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{{Mediawiki:kindleoasis}}[[File:Hendrick WGA01076.jpg|thumbnail|left|390px300px|Figure 1. Painting from 1615 showing the development of early golf.]]

One possible modern origin is in the Medieval Netherlands, where the term "golf" seems to have a Dutch origin. The game of <i>kolven</i> involved sticks or bats, perhaps similar to a shepherd's hook or stick, but the game may have not contained holes. The earliest records that depict golf come from Medieval paintings in the 15th century and the first book, called Tyrocinium linguae latinae, talks about daily life in the Netherlands where people played a game with sticks and at this points holes seem to have been utilized, where balls were hit into the holes.<ref>For more on the origins of the sport in Netherlands, see: Gillmeister, Heiner. 2002. “Golf on the Rhine: On the Origins of Golf, with Sidelights on Polo.” The International Journal of the History of Sport 19 (1): 2–30. doi:10.1080/714001691.

In Scotland, where many people believe the modern game of golf originated, records from the 15th century suggest a game of golf existed. Early records indicate the Scottish king tried to ban the game of golf, as it distracted his soldiers from other pursuits such as archery that were needed for military discipline. In fact, several bans seem to have been initiated as the sport was seen as something that made people less moral or it was "unprofitable."  King James IV soon, however, began to enjoy the game of golf and with royal sponsorship , the game began to spread in popularity in Scotland by the 15th and early 16th centuries. The first clear record of the use of balls and clubs are is from 1503 that state states that the king used a set of golf clubs and balls to play. Throughout the 16th century , more accounts indicate the game was popular, where prohibitions include not playing golf on the Sabbath, although the game by now was more accepted by the establishment. In fact, female royalty such as Mary Queen of Scots are is recorded as playing golf.<ref>For more on early Scottish developments in golf, see: Hamilton, David. 2009. The Scottish Golf Guide: With Best Holes, Gazetteer, Golf Miscellany , and Quotations. 3rd expanded ed. Edinburgh: Birlinn, pg. 221.</ref>

By the late 17th century, rules were developing for golf, including how to stand and swing a club. The oldest surviving golf rule book is the <i>The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers </i>, written in 1744. The rules were in relation to the Leith Links, an area that forms the port in Edinburgh, which are seen as the oldest golf club where established rules have existed. These rules indicate that teeing off was a critical aspect of the game. The same ball must be used throughout playing a specific hole. Rules include what you should do if the ball is hit into the water, playing where the ball lies, and the person farthest from the hole should play first after teeing off. The use of handicaps had already developed in rules of play.  Many of these rules were retained and became part of modern golf, indicating that the Leith links rules are the first established rules that led to the formation of modern golf. The 18th century saw the spread of golf clubs, including in Glasgow, St. Andrews, and Edinburgh. By 1787, in Blackheath, London, the first UK club was formed.<ref>For a history on early golf clubs, rules, and development of the sport in the 17th and 18th centuries, see: McGrath, Charles, David McCormick, and John Garrity, eds. 2002. The Ultimate Golf Book. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.</ref> In the 19th century, new developments in golf led to the ball becoming more modern in appearance. Feathers used to stuff early golf balls were now replaced with latex derived from a Gutta-percha tree. This had a major effect because the balls became cheap to make, helping the game to spread in popularity. Golf clubs were now also made from hickory, a wood that was seen as more sturdy and gave golf clubs more strength (Figure 2). These two developments made golf an easier game to play and increased the possibility to make it more widespread.

In the 19th century, new developments in golf led to the ball becoming more modern in appearance. Feathers used to stuff early golf balls were now replaced with latex derived from a Gutta-percha tree. This had a major effect because the balls became cheap to make, helping the game to spread in popularity. Golf clubs were now also made from hickory, a wood that was seen as more sturdy and gave golf clubs more strength (Figure 2). These two developments made golf an easier game to play and increased the possibility to make it more widespread. Soon, however, irons began to appear as a form of the club to hit balls with. The development of golf balls, with their surface , also loosing losing a smooth texture to one with patterns, led to further developments with clubs that gave shape to how balls look today and the variety of golf clubs one finds, from woods to irons.<ref>For more on the development of golf equipment, see: Arscott, David, and David Salariya. 2011. Golf: A Very Peculiar History : With No Added Bogeys. Brighton: Salariya Book Co.</ref>

The game did begin to spread to other countries such as Canada during the late 18th and throughout the early 19th centuries. In the United States, while golf has its origins in the late 18th century, it remained largely unpopular for much of the 19th century. Only by the 1880s a Scottish immigrant by the name of John Reid established a dedicated golf course at Yonkers, New York. Soon English and Scottish immigrants spread the sport throughout much of the eastern United States. By the 1890s, the sport's popularity grew rapidly and the first official organization was established in 1894 as the Amateur Golf Association of the United States, which later was called the United States Golf Association (USGA).  The US soon developed its own tournaments and the US Open and British Open became the two most prominent tournaments by 1900. Harry Vardon, an English player, was one of the sports first professional stars, dominating in tournaments in the UK and US. By 1916, the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) developed the PGA tour.<ref>For an early history of golf in the US, see: Peper, George, Robin McMillan, and James A. Frank, eds. 1994. Golf in America: The First One Hundred Years. New York: Abradale Press/H.N. Abrams.</ref>

While the origins of golf are in dispute, and much national pride, particularly for Scotland, is at stake in relation to the origin of golf, what is without a doubt is that golf has established itself as one of the great professional sports. Relative to other sports, rules that formed golf were established as early as the 18th century. Like other sports, the spread of popularity rapidly occurred in the 19th century when industrialization helped provide people with more leisure time and mass production lowered costs associated with golf's equipment. Although golf was a relatively late forming sport in the United States, often eclipsed by baseball and other sports the developed in the 19th century, the spread of the sport encouraged by British immigrants and professionalization for the sport helped it become of the major sports of interest in the United States. Similar to other sports, the advent of television has solidified the sports sport's popularity and spread to many countries today.