Golf in Scotland
Golf in Scotland was first recorded in the Scottish late Middle Ages, and the modern game of golf was first developed and established in the country. The game plays a key role in the national sporting consciousness.[1][2]
To many golfers, the
and Scots golfers have the most victories at the Open at 42 wins, one ahead of the United States.Although golf is often seen as an
Scotland is widely promoted as the "Home of Golf,"
Scotland has 587 courses, the most courses per head of any country, with the majority being in Glasgow and Edinburgh.[13]
Etymology
The word golf was first recorded in the 15th century, appearing twice in an
Football (see
The
Other golfing words of Scots origin
- Links: first recorded in 1453 – "Et de ... s. de le lynkis de Leith"
- Golf club: first recorded in 1503–1504 – "For golf clubbes and balles to the Kingthat he playit with"
- Golfball: first recorded as a term in 1545 (although also referred to in the 1503–1504 Treasury account) – "Three dossounand thre goif bawis"
- Drive: first recorded in 1583 - "Anegolf staff to driffe the ball vithe all"
- Tee (Teeing ground): first recorded in 1721 – "Driving their Baws frae Whins or Tee, There’s no ae Gowfer to be seen."
- Putt: first recorded in 1743 – "Let each social soul Drink to the putter, the balls, and the hole."
- Caddie: first recorded in 1773 – "In order to preserve the holes, no Golfer or Cadie shall be allowed to make any Tee within ten yards of the hole.rules are to score a goal"
Origins
The exact origins of the sport of golf are unclear. The most widely accepted theory is that the modern game of golf originated in Scotland in the High Middle Ages.[17] The first golf courses and clubs were established in the country.[18] The first written rules originated in Scotland, as did the establishment of the 18-hole course. The first tournament structures developed and competitions were held between various burghs. The modern game was spread by Scots to the rest of the world.
The earliest reference to golf is the purchase of a set of golf clubs by
The Old Links at Musselburgh Racecourse is claimed to be the oldest playing golf course in the world. Evidence has shown that golf was played on Musselburgh Links in 1672, although Mary, Queen of Scots reputedly played there even earlier in 1567.[21]
An entry in the Edinburgh burgh records for 19 April 1592 includes golf in a list of pastimes to be avoided on the Sabbath.[22] The parish register for neighbouring South Leith records the appearance of four parishioners before the kirk session on 7 December 1610 who "confessed they had prophaned the Sabbath be playing at the gowffe in tyme off preaching and thairfore was ordained to mak thair publict repentance the nixt Sabboth."[23]
Golf course evolution
Golf courses have not always consisted of eighteen holes. The St Andrews Links occupy a narrow strip of land along the sea-shore. As early as the 15th century, golfers at St Andrews established a trench through the undulating terrain, playing to holes whose locations were dictated by topography. The course that emerged featured eleven holes, laid out end to end from the clubhouse to the far end of the property. One played the holes out, turned around, and played the holes in, for a total of 22 holes. In 1764, several of the holes were deemed too short and therefore combined. The number was thereby reduced from 11 to nine so that a complete round of the links comprised 18 holes. Due to the status of St Andrews as the 'home of golf', other courses followed suit and the 18-hole course became the standard which has remained to the present day.
There are now more than 550 golf courses throughout the country, with at least 21 courses in Edinburgh alone.
Spreading the game outside Scotland
When
The first record of North American golf was a consignment of 96 golf clubs and 432 golf balls which was shipped from Leith to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1743;[26] and on 29 September 1786 Scottish merchants established the South Carolina Golf Club in Charleston, the first golf club in the United States.[27]
Players
Several Scots golfers are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Players marked * are also members of the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame:
- Willie Anderson* (1879–1910)
- Tommy Armour* (1894–1968)
- James Braid* (1870–1950)
- Dorothy Campbell (1883–1945)
- Jock Hutchison (1884–1977)
- Sandy Lyle (1958– )
- golf course architect
- Colin Montgomerie (1963– )
- Old Tom Morris* (1821–1908)
- Young Tom Morris* (1851–1875)
- Willie Park, Sr.(1834–1903)
- Allan Robertson (1815–1859)
- golf course architect
Belle Robertson (born 1936) and Jessie Valentine (1915–2006) are all inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame, but not the World Golf Hall of Fame.
See also
- Sport in Scotland
- Scottish Golf Union
- R&A World Golf Museum
- Timeline of golf history (1353-1850)
- Timeline of golf history (1851-1945)
- Timeline of golf history (1945-1999)
- Timeline of golf (2000-present)
- History of golf
- Football Act 1424
- Sports tourism
References
- ^ I. G. C., Hutchison (2002). "Scottish Newspapers and Scottish National Identity in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries". Newspapers in international librarianship, 68th IFLA Council and General Conference. Glasgow: University of Stirling. p. 8. 3-598-21837-0. Retrieved 4 December 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Scottish Golf Union official website. Archived from the originalon 17 September 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
The game of golf is one of Scotland's greatest assets. A national icon, thousands of golfers from across the world descend upon the Home of Golf each year to take up the challenge of some of the planet's most famous courses and some of the game's finest hidden gems. Golf is a vital part of Scotland's economy and vitally important to our nation's psyche.
