Golf is a fascinating sport mostly considered to be for the elite. Mostly we see it played but have never asked about its origins. This paper seeks to shed light on the origins of golf. It looks to find where and when this sport started. A review of its early days is given as well as the evolution of the game to what we know about it today. Exceptional attention is granted to the origin of the golf course design. A look at who gave the initial design and where it came from is also featured. Golf is played using it on kind of tools and equipment this paper also shows each tool and its use when playing the game. Every sport known as of present must have its origins related to earlier games dating back thousands of years. Golf is no exception to this. Over the last two hundred years, most games have grown in popularity including golf. As much as the origins of golf are more in the equipment used, the sport as it is known today dates back to Scotland in Britain (Will, 1966). In the fourteen hundred King James, the second of Scotland outlawed golf stating that it contradicted with military training. The game was on and off until the sixteen hundred when the game was in England to stay. The Guinness world book of records (1983) reports that in fourteen fifty-seven march, was when the earliest mention of golf was recorded. It further says that this was in a law passed by the parliament of Scotland prohibiting the game. The ruling class at the time played golf, and this helped so much in the growing popularity of golf. Mary, the queen of Scots, had a student to carry her clubs, and she called the cadets. It is reported to be the origin of the name given to a person carrying a player’s clubs “caddie”. Will (1966) states that the first international golf match was organized by King James the second between England and Scotland. In the United States, the game is said to have been introduced by Scotland military personnel. During the eighteen hundred, the sport had acquired popularity around the world. Golf is known as its unique equipment. It is this material that has shaped the sport that over time it is regarded as a sport for the elite in society. In the early seventeen hundreds royalty used to play on demarcated grounds while, the commoners play on open ground (Will 1966). The initial equipment was too expensive for the lower classes of people hence more popularity among royalty. Early golf balls were made from fur and leather. The first golf balls were difficult to make, and only a maximum of five balls would be made by a person in a single day. Due to high demand the price of the golf balls was too high for the lower classes to attain. The materials used in early days for making the golf clubs are similar to today’s material. Wood and iron are the main materials used but the difference between those times and now is the use. Before the eighteen hundred, the iron clubs were only used for getting out of tricky spots like ditches. The woods were used for most parts of the game and approaches. The golf of today uses iron clubs both in approaches and also in getting out of tricky spots. This development in the equipment took place after the eighteen hundred. The golf equipment’s that the modern game has is more sophisticated that the original ones. The main is the golf ball. The golf ball has evolved from hardwood to leather stuffed with feather and finally to the synthetic ones we know. A golf ball is made of specific requirements of weight and appearance. These specifications help in the experience of playing the game. It helps in either spinning the ball or helping it flow freely in the air or on the ground. Even with the development of better golf balls price varies still maintaining on the issue of class. High-end golf balls give better result in the course compared to low-cost golf balls. Clubs are the ones used to hit the golf ball. During the game, a player carries not more than fourteen clubs (Eddie & Tait, 1990). Different clubs are used to perform various functions. The woods are used to play long shots and sometimes rough. The irons are used for clear shots from fairways. The wedges, on the other hand, are used for short distance shots. With the development and growth of golf with technology, a new type of club has been formed called the hybrid. The hybrid is a merge of the qualities of the wood and iron clubs. For balls that are required to remain on the ground when hit clubs called putters are used. They do this because they have little weight at the point they hit the ball. To aid in the hitting of the golf ball tees are used. A tee is an object that is pushed into the ground to hold the ball in a higher position. Initially most tees were made of wood and they were breakable and had a short life span. In recent times, plastic tees are used because they don’t break and last longer than the wooden ones. Other accessories include the golf bag for carrying the clubs and a golf cart for carrying the player. The golf course playing a major part in the sport has evolved too over time. In the 1400 to 1600, there were no formal golf courses. Periods before the 1800 had the least of architectural skills in making of the golf course. Very little architecture was applied then, and the terrain proved to be the biggest challenge of those times. Not much would have been done on the land due to the inability to move land (Barwin, 1990). During this period, only two to three day would be taken on the construction of the course. Over time changes have been made to such courses so as to adjust to the change in equipment used. In the early nineteen, hundreds shaping of lands to add points of interest and moving of land took place for the first time. This work pioneered in England at Heathland courses and was brought to America by men like Charles Blair Macdonald. According to Simpson Tom, this was the golden age of golf course design. During the mid and late nineteen hundred, golf course design got to its dark edges. There is very minimal mention of golf courses during this period. Courses built during this time lacked golf course actuarial prowess. After a trip in 1960 to Scotland, the home and origin of golf Dye Pete helped restore the future and design of courses. The number of holes in the course is also part of its design. The design that is mostly known is the 18 hole-golf