“Golf is an exercise which is much used by a gentleman in Scotland… A man would live 10 years the longer for using this exercise once or twice a week.”
— Dr. Benjamin Rush (1745 – 1813)
The beginning
Once upon a time in Netherlands, some student were playing a game with a stick and leather ball. The goal was simply to hit the ball the fewest time into a target many hundred yards away. In your own opinion, When do this story took place? Try to guess ! 😀
A scene where the emperor Xuande plays a golf-like game called chuiwan.
A scene from the Golf book circa 1540, We can easily see similarities to modern day golf.
However, the authenticity of this story is questionable or even denied because there are other reports of earlier accounts of a golf-like game from China or continental Europe. All we can really say for sure is that the modern golf, as we know it, appeared in 1754 in Scotland. Indeed, the first official rules are developed by one of the oldest Scottish golf organisations : The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. They developed 13 rules that have not changed since then, except for precision and the incorporation of other rules.
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews
It is with the progress and the improvement of the material, in particular of the ball, that the golf begins its expansion, from 1848. This expansion was also due to the ease of manufacture, the price and the standardization of the material, all accompanied by the improvement of life and transport throughout Europe.
Fun fact about the golf courses: they have not always had eighteen holes! In fact, before 1754, the number of hole in the golf course was dictated by topography of the field. For example, if the course had 12 holes laid out end to end from the clubhouse to the far end of the property, then the players had to play the 12 holes in one direction then again in the reverse direction for a total of 24 holes played.
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