Golf is a game of different clubs and ball in which players use various clubs to strike the ball to the desired hole on the golf course.
Each hole on the course contains a tee where the game starts and greens where the game ends. The game is played in different standard form of terrains like fairway, rough(long grass), bunkers (sand) and various hazards (water, rocks).
History of Golf – Where and How Golf Started
The modern game of golf originated in the 15th Century on the East Coast of Scotland. In those days, players hit a stone over sand dunes by using a bend stick which is later called a club.
15th Century
During the 15th Century, a resolution of 14th parliament took place in Edinburgh on March 6, 1457. In this, the Scottish Parliament of king James II declared to ban the games of football and golf .
These were the main distraction from archery practice for military purposes but the interest of playing these games do not make them apart from it.
After the ban, it was only in 1502 that the game got approval when King James IV of Scotland became the first golfing Monarch. He lifted the ban when he became a golfer himself. At that time, the Old Course of Saint Andrews was considered to be a site of pilgrimage.
16th Century
The popularity of the game quickly spread throughout the 16th Century when King Charles brought the game to England and Mary Queen of Scots introduced the game to France when she studied there.
Golf is documented as being played on Musselburgh Links on March 2 1672, situated in East Lothian at Scotland, which is certified as the oldest golf course in Guinness World Record.
17th Century
In 1764, the standard 18 hole golf course was created in St Andrews when members of the parliament modified the course from 22 to 18 holes.
The first oldest golf tournament was played at Leith near Edinburgh, where the oldest rules of golf were compiled for Gentleman Golfers which was later renamed as The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. The game officially became a sport when the gentleman golfers of Leith came with silverware prizes.
When the golf game is spread all over, at that time golfers using handmade clubs made from beech with shafts of ash or hazel and the balls are made up of compressed feathers that are binded in a stitched horse hide.
18th Century
In October 17 1860, the first Open Championship was played at Prestwick Golf Club, Ayrshire in Scotland that is considered as world’s oldest golf tournament in existence. This championship is done with Scottish golfers that win the earliest majors.
Two Scotsman from Dunfermline named as John Reid and Robert Lockhart. These two gentlemen demonstrated golf in the U.S by setting up a hole in an orchard in 1888. At that particular time, different golf clubs were set in different cities like America and Saint Andrew’s Golf Club in Yonkers, New York.
King William IV honored the club with the title ‘Royal & Ancient’ in 1834. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Saint Andrews was established as the world’s premier golf club.
The United States Golf Association was established in 1894 to improve the game and by 1900, more than 1000 golf clubs had been formed throughout the USA and quickly established itself as the center of the professional game.
19th Century
During the 19th Century, the British empire expanded the game of golf all over the globe. The first golf club formed outside Scotland was Royal Blackheath near London in 1766 and the golf club outside Britain was Bangalore in India.
In this way, Golf clubs began to appear all over the countryside and played by every average person to enhance themself in this game and learn how to play it.
Today the golf courses themselves reflect the history of the game and are beautifully designed with different terrain in different places and become one of the best game for players who want to improve their strength and make accurate shots.
