Golf is played by people all around the world, and millions tune in to watch the sports

biggest tournaments on TV every year. However, not many people know much about the
games long history, which took place over hundreds of years and across multiple countries.

Most people who know

anything about golf will tell
you that it was first played in
Scotland, but thats only part
of the story. While the
modern version of golf is
firmly rooted in Scotland,
theres evidence that earlier
versions of the game were
imported to the British Isles
by other Europeans.

One of the biggest clues to

golfs origins comes from the
name of the game itself. The
word golf is a corruption of
the medieval Dutch word
kolf, or club. Most
evidence suggests that golf
developed from the stick and
ball games played by
continental Europeans from
France, Germany, and the
Low Countries during the
Middle Ages.

Golf may not be a purely Scottish invention, but that doesnt mean the Scots werent
invaluable to its development. In fact, the first historical references to golf come from
Scottish sources, when King James II of Scotland banned the game in 1457, believing that
it was distracting the countrys men from their archery training.

Despite the ban, which

was renewed by James III
and IV, golf continued to
grow in popularity in
both Scotland and
England. Love of golf
connected both the
upper and lower classes
of the two countries;
records show that both
Mary I of Scotland and
James I of England were
big fans of the game, as
were many commoners.

Scotlands main claim to creating golf comes from 1774, when a group of men from
Edinburgh formed the first official golf club. As part of the clubs creation, the newly
formed Company of Gentlemen Golfers also created the sports first known rulebook,
Articles and Laws in Playing Golf.

 The earliest known golf balls were made

of wood, most of which were imported
to Scotland from Holland (another clue
that points to the games continental
origins).
Eventually, players switched to balls
made of leather and feathers. The price
of these balls was the biggest obstacle
for most people; one craftsman could
only make 4 or 5 a day, making them
expensive for common people to buy.
The Gentlemen Golfers used clubs of
wood and iron, similar to today. At the
time, however, iron clubs were only
used for getting out of difficult spots,
not for approaches like they are today.

In the 19th century, a new type of golf ball was introduced: the gutta-percha ball, or
guttie, made from the rubbery sap of the Malaysian sapodilla tree. The new ball
would eventually lead to a famous conflict between the eras two greatest ball makers
and players, Allan Robertson and Tom Morris, whose friendship and business
partnership eventually dissolved over the rivalry.

The International Junior Golf Academy (IJGA) combines

training, competition and athletics to develop the next
generation of sportsmen and sportswomen. Learn more by
visiting www.ijga.com today.

1.

http://golf.about.com/cs/historyofgolf/a/hist_golfbegin.htm

2.

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/golfhistory.html

3.

http://digital.nls.uk/golf-in-scotland/rules/index.html