Who Invented Golf?

The Scots or the Chinese or perhaps the Dutch! Historians usually agree on the name of the Scots. Who among the Scots invented the game is not known. The oldest records of golf- like game being played come from China and they date back to the 9th century. D?ngxu?n Records, historical accounts of the Song Dynasty (9-12th century app.) give us some clues about the game. It has been suggested that the Mongols after learning the game from the Chinese, introduced the game to the Europeans. There aren’t enough facts to confirm this.

The Dutch also played a game with a stick and a leather ball. The player, who could manage to put the ball into the target with the least number of strokes, was declared the winner. But the official history credits the Scots. A game was played in Scotland during the 15th century. The player didn’t use balls and didn’t play on grass. Small rocks or pebbles were used instead and the game was played on sand. It can be considered of as primitive golf. The modern game began to take shape around the 17th century and the first rules were standardized in 1774 by the golfers in Edinburgh. There were 13 rules.

The early golf clubs were expensive to make and didn’t have a long life. Therefore, only the rich could afford golf clubs. This gave golf the title of a ‘royal game’. A major breakthrough was the invention of golf balls. Coburn Haskell invented the rubber-cored ball in 1898. This was a smooth ball. It was only in 1905 that William Taylor introduced dimpled balls. Golfers found they worked better than the smooth balls and soon solely they were being used. The rules got changed with time, so did the technology employed to produce the equipment. Now, the International Golf Federation is an important organization which directs the sport.

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