Since before Mary Queen of Scots was disciplined for playing golf on two Sundays after the murder of her husband Lord Dernley in 1567. Golf is known to have been played at St. Andrews before the founding of the university in 1411. It is a place sure. I bet to say that golf was played in one form or another as long as a century before this.
Golf is the only game whose object is to hit a ball across a course of some kind that has sand traps, bunkers, and other obstacles that prevent you from doing so. The ball balances in the air and hits another point below the ground.
It was the Scots who introduced the golf hole to the game. It was a national pastime for over four hundred years before Prince Charles fled Culloden defeated by the English in 1513 at the Battle of Flodden Field.
At Flodden the Scots were no match for the English in the first round and had been beaten 50 years earlier. King James II banned the game of golf because he believed it interfered with the practice of archery and he did so with an Act of the Scottish Parliament. The first documented record refers to modern golf. James III also banned the game in 1471.
The origin of golf is a mystery, however, there are some theories.
The first theory says that fishermen, returning from their boats, would pick up a piece of driftwood and hit a stone to see how far it would go. They did this repeatedly until they reached the river.
Golf is believed to have been played at Kirk Session (Church Court). The only evidence of this is found in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Golf is still a very popular game today. Below is a timeline that will give you a general idea of the evolution of Golf into the game we know today.
16th century – Gold was established on the east coast of Scotland and began to spread. Golf was played by Jaime VI before he came to the throne as Jaime I did in 1603.
1501 – James IV had his treasurer pay 14 shillings to a bowmaker in Perth to provide them with sticks. Golf became associated with royalty, the Church and education (ie St. Andrews)
17th century golf was pursued from the southeast to the north of Orkney.
1754 – The beginning of the construction of new courses.
1880 – The arrival of the gutter hanger ball was a major influence on the popularity of golf. Little has changed in the last 250 years.
1925 – In Texas, Bark Hollow Golf Club becomes the first club with a complete fairway irrigation system. The British Open is played for the last time at Prestwick Golf Club. The Royal Canadian Golf Association rules that the use of clubs with steel shafts is legal. They joined the United States Golf Association.
1973 – Johnny Mailer shoots 63 at Oakmont Country Club to win the US Open. Arnold Palmer wins the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, his fifth victory in the event and his 62nd victory on the PGA Tour.
1985 – Europeans win the Ryder’s Cup for the first time in twenty-eight years.
1995 – Ben Crenshaw won his second Master’s degree. Tiger Woods wins the second US Amateur in a row. The Golf Channel makes its television debut.
1997 – Tiger Woods in his first Championship year scored a 12 stroke victory at the Masters. Jack Nicklaus tees off at the US Open for his 150th consecutive appearance at a major championship.
1999 – Aree Wongluekert (now known as Aree Song) wins the Girls Junior Amateur. At 13 years old she is the youngest winner of the USGA Championship.
2001: The term “Tiger Slam” was coined after Tiger Woods won the Masters, making him the first person to hold all four major professional golf titles at the same time. Annika Sorenstam shoots 59 on the LPGA Tour. The 9/11 attacks caused the Ryder’s Cup to be delayed by a year.
2003 – Mike Weir wins the Masters and becomes the second left-handed person to win a major championship. Michelle Wie won the Women’s Amateur Public Links. She is the youngest winner of an adult USGA championship. Michelle Wie played in every men’s event on the Canadian and national tour. She didn’t make either cut.
2004 Michelle Wie receives a bye at the PGA Tour Sony Open. Ella Shoots 72-68 missing the cut by a punch! Arnold Palmer performs The Masters for the fiftieth and last time.
Golf has given us centuries of physical activity, excitement, and it has been and is exciting to see a game in progress. In the last 250 years, golf hasn’t changed much. For those who play, there are all kinds of resources available to improve your game.
