A Brief History of Golf
Golf is an incredibly popular game practised around the world by all sectors of society. Competitions such as the Open attract huge sponsorship deals and command huge television audiences. Millions of dollars are spent on creating the world's greatest golf courses and yet most golfers are drawn to the small town of St Andrews in Scotland, known as the home of golf.
Of all the other countries that lay claim to being the home of golf only France and Holland offer anything of any substance. The French have two possible games, jeu de mail and chole, and the Dutch have just one, kolven. Unfortunately there is insufficient evidence to prove that any were the actual forerunner of modern golf.
An ancient Roman game called paganica is one of the most interesting. Once popular across Europe this game used a ball which, like the old golf balls known as featheries, was made by stuffing feathers into a small leather pouch. However it is only golf that involves the goal of getting the ball into the hole.
The clear, and obvious, winner of the completion for being the forerunner of golf is the Scottish game of gowf. Played since the 12th century gowf is essentially the same game as golf. Played on areas of ground called links, found on the east coast of Scotland, gowf was one of the most popular games of it's day.
Links are the piece of land that 'links' the rich arable land found inland to the sandy coast. Rather hilly and covered in a fine grass, the land had little use other than for grazing and recreation. With cattle and sheep grazing and masses of rabbits, plus the effects of trampling, the grass remained short and springy. Perfect conditions for playing golf.
The first real evidence of golf being played in Scotland appears in 1457 when king James II tried to ban the game by an act of parliament. The Scottish king was furious that multitudes of men had taken to playing the game in preference to more useful sports such as archery.
Less than a century later, in 1552, there is further evidence of golf's popularity. It was in this year that the townsfolk of St Andrews were granted, by charter, the right to use the nearby links for recreation purposes including the playing of golf. Another source of good evidence are the church records which contain a multitude of entries listing the punishments bestowed upon those naughty members of society that had been caught playing golf on Sunday.
Another documented historical event, relating to golf, was when, in 1744, the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith (a club which still exists today under the name of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers) petitioned the Edinburgh City Council for a silver club. This club was to be used as a trophy for an annual golf compition on Leith Links.
Surprisingly it was not until the very end of the 19th century (in 1897) that an official set of rules were developed by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. It wasn't until 1951, when the United States Golf Association and the R & A produced an official international set of rules, that the modern game of golf was defined.
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If you are looking for golf hotels or just want to visit St Andrews you should visit Virtual Scotland's accommodation listings of St Andrews Hotels.
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