Introduction to Golf History
Many people play golf each day across the world. Both men and women, the young and the old, enjoy the game which traces its roots back to 100 BC in Rome.
Because of today’s technology, people are able to view or live stream on the Internet as well as on social media to see the beautiful Augusta National the Pebble Beach, the St Andrews Old course or even any other millions of courses which showcase their superhuman skills in today’s world.
For sure, the technology, the golf course, and the players have come far since the times of the earlier years. It is therefore important that we know the Golf history, how it started and who started it. The following is the golf history:
The Roots of Golf
Golf history can be traced back to Ancient Rome. Here, people used to play a certain game called paganica which was around 100 BC. The players used to hit some kind of stuffed leather ball using a bent stick.
Furthermore, the game is also ancient in China. In the Song Dynasty, around 960 CE to about 1279 CE. The participants used to play ”
A 1261 manuscript written by a Flemish port, Jacob van Maerlant described it as a game that has a ball and a club. This reference is said to have been to a Dutch game by the name of ”
However, the modern golf that everyone knows can actually be traced back to the Kingdom of Scotland. In an Act of the Scottish Parliament back in 1457, golf was first recognized as a game.
This Act prohibited golf because the king saw it as being distractive from the archery practice, which was a necessity for the defense of the country. Other stories about the game can be found in some government documents in both 1471 and 1491 actually banning the game.
By the year 1500, the country lifted the bans and in a few years that followed, King James IV bought all the balls and clubs so that the game could be played.
During this period, the balls were made of hard leather or wood and the clubs were made of wood too, mostly beech, pear, apple, and holly. In the year 1724, there are several manuscripts which claimed that the balls were stuffed with birds feathers.
Royalty was a platform that provided the fast growth of golf across Europe. When King Charles I blessed the game, it took roots in England back in the 16th century.
Mary, who was the Queen of Scots also introduced the sport there while studying in France. For something eye-catching, the name ”caddie” was adopted from the French military aides who were referred to as cadets.
The formation Of Golf Rules
The first rules of Gold were established by the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers back in 1744.
Twenty years down the line, the Old Course of St Andrews reduces the number of hokes from 22 to 18 and this has been the format that is been used up to date.
The Making Of balls and clubs
In the year, 1826, the history that was being imported from the United States was an important wood for making club shafts in Great Britain. About 20 years down the line, gutta-percha ball became favorite, the ball of choice.
What ball makers were doing is that they put trips of gutta-percha which is a dried sap from the sapodilla tree into the boiling water and in, turn, molded the back with their hands. They then submerged them in cold water for them to harden.
The First Golf Opens
The first British open and of is kind was first played at Prestwick back in 1860. Here, the Royal Liverpool Golf Club made the British Amateur Championship that was in 1885. Hoylake was the host for the first tournament
The first permanent Golf Club was established by Montreal in North America in the year 1873, that is Canada The Royal Montreal Club. The United States Golf Association was formed in New York back in 1894. The members here were five.
They include Newport Golf Club, St Andrew’s Golf Club, New York, The country club that is in Brookline, Massachusetts, the Chicago Gold Club of Wheaton Illinois, and the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club that is in South Hampton, New York.
A year later, the first United States Amateur Championship was held in Newport Country Club which was also the United States Open. The United States Golf Association still keeps the official golf rules for Mexico and the United States.
The Revolution of the Golf Balls and Clubs
Persimmon by the year 1900 became the wood to be used in golf especially for making club heads. On the other hand, aluminum was a popular alternative.
Two years later, the Groove-faced irons became the talk of the town because they promoted increased backspin. In a few months time, the rubber-cored Haskell Ball was also included on the list. This was the beginning of a revolution in golf because the ball traveled further compared to gutta-percha and was cheap to manufacture.
The enthusiasm of golf grew much more and people loved it a lot. Bu the year 1910, about 267 clubs became part of the United States Golf Association.
In the year 1916, the Professional Golfers Association was formed commonly known as the PGA tour in the modern day world. The first PGA tour was held in Siwanoy Country Club back in New York.
The first Ryder Cup was won by the British team five years later in Gleneagles, Scotland. Moreover, the United States team took its first Walker Cup in the year 1922. This was at Golf of America, Southampton, New York.
The Golf Technology continued to revolutionize and at this point, the Royal and Ancient are commonly known as R&A, who are the recognized rule makes of golf in all the places except Mexico and the United States accepted the steel-shafted golf clubs back in 1929.
The following year that is 1930. Bobby Jones is the only person to have achieved in Golf by grabbing victories in the British Amateur, the United States Amateur, the United States Open, and also the British Open.
It was also a matter of time that Jones designed the Augusta National Golf Club, and it is here where the first masters took place in the year 1939. Here, the Royal and Ancient made a 14-club rule so as to promote talent or individual skill growth as well as to prevent golfers from participation in an inordinate number of clubs.
At this time, women started sharing the stage with men, that was in 1932. In that year the Great Britain team was defeated by the United States team in the Curtis Cup.
This was in Wentworth Club back in England. Women’s open, commonly known as the United States Women’s open first took place in 1946. This was at Spokane Country Club, Washington. Fours later, Ladies Professional Golfers Association came into being.
This was a massive achievement as women started being recognized as potential golfers with the best skills in Golf. The association not only allows women to play but also promotes talent among them.
Making the Game of Golf a better Game
Starting the year 1952, both the USGA and the R&A have been working together so as to bring out common rules for the golfers across the world which are simply known as the Rules of Golf.
These rules are usually revised after every four years so as to make Golf a better game for the golfers.
The Complete Evolution of Golf
Following the second world war II, several types of equipment changed a lot. There was more research done on composite and synthetic materials to make golf a better sport.
Golf Club manufacturing also changed. In the year 1963, there was the introduction of the casting method which manufactures club heads was introduced.
With the rise in technology, the costs of manufacturing golf clubs went down. This, in turn, led to more people participating in the game.
In 1973, the graphite shafts became the talk of the golf markets. This is because of their lightweight and strong in nature than the steel shafts.
In 1979, TailorMade introduced metal woods for the first time in the market. Callaway is known as the best-selling gold club in the history of golf.
In summary, Golf is a game that has a long and rich history, The game is an old one and its roots go back to Ancient China and the Roman Empire. The gold that we know today has its roots in the Scottish country back in the fifteenth century where it started.
Over the year, the technology has continuously changed and so as the equipment used to play this game. The costs, on the other hand, fell because the manufacturers were making more equipment and thus more people were able to participate in the game. Truly, golf is a game that everyone can enjoy for a long time.