course. The questions were are they always 18 holes or there have been changes? St Andrews golfers in 1764 agreed to merge the four short holes into two; this gave a round of 18 holes. In this manner, there were ten holes among which 8 were played twice to make a round of 18. Even though they had 18 holes most clubs had less than that. Although most clubs had 18 holes, the way of playing was different. A club such as Lanark in 1850 to 1853 had six holes being played thrice adding up to 18. After some time, another hole was added, and it became a 21 hole round. Late in 1851 after St Andrews was built a 12 hole golf course was built at Prestwick, and it did not seem odd. The development of the St Andrews 18 hole course was put under scrutiny for the whereabouts of its origin. In 1832 a man named Clanranald tried to ascertain this by saying that the double greens in the plan drawn by Chalmers Williams gives a view of two holes at the fifth hole which is shared by the thirteenth hole and all of the holes had been named hole “o” cross. Previous golf rules had called the existence of the 18 hole round, but no course yet had the 18 holes. There may have been other double holes cut, and they may just have been used alternately, rather than out and in, to spread the wear on the green which also served as the teeing area at this time. To simultaneously use two holes, a large double green is needed. In 1857 captain sir High Lyon Playfair commissioned that the greens to be enlarged so that they can accommodate two holes that can be used simultaneously. The new playing arrangements and different colored flag to indicate a hole in and hole out have thus brought to birth the 18 hole golf course. Before the formulation of the new rules playing was done only in a clockwise direction but after the review of rules it was played both in clockwise and anticlockwise directions. It was to help in the uniform wear and tear of the course. Golf as a sport has had a historical journey. From the evolution of equipment used to the golf course itself. During the 19th century, it is when modern game rose and became what it is today. Significant changes that have propelled the sports progression are seen in its equipment and the golf course. Adam Peterson out of the sap of the Gutta tree made the first ‘guttie’. This golf ball was much cheaper than it predecessor the feathery. The guttie was worked on and made better. The change in the balls uses raised a need for change in the clubs used. The development of a hybrid club came in soon. Wooden clubs were made with leather fitting to reduce wear and tear. At the beginning of the19th century, golf was regarded as an informal sport. There was no cut line between professional and amateur golfing. Matches were set up only for betting. Players and the onlookers would bet on the outcome, and that was it. Golf at that time used to make very little money compared to today’s game. Early in the 19th century the game took shape and started going professional. When the British open was launched Jersey Vardon becomes the only one ever to win the championships six times. Jersey had competitors in Taylor .H. and James Braid who each won the championship five times. His influence grew to the United Kingdom spreading the love for golf. Jersey took a tour of the United States and won the United States opens on his first visit. He had a way of holding the club that was later termed as Vardon grip. His visit had an impact on most golfers including Americas finest by then Bobby Jones. His visit influenced many golfers swing and style of playing. The professional golfers association in turn renamed the United States open after Vardon. As Jersey became popular so did the game and other players emerged to win the United States open like Willie Anderson, who is a Scotsman by birth. The game grew more in the 19th century and got more professional. Players asked for a governing body for golf that would regulate all tournaments and determine the prize money. Golf was now a paying game and people could earn a living through golf. Winning four consecutive tournaments of the professional golfers’ association tournaments Walter Hagen received more than one million dollars in prize money at that time. When Boby Jones retired, the game changed completely. There was no dominance in the game, and no player could win the prize title twice. It gave the impression that the game was maturing, and most of the players knew the game well. At this time in the mid-19th-century golf was digging its roots deep, and people loved the game more for the competency it had. Women were not left out as the golf was taking its great strides into the future. Women are said to have been involved in the sport since its birth. In 1754, the Royal club recorded women to be active members of the club and in the course too. It can be further proofed by queen of Scots who played golf and even led to the formation of the name caddie. In 1867, the ladies golf club of sent Andrews was created. A governing union for lady's' golf was formed in 1893 called the ladies golf union. In 1932, the British and American women organized a tournament and called it the Curtis cup match. It was to be held every two years. As for the men’s side golf is considered to British so did the British women dominate the Curtis cup. As the men had their dominating figure in the game so did the women. Mildred Zaharias commonly known as babe was considered to be an all-time female athlete of her time (LGU 2012). Winning the 1932 gold medal airlifted her popularity so fast. Considered as an all-time athlete, she played baseball, basketball, football and tried almost all sport playing at a national capacity. In conclusion, golf evolution through the golf course design was dependent on many factors. The golf course design, helped in the creation of better equipment that were cheap and available. The availability of the equipment made the game more accessible even to commoners making it a worldwide game.
References
Birchenough, E., & Tait, A. (1991). Golf. New York City: Gallery Books.
Bernard, Barwin. (1990). A History of Golf in Great Britain: Classics of golf.
Guinness world book of records (1983)
Ladies Golf Union. (2012) http://www.lgu.org/about/history/
Will Grimsley. (1966). Golf: its history people and events; prentice hall; New York
