The History Of Golf
Can you imagine that any country’s fighting forces would be so enamored of the game of golf that they downed weapons to play? This is what happened in Scotland in the 1500’s. But not only did they play golf for recreation, they continued on to the detriment of their weapons skills usage. Archery was the prime weapon relied on by countries in those days to drive off marauders and enemies, but it seems that the archers of the day put so much effort into their golf games that they began to lose their skill at archery.
This problem was so widespread that King James II and his parliament had to pass laws in 1542 prohibiting the game from being played. Luckily for golfers, gunpowder was invented near the end of that century and so archery gradually became obsolete. But the game of golf did not. Even though it was illegal, the game continued to be played and even King James the IV, whose parliament had passed the last decree banning the game, became an avid golfer. He influenced his daughter Mary, later Queen of Scots, to love the game and her son, later to be James the 1st of England, played at Blackheath Common in London.
The game of golf finally filtered through to the US in the late 1700’s. Here it was considered ‘a pleasing and genteel amusement’ and it was not until much later that it was taken more seriously. The first permanent golf club did not spring up until nearly a century later. Both the Royal Montreal golf Club and The Foxburg Golf Club vie for the honor of being the first permanent club in the western hemisphere, with the strongest evidence belonging to the latter, who claimed the oldest permanent existence and the oldest golf course.
No matter who was the first, the game of golf continued to grow in popularity down through the centuries from its first humble beginnings played in a field by a group of friends to the formation of the United States Golf Association. By 1894 there were two US golf championships and it was then that uniform rules and conduct were established.
In the 20th century Horace L Hotchkiss organized the first seniors tournament at Apawamis Club, Rye, NY to prove that it was not just a game for younger people. Now golf is popular in over 30 countries, but has the largest following in the US where there are well over 5,000 courses played on by in excess of 4 million people. The value of the land, buildings and equipment used in the game is well into the billions. Not bad for a game that was once considered a nuisance by kings.
Debra McDonough
Pirates Of The Green
Tags: golf history, history of golf
