The Game Of Golf Has A Very Interesting History - By: Don Saunders

Golf today is played in nearly every country in the world and its best players are household names watched by countless millions as they take part in a series of annual tournaments at golf courses which often look as if they were painted as a film backdrop instead of being carved from nature itself. Have you ever thought though about the history of this most popular sport?

Naturally there are various versions of the history of the game of as people and states want to stake their claim in the history books. However most historians of the sport are agreed that golf was born over one thousand years ago in Scotland.

When it started what we now know as golf was nothing more than a pastime to pass the time for bored farmers who competed against one another by hitting small stones with sticks to see who could get their stone into a nearby rabbit burrow.

This simple pastime quickly spread however and started to attract much wider attention from the population at large finally reaching all the way up to the top of Scottish society with King James II and Mary Queen of Scots both reputed to have been very keen golfers during the 16th century.

It was perhaps only a question of time therefore before the game became a national pastime and in the 17th century the very first golf course was created at St. Andrews and shortly after this the first rules for the game were written and published in 1744.

However golf really began to take off at the end of the 19th century when it crossed the pond and several tremendous golf courses were built in the eastern United States including Winged Foot in New York.

From this starting point golf caught on amongst wealthier Americans and the game expanded very fast during the 20th century with perhaps the height of its expansion occurring in the 1920s.

Today golf is played by millions of people from every background and walk of life. Indeed, in the United States alone some estimates put the number of regular golfers at over 30 million. Not too bad for a pastime that was designed to amuse a few bored Scottish sheep herders.

About the Author

Donald Saunders has been writing articles on a number of topics for many years now. Visit his latest website which furnishes information about EZ GO golf carts and EZ GO lift kits as well as much more.

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