Golf Through the Ages Part 1
There seems to be a general consensus that the Scots were the original hard core golfers. Thus it is fair to say that perhaps the Scots are responsible for golf as we know today. In fact the word golf itself is thought to be the Scottish equivalent of the
Dutch “colf” which translates as “stick”, “club” or “bat”.
Golf, in the early years, was about players hitting pebbles around sand dunes, rabbit runs and tracks- the most primitive and natural golf courses. The earliest mention of golf coming into the public eye is credited to the mid 15th century, when
King James II of Scotland banned the game. The King thought that the game was taking away too much time from the practice hours of the archers of his royal army and with the threat of an English invasion this was completely unacceptable to him.
The game continued to be developed in Scotland and began truly gaining momentum when James VI, a Scottish Baron who succeeded to the English throne in 1603, brought the game or a refined version of it at least to England.
Golf has enjoyed the status of being an “elite” and “refined” game since its early days and Royal endorsements played an extremely crucial role in the popularization of the game in England. Mary Queen of Scots, a French Woman by birth, is credited with the
spread of the game in France while she was studying there.
A fun piece of trivia is the fact that the term “caddie” first originated from her helpers being called cadets; a name in French for Military personnel.
Around this time the only proper golf course in existence was Leith near Edinburgh. This was also the site for the first international match in 1682, when the Duke of York and George Patterson won against two English noblemen, while representing Scotland.
What started as a leisurely pastime now transformed into a competitive sport and the first club, The Gentlemen Golfer of Leith, was formed in 1744. The aim of the club was promoting an annual competition with a silver golf club as a prize. The establishment
of this club brought with it the very first set of rules for the game.
In 1754, the St. Andrews Society of Golfers was established which aimed to compete in an independent annual competition following the guidelines of the Leith. In subsequent years the club passed huge milestones of introducing stroke play, constructing the
first 18-hole course (which was to become the de-facto standard), publication of the rules of the game and formation of the first women’s club in the world in 1895. The club was later given the honorary title of “Royal & Ancient” by King William.
By this time golfers had done away with their make shift “sticks and pebbles” and begun to use proper clubs and balls. However, the club heads were nothing like the ones we know today. These clubs were made from beech or wood from apple trees. Some were
also made from hand-forged iron, with shafts mostly of ash and hazel. The balls were tightly compressed feathers stitched inside a horse hide bag. The expensive handcrafted equipment used, made golf, since the very beginning a hobby for the wealthy.
The British Empire was on the height of its power during the 19th century and had a lot of influence world over due to it having practically colonized half the world! It had a huge influence in matters related to politics, commerce, economics
and culture throughout the world. This influence extended into the world of sport as well. The game began gaining international status and a number of clubs began to mushroom all over the world.
The Victorian Industrial Revolution, with its social and economic reforms, such as the development of the railway system gave a massive boom to the tourism industry. This change brought more and more people into contact with the sport and thus it gained
even more popularity.
Stay tuned for Part 2.
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