History of Golf
Golf as a sport is generally accepted to have been born on the eastern coast of Scotland in the Kingdom of Fife during the fifteenth century.
Golf in the beginning
The popularity of the game, which spread throughout the country, caused much concern in the parliament of King James II who considered this leisure pursuit detrimental to military training and consequently banned it.
Luckily the Scots largely ignored this prohibition on their hobby and golf continued to flourish and by the beginning of the sixteenth century even the English King, James I, had taken up the sport. This type of royal endorsement continued into the reign of Charles I and Mary Queen of Scots introduced the game to France and coined the term "caddies" after the military cadets she employed to carry her clubs.
Golf in the 20th Century
Initially the game was the preserve of the rich and famous as the hand crafted equipment was extremely expensive and it was not until the dawn of the industrial revolution and the cheap methods of mass production, that the sport became easily accessible to the ordinary people. As the steam train opened up the countryside, golf clubs began to spring up everywhere allowing people the opportunity to practice their game at a variety of locations.
This phenomenal growth continued throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and by the time it was made an Olympic sport in 1900 golf had a network of clubs, competitions and associations that spanned the globe.
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