| The History Of the Golf Ball and Golf Club | Acronyms, Players, and More | Some of The rules | History of The Game |
Golf is a sport in which you try to hit a ball into a hole with the least amout of strokes. The catch...the hole is a significant distance from where you start from.
The first golf balls were known as "featheries". They were made from leather and goose feathers. Feathers were put into a leather pouch and dried. The ball became very hard. The ball was painted white. People thought a smooth ball would go farther. A golfer could hit this ball from 150 to 175 yards. If this ball became wet it was thrown away.
Later, a new ball was made. It was different than the featherie. It was still smooth, but it could get wet and still work. But, it did not go as far as the featherie. And when the golfer hit the ball it would sometimes knock off a chip. A professor (teacher) at a college noticed that the chipped balls flew farther, when hit with a golf club.
People started trying different "chip" designs. Finally, today's dimpled golf ball was made. Look at a golf ball. Feel the dimples. This "new" golf ball could travel much farther. It could go 180 to 250 yards.
In he earliest days of golf, players would normally carve their own golf cluvs out of wood. But as time went on and golf became a huge phenomenon, players turned to skilled craftsmen to carve the clubs for them. The earliest reference to a set of specially made golf clubsis when King James the fourth of Scotland had a bow maker make him a set in 1502. When he later ascended the throne he appointed William Mayne the official royal club maker. At this time, a se of golf clubs consisted of longnoses, sticks with extremely longnoses, for driving. Also fairway clubs, spoons, niblicks, and a putting cleek.
Clubs were made of tough wood and shafts made of ash or hazel. The head as attached to the shaft using a splint and then bound tightly using leather straps. Clubs were very expensive to make and buy. This meant that golf was a sport usually played by the wealthier class of society.
There was a lot of experimentation with the club face. Club makers would put metal bone fragments into the face to prevent breakage. As early as 1750, club makers used forged metal heads for clubs. Some club makers also used leather and other materials to increase distance.
It is under general agreement that golf originated in Scotland. We know golf has existed for over 500 years because King James the second of Scotland banned the playing of golf in 1457. It has been suggested that golf started by bored Shepherds tending to their sheeps would hit stones into rabbit holes with their wooden sticks.
The status of golf, after the treaty was lifted, quickly spread throughout Europe due to its Royal endorsements. The name caddie originates from Mary Queen of Scot's helpers from the military, formerly known as cadets.
Land that was played on during the first many years of golf's history was flat. Eventually clubs and groups started forming. The first club formed in Edinburgh in 1744. Golf was not firmly established in the United States until after it was established in Canada. By the turn of the century there were more than 1000 golf clubs opened in North America.