subject: Playing Golf Through The Ages [print this page] Playing golf is a popular pastime enjoyed most countries, especially in the west. Modern golf has its origins in Scotland of the 15th century. It is first mentioned in 1457 in an Act of the Scottish Parliament whereby golf was banned because it distracted the people from practicing archery, a necessary pursuit as there was always the threat of war from England to the south.
However, people have been playing golf, or something very like it, for a long, long time. During the Song Dynasty in China, which stretched from 960 to 1279, a game called chuiwan was played that was remarkably similar to golf. The game was played using 10 different sized clubs, and a ball was struck with the clubs towards various holes on flat land. Chinese records of the period describe the clubs as being inlaid with gold, which suggests that the chuiwan variation of golf played up to 1,000 years ago was not for poor people.
On February 26th, 1297, a game was played in the city of Loenen aan de Vecht in the Netherlands. A stick and a leather ball was used, and the ball was struck toward a distant target. The winner was the person who could hit the target with the least number of strokes, which is essentially the most basic rule of golf.
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews claims to be the oldest golf club in the world. They say, "Stick and ball games have been around for many centuries, but golf as we know it today, played over 18 holes, clearly originated in Scotland." In that, they are most likely right, but debate still gets stirred up from time to time as fresh evidence surfaces every so often.
The word "golf" is from the old Scots word, "gouf," which in turn is probably from the Dutch word "colf," both meaning a stick or club. In Old Norse the word "kolfr" means a bell clapper, which essentially performs a similar function to a golf club, in a way. Playing golf therefore means in essence the club, or the act of striking the ball with the club.
Playing golf has always been a sporting pursuit for both sexes. The urban legend that the word golf originally stood for, "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden," is a modern invention and holds no truth whatsoever. One of the very early proponents of the game was Mary Queen of Scots. She is said to have earned the wrath of the church for playing golf only days after her second husband, Lord Darnley, was murdered.
Today, the game of golf is played all over the world - and beyond. In 1971 Alan Shepard swung a club and struck a golf ball on the moon. Because of the lower gravity force on the moon, the ball went, "miles and miles and miles," according to his description of the event.
Playing golf has become very commonplace. It is one of the most popular participation sports, as well as an extremely popular spectator sport, and it is likely to stay that way too.
