January, 2021 | Strathgartney Highlands Golf Course

Equipment Development

Equipment Development – Golf equipment also evolves over time. Golf balls come in all sizes and weights, but since about the 1930s, their weight and size have been standardized. Golf clubs were originally made of whatever type of wood was available. Eventually, hickory was adopted as the standard wood for shafts, and American persimmon was the type of wood used for the head of the stick. Various forms and styles of club heads were also developed. During the 1970’s, graphite was used for hitting shafts because it was light and strong. Metal clubs were further developed during the 1980s, eventually replacing wood altogether. Many modern golf clubs are made with a graphite shaft and a titanium head.

– Official Golf Rules: The overall rule of golf is to play the course as you find and the golf ball as it lies.

– Golf for Beginners: Golf Etiquette, Rules, and Glossary: Follow these rules when you play golf on the golf course.

Golf Course Evolution

Golf Course Evolution – Golf courses, did not always have that 18 holes. Initially, in the 15th century, the St. Andrews Links had 11 holes, and they were situated end to end on a narrow piece of land. Golfers played each hole until they reached the end of the course, and then they turned around and played each one again. Eventually, several short holes were combined, so the total dropped back to nine holes. Other golf courses followed the St. Andrews Links example.

Evolution of Golf Course Architecture: Golf courses have changed significantly over the decades.

The Evolution of Golf Course Design: Golf courses have become more difficult over the years as well as longer, necessitating golf carts.

The Spread Of Golf

The Spread Of Golf – EARLY EXCURSIONS

King James VI of Scotland had ascended to the English throne in 1603, and he, his son, and his followers are said to have played golf at Blackheath in London. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Scottish and other armies introduced golf to the British colonies and other places where they were stationed. The first African golf courses were built by British slave traders on Bunce Island in Sierra Leone during the 1770s.

THE LATE 19TH CENTURY BOOM

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert built Balmoral Castle on the Scottish Highlands in the 1850s. Transport between London and Scotland is becoming popular, and many people from London want to vacation in Scotland. Around the same time, courage was developed. Gutty is a mass produced golf ball that is stronger and of better quality. Golf became popular throughout the British Isles, and new clubs were founded in the 1860s. In the 1880s, golf clubs were present in Australia, Canada, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Various reports of how the game of golf in New York went down in history books, including people being warned against playing golf on Sundays and laws passed to stop people playing golf on the streets and breaking people’s windows. A print advertisement in the Royal Gazette in New York City in 1779 featuring golf clubs and balls. The South Carolina Golf Club was founded in 1787 in Charleston, South Carolina. The United States Golf Association was formed in 1894, and 267 golf clubs had been founded by 1910. By 1932, USGA had more than 1,100 golf clubs in its affiliates. Walter Hagen was the first American to win the British Open Championship in 1922.

JAPAN

British expats who founded Japan’s first golf club in 1903, and in 1913, Tokyo Golf Club was founded. The Japan Golf Association was founded in 1924. During World War II, most of the golf courses in Japan were used for military purposes. After the war, the golf course was finally returned to Japanese control in 1952. The number of golf courses in Japan increased over the next several decades, and golf continued to be a popular sport there.

Instructions, Golf Club Rules, And Competitions

Instructions, Golf Club Rules, And Competitions – Thomas Kincaid, recorded how the earliest instructions for playing golf, with including his and opinions about a handicap system. The Company of Gentlemen Golfers recorded the oldest surviving rules for the game in 1744; these rules came to be known as the “Leith Rules.” The Leith Rules were the foundation for later codes, including rules such as the tee having to be on the ground and golfers not changing the ball they struck off the tee.

What Is the History of Golf? King James IV was interested in golf, and he commissioned a bowmaker to make him a set of golf clubs.

The History of Golf: Archaeologists have found clues that suggest that the ancient Greeks played a type of golf.

Early Golf In Scotland

Early Golf In Scotland – Golf, as we all know it today is thought to have an originated in Scotland. A 1457 Act of the Scottish Parliament, is the first official document to mention golf in Scotland. This was an edict issued by the king that prohibited playing golf because it was a distraction from archery practice for the military. Similar bans were issued in 1471 and 1491, and yet, when King James IV of Scotland visited Perth in 1502, he is said to have been given golf balls and clubs. Mary, Queen of Scots, was even accused of playing golf instead of mourning after her husband was murdered in 1567. And in 1592, an Edinburgh edict listed golf as a pursuit that should not be engaged in on the Sabbath.

An account book from 1672 documents a game of golf at Musselburgh Links, which may be the oldest golf course in the world.

King James VII, then the Duke of Albany, is recorded to have played the first international golf contest, which took place in 1681 against two English courtiers.

The History of Golf: Early golf involved hitting a pebble across sand dunes.

The Roots and History of Golf: The golf played centuries ago was not the same as modern golf, but it was similar.

Origins

Origins – Researchers that have discovered evidence of a Dutch game similar to golf that was played with a leather ball and a stick as early as 1297. The player to hit the ball into a target with the fewest strokes was the winner. However, the game is likely to have been around even earlier than that: A 1261 Dutch manuscript mentions a ball game played with a “colf,” or club,

The game appears to have caught on quickly. In 1387, a city in Holland made it illegal to play any type of game for money, with the exception of golf. Just two years later, a special field was set aside outside the city of Haarlem for the purpose of playing games, especially golf. A 1540 book that became known as the “Golf Book” described a game very similar to the modern golf game, and throughout the rest of the 1500s, references to “colf”/”kolf” appear in various works.

Dutch settlers in New York played the first game of golf in America in 1650. The settlers liked to play golf throughout the year; in the winter, they would play the game on ice.

– A Brief History of Golf: Both the Dutch and the Scots played a variation of golf hundreds of years ago.

– Golf Origins, Growth, and History: Kings initially outlawed golf, because they thought that playing golf took men away from military pursuits.