History_of_golf

The exact origins of the sport of golf are unclear. The most widely accepted theory is that this sport originated in ScotlandGolf History @ ABC-of-Golf in the High Middle Ages.

Origins

A golf-like game is recorded as taking place on 26 February 1297, in the Netherlands, in a city called Loenen aan de Vecht. Here the Dutch played a game with a stick and leather ball. Whoever hit the ball into a target several hundreds of meters away the most number of times, won. However, golf is generally considered to be a Scottish invention, as the game was mentioned in two 15th-century Acts of the Scottish Parliament, prohibiting the playing of the game of gowf. Scholars, however, suggest that this refers to another game which is much akin to shinty or hurling, or to modern field hockey rather than golf. They point out that a game of putting a small ball in a hole in the ground using golf clubs was played in 17th-century Netherlands rather than Scotland. The word golf is an alteration of Dutch "kolf" meaning "stick, "club" and "bat"Online Etymology Dictionary (see: Kolven). There are reports of even earlier accounts of golf from continental Europe.golf :: Scots as inventors: a popular fallacy - Britannica Online Encyclopedia

The oldest playing golf course in the world is The Old Links at Musselburgh Racecourse. Evidence has shown that golf was played on Musselburgh Links in 1672 although Mary, Queen of Scots reputedly played there in 1567.

Golf course evolution

Golf courses have not always had eighteen holes. The St Andrews Links occupy a narrow strip of land on Queen Mary of Scots land along the sea. As early as the 15th century, golfers at St Andrews established a trench through the undulating terrain, playing to holes whose locations were dictated by topography. The course that emerged featured eleven holes, laid out end to end from the clubhouse to the far end of the property. One played the holes out, turned around, and played the holes in, for a total of 22 holes. In 1764, several of the holes were deemed too short, and were therefore combined. The number was thereby reduced from 11 to nine, so that a complete round of the links comprised 18 holes.

Equipment development

The major changes in equipment since the 17th century have been better mowers, especially for the greens, better golf ball designs, using rubber and man-made materials since about 1900, and the introduction of the metal shaft beginning in the 1930s. Also in the 1930s the wooden golf tee was invented. In the 1970s the use of metal to replace wood heads began, and shafts made of graphite composite materials were introduced in the 1980s.

Etymology

The word golf was first mentioned in writing in 1457 on a Scottish statute on forbidden games as gouf,"At the fut bal ande the golf be vtterly criyt done and nocht vsyt", Dictionary of the Scots Language, accessed 25 April 2007 possibly derived from the Scots word goulf (variously spelled) meaning "to strike or cuff". This word may, in turn, be derived the Dutch word kolf, meaning "bat," or "club," and the Dutch sport of the same name. But there is an even earlier reference to the game of golf and it is believed to have happened in 1452 when King James II banned the game because it kept his subjects from their archery practice.see article at About.

There is a persistent urban legend claiming that the term derives from an acronym "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden". This is almost certainly a false etymology as acronyms being used as words is a fairly modern phenomenon, making the expression more likely to be a backronym.See article at Snopes.

Recent evidence for a golf-like game in China

Ming Dynasty emperor Xuande (r. 1425–1435) putting for a par?

In January 2006, new evidence re-invigorated the debate concerning the origins of golf. Recent evidence unearthed by Prof. Ling Hongling of Lanzhou University suggests that a game similar to modern-day golf was played in China since Southern Tang Dynasty, 500 years before golf was first mentioned in Scotland.http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/ASSH%20Bulletins/No%2014/ASSHBulletin14c.pdf">Verification of the fact that Golf originated from Chuiwan

Dōngxuān Records (Chinese: 東軒錄) from the Song Dynasty (960–1279) describes a game called chuíwán (捶丸) and also includes drawings of the game.http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/ASSH%20Bulletins/No%2014/ASSHBulletin14c.pdf">Verification of the fact that Golf originated from Chuiwan It was played with 10 clubs including a cuanbang, pubang, and shaobang, which are comparable to a driver, two-wood, and three-wood. Clubs were inlaid with jade and gold, suggesting golf was for the wealthy. Chinese archive includes references to a Southern Tang official who asked his daughter to dig holes as a target.http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/ASSH%20Bulletins/No%2014/ASSHBulletin14c.pdf">Verification of the fact that Golf originated from Chuiwan Ling suggested golf was exported to Europe and then Scotland by Mongolian travellers in the late Middle Ages.http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/ASSH%20Bulletins/No%2014/ASSHBulletin14c.pdf">Verification of the fact that Golf originated from Chuiwan

A spokesman for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, one of the oldest Scotland golf organization, said "Stick and ball games have been around for many centuries, but golf as we know it today, played over 18 holes, clearly originated in Scotland."Sports BeatScotsman.com News

References

The Canadian Museum of Civilization - Golf, the Canadian Story

See also

• Golf
• Timeline of golf history (1353-1850)
• Timeline of golf history (1851-1945)
• Timeline of golf history (1945-1999)
• Timeline of golf (2000-present)
• British Golf Museum

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