A Quick History of the Game of Golf

While golf courses are everywhere today and golf is a very popular game, many people may not know the origins of it. Do you think golf is 100 years old? Maybe 200 years old? The game is actually several centuries old, if you can believe it, and its origins are in Europe. Keep reading to learn more about how golf came into existence.

Early Days

The Dutch may have played a game similar to golf in the 13th century, by hitting a leather ball towards a target with sticks. The goal was to reach the target with the fewest strokes possible. The stick or club used to play the game was called a “colf” or “kolf,” which morphed into “golf” when it made its way across the English Channel.

The Scots

Scotland lays claim to the invention of the game that we know today, however. “Gowf” was even banned by King James II in 1457 because he thought it was distracting. But a later monarch, the infamous Mary, Queen of Scots, was extremely fond of the game and permitted her royal courts to play it any day of the week except for Sundays.

First Courses

East Lothian, Scotland, boasts the oldest documented golf course, known as “The Old Links” in Musselburgh. This 9-hole golf course is still playable and is a major tourist draw for the area. Another famous course is “The Old Lady,” which is the name for a golf course at St Andrews in Scotland, where the game was modernized from a 22-hole game into the 18-hole game we play now.

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