The Origins of Golf: Who Invented the Master's Game?

Golf is probably one of the most popular games in the planet today. It is also one of the oldest sports which is still played until now. It is often viewed as a past time that belong only to the wealthy because of the cost involved in buying equipment and the expensive cost of playing in a golf course. However recently it has become a popular sport in almost all level of society due to the drop of cost in golf equipment, increase in the availability of the rental of golf equipment and the proliferation of golf courses not only across the country but around the globe.

The oldest record of a golf game being played is in the year 1297 in the Dutch city of Loenen aan de Vecht in the Netherlands where golf is supposed to have originated. Records show at that time that the Dutch played a game with a stick and leather ball. The rules were that a ball was to be aimed at a target several hundreds of meters away. Whoever hit the target with the least number of times wherein the ball was stroked won the game.

However there is still a debate among the Chinese, the Dutch and the Scottish as all of them claim that they are those who invented the game of golf. For the Scottish, they claim that golf originated from them since they have a law during the 15^th century which prohibits playing "gowf." Although the Scottish admit that "Stick and ball games have been around for many centuries" modern day golf as played according to them "clearly originated in Scotland." Scotland has the world's oldest playing golf course at Musselburgh Links. History reveals that golf has been played here since 1672, although it was rumored that Mary, Queen of Scots reputedly played there in 1567. However it has been said that "gowf" could have referred to another game since the world "Golf" actually comes from the dutch word "kolf" which means a "stick", "club" or a "bat." With this in mind, the Dutch seemed to have the upper hand in the battle with the Scotts as to who really invented golf. It cannot however be denied that modern day golf as we know it as it is now have the influence of Scottish rules, style and feel.