This one is another article from the magazine. It was a
fun one to research and write. I’ve never played the game, so what I know about
golf is what I’ve picked up over the years. My brother was a big golf fan. In
his younger years, he caddied regularly, and, of course, he played. An odd bit
to keep in my mind, but I do remember that one of his favorite golfers was “Champagne”
Tony Lema. Remember him? Every once in a while when our son is here on a
weekend afternoon, we’ll watch a televised game. To me, it’s like watching
grass grow, but does get a bit interesting when they get to the green and take
shots at getting that little white ball into the "wee hole in the ground."
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| "Champagne" Tony Lema |
“They” say – don’t “they” always – that the game of golf
originated in Scotland, sometime in the mid-1400s. They also say it originated
a century or so earlier than that in Holland, or in Belgium, somewhere in the Low
Countries. Whoever invented it, and it certainly has proved to be a game in
progress, the credit for the name “golf” goes to the Dutch and their word colf
or kolf, and the credit for the modern, 18-hole version of the game goes to the
inventive Scots.
Some historians paint us the picture of medieval Scottish
sheepherders, watching the grass grow while the sheep kept shearing it, looking
for something to pass the time. They probably knew little of the game already
being played across the North Sea. As with many males looking to kill some
time, they could have kicked a can, had they had one, skipped stones across a
handy pond, played fetch with their dog, catch, if a buddy was around, or even
taken a snooze. But then: “ah, a stick, a stone. How far I can hit the stone
with the stick?” The rest as “they” say, is history.
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| Golf at St. Andrews in the 1700's |
Whatever the origins, the game became popular in Scotland.
Indeed, the Mecca of golfers worldwide is The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of
St. Andrews there in Fife. With the exception of the United States and Mexico,
“The R&A” is the ruling authority for the game worldwide.
Golf became so popular that it had to be prohibited under
certain circumstances. King James II had to prohibit golf and a few other
popular games because they interfered with archery practice mandated a part of
the national defense. Later, golf was also banned by King James IV, but he was
known to play a round or two every so often. (The members of the SCCL Ladies
9-Hole and the Women’s 18-Hole clubs will be interested to know that though
Mary Queen of Scots played it, golf was considered unsuitable pastime for a
woman. Yea verily, Mary was chastised for playing the game.)
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| Did Mary lose her head over golf? |
James VI of Scotland, Mary’s son, became James I of England in 1603. He brought golf south with him, and the Scottish and British brought golf to the countries where they were stationed. It must be mentioned that the first recorded game in America was the kolf played by Dutch settlers at Fort Orange, now Albany, New York, in 1650. We’re not sure which rules they used.
From ancient clubs fashioned by hand by the players
themselves, and balls made of wood, a step up from sticks and stones, on to today’s
wide range of equipment made of combinations of materials both modern and
traditional, and some very experimental, the sport has kept up with technology.
In the United States alone, there are over 15,000 places to play a round.
Today’s golfer can set himself or herself up with a range of equipment and
clothing designed to make the most of individual’s ability to get that little
white ball, hazards notwithstanding, into that far, wee hole in the ground.
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