Golf is a very old game of which the exact origins are unclear. The origin of golf is open to debate as to being Chinese, Dutch or Scottish. However, the most accepted golf history theory is that this sport originated in Scotland in the 13th century.
A game somewhat similar to golf called chuiwan was first mentioned in Dongxuan Records, a Chinese book of the 11th century. It was played with balls and sticks that looked like short golf clubs. The goal was to strike the balls into the goals which were small pits in the ground. Unfortunately it died out during the Ming dynasty and probably never made its way to the West.
Young CuChulainn
slays giant hound with Hurley stick and ball
Hurley, a form of field hockey, was played in Ireland and other Celtic areas from prehistoric times. Two teams would fight to move a ball across a large field into a home goal by hitting it with clubs. In the 2000 year old Irish epic The Cattle Raid of Cooley there is the legend of how a young CuChulainn, just by driving a wooden ball with his hurley stick into the open mouth of Cooley's hound, killed the giant, vicious guard dog. In another story he won a hurley game against a whole school of young warriors all by himself. Sometime before the 13th century, hurley was modified to make a less dangerous game called koff that was played across the countryside between villages. Instead of fighting against each other as in football, it was a kind of race where each player tried to reach the goal (which was usually a bucket placed in front of a pub) in the lowest number of strokes. Another similar game called chole was mentioned in a letter written on February 26, 1297, in the Flemish city of Loenen aan de Vecht where they played a game with a stick and leather ball. The object was to strike the ball into a target area more times than the other players. It wasn't until later that this driving range kind of game really became golf with the addition of a dedicated course.
Another theory is that golf evolved from croquet, however, it is more likely that it is the other way around. Croquet was unknown in most of Britain before the 19th century. Toy maker, John Jaques II, saw commercial potential in a children's game played in Ireland and introduced it to England at the great Exhibition of 1851. It caught on like wildfire and became the most popular outdoor game in the empire within 10 years making him a very wealthy man. He published a book of rules in 1864 that still governs the game to this day.
Modern golf, as played on a golf course, is considered to be a Scottish invention. Hugh Kennedy, Robert Stewart and John Smale, three of the earliest identified players, are credited with introducing the Flemish game to Scotland. While their regiment was fighting with the French against the English at the Siege of Bauge the Scotsmen learned to play chole and koff from the locals. Upon returning to Scotland they combined the games and played it on the wasteland between the land and sea that was only good for grazing sheep. This landscape with its water hazards, sand traps, bunkers, sheep shorn fairways, and rough edges became the model for all golf courses that followed.
At the fut bal ande the golf be vtterly criyt done and nocht vsyt—1457. It is thocht expedient ... at the futbal & golf be abusit in tym cummyng—1471. ... the King to play at the golf with the Erle of Bothuile & Franch crounis—1504.
That football and golf be utterly condemned and not seen—1457. It is thought expedient that football and golf be halted in the time comming—1471. ...the King to play at the golf with the Earl of Bothwell and the French crowns—1504.
The first game of golf for which records survive was played at Bruntsfield Links in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1456, and is recorded in the archives of the Edinburgh Burgess Golfing Society, now The Royal Burgess Golfing Society.
In 1457, King James II of Scotland banned the game on Sundays because it was distracting his subjects from practicing archery, and developing their military skills needed for war with England. The ban was lifted in 1502 after the signing of the Treaty of Glasgow. In 1553, The Archbishop of St Andrews issued a decree giving the local populace the right to play golf on the "links" (the area linking the land to the sea) at St. Andrews.
Queen Catherine of England wrote about the growing popularity of golf in England in a letter to Cardinal Woolsey in 1513. Mary, Queen of Scots, reputedly played golf in 1567 shortly after the death of her husband, Lord Darnley. That makes her the first recorded female golfer and proves women were involved from the beginning.
Golf courses have not always had eighteen holes. The St. Andrews Links occupy a narrow strip of land along the sea. As early as the 15th century, golfers at St. Andrews, in Fife, established a customary route 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.
Elm balls imported from the Netherlands were used until 1618, when the featherie ball was invented. This added a new and exciting feature to the game of golf. A featherie is a hand sewn leather pouch stuffed with goose feathers and coated with paint. The feathers in the ball were enough to fill a top hat. They were boiled and put in the cowhide bag. As it cooled, the feathers would expand and the hide would shrink, making a compact ball. A featherie could travel more than twice the distance of an elm ball. Due to its superior flight characteristics, the featherie remained the standard ball for more than two centuries. However, an experienced ball maker could only make about four in one day, so they were expensive. A single ball would cost between 2 and 5 shillings, which is the equivalent of $150 and $400 today. Also, it was hard to make a perfectly spherical ball, and because of that, the ball often flew irregularly. When playing in wet weather, the stiches in the ball would rot, and the ball would split open after hitting a hard surface.
Image of commoners playing golf from "September" in the Golf Book of Hours by Flemish artist, Simon Bening, 1540
Golf clubs were fashion from a single piece of ash wood and had the shape of modern golf clubs, though the heads were a little more elongated. The players used only one club for all shots. This meant that the players needed to kneel to putt. One of the players is pointing to the clubhouse where others are already having a drink. Its amazing how little the best parts of the game haven't changed a bit!
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