Homeland of Golf: Game History, Origin Versions and Etymology of the Name

The true origin of such a sporting game as golf has not been fully elucidated; it still causes heated discussions among historians. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that modern golf originated in Scotland in the Middle Ages. The game was not popular in the world until the end of the 19th century. Gradually, it began to spread to the rest of Great Britain, and then to the British Empire and the USA.

In this article we will consider versions of the homeland of the game, a brief history, as well as an etymology of the origin of the term “golf”.

Major versions of origin

Its early forms date back to the Roman game of paganic, in which participants used a curved wand to strike a leather ball. For this reason, the Roman Empire can be considered partly the birthplace of golf.

A golf club game called Chuíw án was known in China during the reign of the Song Dynasty in the 10th – 13th centuries.

There is also a version that the homeland of golf is the Netherlands. The first game, according to unreliable sources, dated February 26, 1297. It was held in the small Dutch town of Loenen aan de Vecht, where the locals played with a stick and a leather ball. The winner is the one who hit the ball within a few hundred yards with the least number of shots.

History

The game in the usual form for us appeared in the 15th century in Scotland. Therefore, we can consider this country the birthplace of golf. The Scottish Parliament passed several acts prohibiting the practice of playing golf as well as soccer, as these two sports interfered with archery, which was necessary for national defense. The first act was adopted in 1457 by the King of Scotland, James II, and this was confirmed in 1471 and in 1491.

1. In 1500, the ban on golf in Scotland was lifted. For two years, King James IV himself took part in the games.
2. In 1724, balls filled with feathers were first mentioned. Previously, they were made of hard leather.
3. The first known mention of a game in the United States dates from 1729. Competitions were held at the estate of William Burnett, Governor of Massachusetts.
4. In 1744, the first rules were established by the honorary company of Edinburgh golfers.
5. In 1754, the St. Andrews Golfers Society was formed.
6. In 1764, the number of holes was reduced from 22 to 18. This has become a recognized format for playing around the world.
7. In 1848, a gutta-percha ball was invented. It was a continuous ball made by softening the dried sap of a Malaysian sapodilla tree in boiling water, after which it was manually formed before being placed in cold water.
8. In 1860, the first open golf championship was held in the Scottish city of Prestwick.
9. The secretary of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club came up with the idea of ​​an amateur event in which leading clubs were invited to teach newcomers. In 1885, the amateur championship was held for the first time in the Scottish city of Hoylake.
   
10. In 1893, a union of women golf was formed in Great Britain, whose homeland is considered to be Scotland. The first British women's amateur championship was held at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
11. In 1860, the first open championship was held in the Scottish city of Prestwick.
12. The secretary of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club came up with the idea of ​​an amateur event in which leading clubs were invited to teach newcomers. In 1885, amateur games were first held in the Scottish city of Hoylake.
13. In 1894, the United States Golf Association (USGA) was formed in New York. One of its most important functions was to serve as an arbiter among amateurs.
14. In 1900, golf was on the program of the Olympic Games in Paris. Twenty-two participants (12 men and 10 women) from four countries took part in the competition.
15. In 1901, the first rubber ball was introduced. He changed the way he played because he had better aerodynamic properties and cost significantly less than gutta-percha. Since then, the popularity of the game has increased. In the same year, the first professional golfers association (PGA) was formed in the UK.

Etymology

The word "golf" was first mentioned in writing in 1457 in a Scottish law banning a game called gouf, possibly derived from the Scottish word goulf meaning "to strike." It can come from the Dutch kolf, meaning a bat or club, as well as the Dutch sport of the same name. The Dutch term kolf and the Flemish kolven refer to a sport associated with it, where the smallest number of strokes required to hit the hole determines the winner.

There is an urban legend claiming that this term comes from the abbreviation Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden, which translates as "Only gentlemen, ladies are forbidden." This is a false etymology, since the acronyms used as words are a fairly modern phenomenon.

Summary

So, in this article we examined versions of the origin, the history of the development of this sports discipline, as well as the etymology of the name of the game itself. Officially, the birthplace of golf, a sporting game with aristocratic features, is considered to be Scotland.