History of Golf

The game of Golf is no more a game of the elites today but has penetrated far and wide in many parts of the world. Many new Golf courses have come up in different parts of the world and the United States is leading the world in having the maximum number of Golf courses. Although, the game of golf has a history dating back to the year 1457 but the expert opinion is divided over the authenticity of Golf history.

The game of Golf has a recorded history of 500 years and first reference of the term Golf is found on a Scottish statute. The word Golf went through many corruptions but it was definitely Scottish in origin. In Scotland the game was banned by King James II because the game was distracting people's attention from the game of Archery. There is an interesting story about the origin of Golf in Scotland. It is told that when shepherds used to get tired of grazing their sheep they used to hit round stones exactly in the rabbit holes and thus the game was born.

The Evolution of the game of Golf
Chinese, Scottish, and even the Dutch claim that they have the right to call the game of Golf as their own . Golf historians have not been able to decide the origin of Golf decisively; but generally
the modern game of Golf is attributed to the Scots. Since, the game has been recorded in the acts of Parliament in the 15th century in Scotland it may be taken to be the invention of the Scottish people.
Golf in Scotland in the 15th century was called as 'gowf' and then it came to be called as Golf in English language.
Some historians argue that the game of Golf played by the Scottish people was actually the game of hockey and so cannot be called the invention of Scottish people. A Chinese book called 'Dongxuan Records' has described that the Chinese also used to play the same kind of game and had the same rules like Golf. A Chinese professor has also claimed that Golf was played in China by the 'Song Dynasty' and thus the Chinese culture can also claim the invention of Golf. The Dutch history of Golf also has similar claims.
In the 13th century Dutch culture a very identical game of Golf was played in which the player used a stick to hit a leather ball. The player hitting the ball for the longest distance was declared winner. In support of evidence for the real origin of the game of Golf there are proofs which show that the Dutch language had a word called kolf. The word may be translated as a stick or a bat.

The Scottish Claim
The debate over the origin Golf tilts favorably towards Scotland. Scotland has many such convincing evidences to show that the game of Golf originated in their soil. In England archaeologists have found a picture that shows the game to have begun as early as 1340 and the greatest claim of the Scottish can be found in the 'Musselburgh' court. The Musselburgh court evidence clearly shows that the Scottish people used to play Golf in the 15th century regularly and even the Scottish queen used to spare her golfing moments at the court. The Scottish Golf courses in the past were 18 cup Golf courses and thus the the modern day 18 hole Golf course evolved. Thus, it can safely be said that the Scots can have better claim for the origin Golf.