The Unlikely History of Golf

Haven't you wondered who came up with the rules for a sport like golf? How did the rules evolve? What made golf rise in popularity? The answers to these questions are more surprising for golf than most sports. Think about it. How does a sport involving hitting a tiny ball across a field into a tiny hole arise from Scotland to become a favorite pastime and the premier televised sporting event that it is today.

Let's Go Hit Some Rocks.

It seems there were long stretches of down-time in Scotland over a thousand years ago when the local farmers and shepherds would kill time by playing a game of hitting tiny stones with sticks. The goal of the game quickly became trying to get the stone to fall into burrows created by small animals - probably rodents.

It seems that it earned a reputation early for being a distraction from "productive work". During the 13th century, one King of Scotland was forced to regularly track down soldiers and farmers who spent too much time playing the game.

A few hundred years later, during the 16th century, Mary Queen of Scots and James II enjoyed playing the game. It seems that they were both avid fans of the game. Evidence of golf's popularity at this time if further supported by the existence of an old golf course in Scotland that has been open since the 17th century named the "Old Course at St. Andrews". Despite this it wasn't until 1744 that for the first time a complete set of rules for the game was codified and set down.

And On to the New World

Golf made its way to America in the 19th century. As it increased in popularity, fans in the United States create many wonderful courses in the East. These courses include Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, Pine Valley in New Jersey and Winged Foot in New York.

This unlikely sport was particularly popular among the wealthy in America, given the amount of carefully tended land it required. In the process, they greatly expanded the game. It became a way for them to emphasize their financial status while providing a means of competing with European aristocrats. Golf continued to grow in popularity so more courses were built as the game acquired a massive following in North America.

Golf in the Moving Picture

The game of golf flourished in the 1920's. Because there were so many competitions being created, several of the early professional players became very popular. Among these were Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, and Gene Sarazen.

These and other American players came to dominate the game that was once dominated by European players. The advent of television over the following decades brought the game of golf to living rooms everywhere - creating a huge following for the game, with tournaments broadcast almost every Sunday to an eager audience.

Today's Golf

Today golf is a major sport with the top stars commanding lucrative endorsement contracts and whose names draw fans by the millions. The two organizations for pro golfers are the Professional Golfer's Association (PGA) and the Ladies' PGA (LPGA), both of which sponsor tournaments that draw an international following.

More that just a spectator sport, over 30 million people in the United States participate in golf as a recreation. Supporting this interest are the country clubs that provide the extensive real estate need for the game and generate billions of dollars in golf-related revenue year in and year out.