Quezi

Future Open winners - courtesy endbradley - CC-BY

While Roman emperors apparently played a game called paganica, using a bent stick to drive a soft, feather-stuffed ball, golf is generally thought to be of  Scottish origin, as the game was mentioned in two 15th century laws prohibiting the playing of the game of “gowf.”  In the first golf games, players would hit pebbles with sticks around a natural course including hills, sand dunes, ponds, etc. These early courses varied a great deal in the number of holes, from five to 25.  St. Andrews established an 18-hole golf course in 1857, and other courses followed over the years until the 18-hole course was considered the norm.

The modern game came into being in the second half of the 19th century in Scotland. The basic rules and the design of equipment and courses closely resembled those of today.  In 1856, A rule change was enacted that, in match play, the ball must be played as it lies or the hole be conceded. That was the last recorded toughening of the rules structure. In the 1930s the wooden golf tee was invented. In the 1970s came the use of metal to replace wooden club heads, and shafts made of graphite composite materials were introduced in the 1980s.

The game of golf was spread world wide with the British Empire in the 19th century. However, it was still an elite sport.  The clubs and balls were handcrafted and expensive to produce. Around 1848, golf equipment began to be produced en masse, making it accessible to the average person for the first time.

In the United States, golf is the unofficial sport of the business world. Board meetings frequently merely confirm decisions that are actually made on the golf course. For this reason, many business schools include a “business golf” course as part of their curriculum.

Golf has the distinction of being the first sport ever played in space. In February 1971, astronaut Alan Shepard hit a golf ball on the moon.

The term “golf” is believed to have originated from a Germanic word for “club.”

For more information about the history of golf