History

The History of golf A golf-like game is recorded as taking place on 26 February 1297, in the Netherlands, in a city called Loenen aan de Vecht.

Here the Dutch played a game with a stick and leather ball. Whoever hit the ball into a target several hundreds of meters away the least number of times, won.

However, the modern game of golf we understand today is generally considered to be a Scottish invention, as the game was mentioned in two 15th-century Acts of the Scottish Parliament, prohibiting the playing of the game of gowf. Some scholars, however, suggest that this refers to another game which is much akin to shinty or hurling, or to modern field hockey rather than golf. They argue that a game of putting a small ball in a hole in the ground using golf clubs was played in 17th-century Netherlands and that this predates the game in Scotland.

The word golf may be a Scots alteration of Dutch "kolf" meaning "stick, "club" and "bat". There are reports of even earlier accounts of a golf like game from continental Europe The development of the golf course Golf courses have not always had eighteen holes. The St Andrews Links occupy a narrow strip of land on Queen Mary of Scots land along the sea. As early as the 15th century, golfers at St Andrews established a trench through the undulating terrain, playing to holes whose locations were dictated by topography.

The course that emerged featured eleven holes, laid out end to end from the clubhouse to the far end of the property. One played the holes out, turned around, and played the holes in, for a total of 22 holes. In 1764, several of the holes were deemed too short, and were therefore combined. The number was thereby reduced from 11 to nine, so that a complete round of the links comprised 18 holes.

Due to the status of St Andrews as the golfing capital, all other courses followed suit and the 18 hole course remains the standard to the present day.