You may have taken part in a golf tournament which was referred to as a “shotgun start”. Many golfers have wondered why the term “shotgun” for a tournament! In the December 2004 issue of Golf Digest it was reported that at a golf tournament in Walla Walla, WA in the month of May 1956 golfers were at their tee boxes waiting to start their round, the head professional at the time Mr. Jim Russell fired off a shotgun to sound the start of the tournament.
Since then there have been thousands of golf tournaments each year that are now referred to as a “shotgun.” While most golf courses do not use a shotgun anymore to start the tournament, players have gotten use to the sound of air horns; however, at Morgan Creek Golf Course we reflect on the past and keep it original by using a CIL Model 402 shotgun to start all of our events, with blanks of course.