Changes

The game of golf today is globally popular and watched by millions on television. The origins of the sport may go back to ancient periods, but most historians trace the definitive beginning of the sport to Medieval Scotland and/or the Netherlands. However, it was in the 19th century that the sport emerged as both a modern one and started to become a global phenomenon.

One possible modern origin is in 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.

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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 from 1503 that state 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 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>

In the 17th century, the oldest continuously used golf links came into existence (Figure 1). The Musselburgh Links are recorded to have been used for golf in 1672. It is even possible that golf was played here in the 16th century; however, those accounts are not substantiated by original sources.<ref>For more on the Musselburgh Links, see: Hutchinson, Horace G. 2014. The Classic Guide to Golf.</ref>

==Modernization of the Game==

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>

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>

==The Game Today==