Golf fans, in general, are a pretty respectful bunch, but every so often they ditch the reverential silence of the course to shout completely random nonsense. According to Metro News in the UK, the ‘mashed potato’ shout was made famous by golf fan Andrew Widmar, who was identified by The Golf Channel as the man behind the epic outburst at the Chevron World Championship in 2011. Tiger Woods had played his tee shot on the 18th and Widmar unleashed his comment for the world to hear. Widmar, however, admitted that he did not come up with the incredibly witty idea: ‘I’d seen it before on YouTube. ‘My friends thought it was stupid, but I thought it was hilarious. … I wish I could take credit for starting it, but I will take credit for it becoming popular. It’s a good one to yell, because it’s nice and quick and it means absolutely nothing.’
But I digress, whilst the John Collier Annual Survey does not keep specific data on driving ranges and mashie golf courses, we acknowledge the integral part these facilities play in the
game of golf. Apparently, the derivation of the word “mashie” comes from the French word “massue” meaning club. Many of the golf clubs manufactured between 1901 and 1935 came from Scotland which included Mid-mashie: 3 Iron; Mashie iron: 4 Iron; Mashie: 5 Iron and Spade mashie: 6 Iron. The modern-day golf club most closely resembling the mashie clubs are the 5-iron or 6-iron but in loft and use only. Therefore, these clubs share the characteristics with the mashie, would be the typical club of choice on a short course which subsequently became known as a “mashie course.”