Golf History Facts

Golf and Rabbit Holes; early history of golf. 

By JA Francis

What’s in a name?

People joke and say GOLF is an acronym for “Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden", but in this century, that doesn’t even make us laugh anymore. Wikipedia states that this expression is more likely to be a backronym, ie something concocted recently and attributed to older times. No doubt this urban myth was from the days when gentleman enjoyed the privacy of a club with no women members:no wives, no daughters - no fun if you ask me.

Here's some weird golf  history  facts for you.

Rabbit Holes

The people of Scotland had a game where they would hit stones through the sand and into rabbit holes using sticks. The Scottish word goulf (meaning "to strike or cuff") or “gowf” in the British Isles was mentioned in writing on legal documents from 1457 - 1491 forbidding the playing of the game as it was interfering with the archery practice needed for war. This ban was lifted in 1502.The word golf may have come from here or it may also be related to the Dutch word kolf, meaning, "bat," or "club," referring to the Dutch sport of the same name. The game itself may also be derived from Flanders, when a Scottish regiment observed people playing “chole” a type of hockey.
 
History is dependent on written or pictorial records and the early history of golf is not absolutely established. Romans struck a feather stuffed ball with clubs. Book illustrations and paintings show the Dutch in the 15th Century doing something similar on the frozen canals, (but perhaps that was the start of ice hockey.) Scotland is the most likely originator of the present game. James VI of Scotland, later James I of England enjoyed the sport and established it in Great Britain. The popularity of the game increased when the royal family took up the sport and it spread through to many other countries as well. It was around 1618 when the featherie golf ball was invented.

St Andrews Golf Course

In 1553 the Archbishop of St Andrews issued a decree giving the local people the right to play golf on the links of what is regarded as the world's oldest golf course; St. Andrews, Fife. St Andrews published the first codified “Rules of Golf” and purchased a Silver Cup for an Open Championship in 1754. In 1764 it combined some of its holes, reducing the round from twenty-two holes to eighteen, and setting the current standard. In 1806 it chose to elect it’s captains, beginning the tradition of the Captain “playing himself into office” by hitting a single shot before the start of the annual competition. In 1834 William IV conferred the title "Royal and Ancient" on the Golf Club at St. Andrews.

Golf History Facts: Golf in America

There’s nothing like banning something to make it popular. In 1659, golf is banned from the streets of Albany, New York. This is the first known reference to golf in America. The first golf club established outside of the United Kingdom was the South Carolina Golf Club, which was formed in Charleston, in 1786.

Golf in the Eighteenth Century: hickory shafts and the gutta percha ball 

By the 1800’s golf was quite popular among both men and women.  At this stage, golf clubs were designed very similarly to the way they are now and the rules of the game were established. In 1826, hickory, imported from America was used to make the golf shafts. In 1848 the "guttie," or gutta percha ball was invented. Moulded from Malaysian tree gum, it gradually replaced the feather filled ball because it flew farther and was more inexpensive. These improvements contributed greatly to the expansion of the game.

Both clubs and balls were however, handmade, and still very expensive so the game was mostly reserved for those who could afford it. Although a stick and a stone are all you need if you have a rabbit hole, the official game became exclusive because of the difference between this scenario and a well-designed course of immaculately landscaped links. Landowners began to create courses for their private use. Their friends, both men and women, would play by invitation.