 18 holes. However, the 'holy ground of golf,' St. Andrews Old Course, was originally a 22-hole course, played as 11 holes out and 11 holes back. It was in 1764 that the course was reconfigured to 18 holes, establishing the standard 18-hole round we know today when the 22-hole Old Course was reduced.

The Old Course is made up of an out course, which starts from the 1st hole tee next to the clubhouse and extends out to the 9th hole, and an in course, which returns from the 10th hole back to the 18th green. Completing these 18 holes makes up one round. If you change "Go out" from the 1st hole tee into a gerund, it becomes "Outgoing." Returning to the clubhouse, "Come in," becomes "Incoming."

Taking just the first letters gives us Out(course) and In(course). The first half, from the 1st tee to the 9th hole, is called the front nine (or side), while the second half, from the 10th to the 18th hole, is the back nine (or side). If you start your round on the 10th hole, the front nine refers to holes 10 through 18. American golfers often use the terms "first nine" and "second nine." To avoid congestion, the out course is sometimes simply called the 1st tee, and the in course the 10th tee.

A: Are we starting from the front side, or the back?

B: We’ll tee off on the 10th hole.

A: What’s the course’s back side like?

B: The fairways on the back side are flat but very tricky, with a lot of bunkers around the green and sharp doglegs.

A: That sounds difficult.

Written and photographed by Kim Maengnyoung, golf columnist