Ok, so Engolfed has been dorment for over three months now. I just haven’t had the time to make posts, and the designated writers started dropping out one by one. The good news is that I am back in the swing of things and will be posting semi-regularly once again. To kick off the fresh start, I am going to make a small series of posts about various golf history topics, the first of which, is the history of golf itself.

The History of Golf

There’s one thing sure about where and how the game of golf got started; it happened in Europe. But that’s only the beginning of the argument! Those from Scotland firmly believe the sport was founded in their country, while the French, the Germans and the Dutch feel the same.

While there is evidence of the beginnings of the game of golf in all of those countries, the Scots differentiated themselves; they dug a hole in the ground, and made getting that ball into the hole the object of the game.

One of the earliest references to golf is from King James II of Scotland, who, in 1457, banned the playing of golf and soccer. It seems his archery experts began to love those games so much they were missing their bow and arrow practice. People still played, even though the ban was reissued every twenty years. The game continued to develop, and finally, in 1744, the rules of golf were documented in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Although it took some time, the countries now most known for the game of golf, England and the United States, caught onto the golf rage in the late 1800’s. The first British Open was played (in Scotland) in 1860. As for the United States, St Andrews golf club was opened in 1888 as a 3-hole course - soon expanding to a 6 hole course after the conversion of a cow pasture!