- ^ Cochrane, Alistair (ed) Science and Golf IV: proceedings of the World Scientific Congress of Golf. Page 849. Routledge.
- ^ "Historic Prestwick - Birthplace of the British Open". PGA Tour official website. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
The very first Open Championship was held here in 1860, to determine golf's champion player.
- ^ MacLennan, Hugh Dan. "Shinty's Place and Space in World Sport 1". University of Aberdeen. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ISBN 9780415318112.
- ^ "The Home of Golf". Scottish Government. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
The Royal & Ancient and three public sector agencies are to continue using the Open Championship to promote Scotland as the worldwide home of golf.
- ^ "Scotland is the home of golf". PGA Tour official website. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
Scotland is the home of golf...
- Visit Scotland. Archived from the originalon 11 April 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
Welcome to Scotland, the home of golf...
- ^ "... celebrating some of Scotland’s great contributions to the world: golf, whisky, great minds and innovations and Scotland’s rich culture and heritage.", Homecoming Scotland 2009
- ^ "Tee is for tourism worth £300 million". The Scotsman. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
Golf tourism now accounts for about 2 per cent of overall tourism spending in Scotland...
- ^ "The history of Golf in Scotland". Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
History of Golf in Scotland
- ^ "Scottish Golf". Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
Scottish Golf
- ^ a b hthf, William A; et al. A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue: from the Twelfth Century to the End of the Seventeenth. Aberdeen University Press, Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012.
- ^ James IV: Manuscript, 1491, 28 April, Edinburgh, Parliament, Parliamentary Register, 18 May 1491
- ^ Gowf Archived 2011-05-26 at the Wayback Machine, Dictionary of the Scots Language, accessed 2008-12-05
- ^ Golf History @ ABC-of-Golf Archived 2012-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 9781583820537.
- ^ An erroneous date of 1527 is sometimes given, but this occurs earlier Maule's narrative and relates to possession of the Mill of Strathdighty.
- lykwayes he exerciset the gowf, and oftymes past to Barry lynkes, quhan the wadfie vos for drink. If he tint, he newir vald entir in ane browster hows, bot cawsit ane of his serwandis to gange and pay for al.
- Maule, Harry (1874), Stuart, John (ed.), Registrum de Panmure. Records of the families of Maule, De Valoniis, Brechin, and Brechin-Barclay, united in the line of the Barons and Earls of Panmure, Edinburgh: Fox Maule-Ramsay
- ISBN 9780471434801, retrieved 10 November 2010
- ^ "The Oldest Playing Golf Course in the World". Musselburgh Links. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ Wood, Marguerite, ed. (1927). Extracts From The Records Of The Burgh Of Edinburgh. Oliver And Boyd. p. 63.
- ^ Robertson, D (1911). South Leith Records. Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot. p. 9.
- ^ "Royal Blackheath Golf Club". scottishgolfhistory.org. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ "Golf at Blackheath through the centuries". Royal Blackheath Golf Club. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ "Golf – the 64 million dollar question". Scotland.org - the official online gateway to Scotland. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
in 1743 a shipment of 96 clubs and 432 golf balls were sent from Leith in Scotland to Charleston, South Carolina. Some time later the South Carolina Golf Club was established, the first of the many in the USA.
- ^ "South Carolina – Firsts". SCIway.net – South Carolina's Front Door. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
Scottish merchants formed the South Carolina Golf Club in Charleston. Club members played on Harleston's Green in Charleston until 1800.
Further reading
- 2010, 18 Greatest Scottish Golf Holes, 18 Greatest
- Browning, Robert, 1955, A History of Golf, A & C Black, London
- Campbell, Malcolm, 2001, The Scottish Golf Book, Lomond Books
- Clark, Robert, 1875 and 1893, Golf: A Royal and Ancient Game, EP Publishing
- Cameron, Robbie J, 1936, Chronicle of Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh, Morrison & Gibb
- Cruden, Stewart, 1992, Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society, BLGS and John Donald Publishers
- Geddes, Olive, 1992, A Swing Through Time Golf in Scotland 1457–1743, HMSO for the National Library of Scotland
- Hamilton, David, 1998, Golf Scotland’s Game, Patrick Press
- Jarrett, Tom, 1995, St Andrews Golf Links The First 600 Years, Mainstream Publishing
- Kidd, Roger, 2002, Golf in Scotland, Roger Kidd's Golf Guides
- Mair, Norman, 1994, Muirfield, Mainstream Publishing
- Price, Robert, 1989, Scotland's Golf Courses, Mercat Press
- Royal & Ancient, The 2004 Golfer's Handbook, Renton Laidlaw Macmillan Publishers
- Stirk, David I, 1987, Golf: the history of an obsession, Phaidon Press
External links
- Scotland - The Home of Golf, the official golf site of Scotland's national tourism organisation VisitScotland
- Golf History, at Scotland.org - the official online gateway to Scotland
- Sport - Golf, at the Gazetteer for Scotland
- Scottish Golf History, at www.scottishgolfhistory.org
- Golf at The Scotsman newspaper