History

The History of Golf

History of Golf to Help You Understand the Game Better

Golf is an interesting sport in which the player uses many types of clubs like irons, putters or drivers to hit a ball into the holes in golf course. Many people believe that the sport originated in Scotland in the12th century. However, there are many debates about the history of golf. Some scholars claim that the sport was invented by ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. In Chinese records, there is a reference about a sport, which involves driving a ball with a stick into holes in the ground.

A Chinese Professor named Ling Hongling argues that only Mongols in 12th or 13th century brought the sport to Europe. However, modern golf had its origin in Scotland only. The Scots started playing the game with some rules in the middle of 15th century. King James of Scotland issued a ban on the game in the year 1457. His successors re-issued the ban in 1471 and 1491. The golf history shows that despite the ban, the game continued to flourish in Scotland. The rules of golf were first written in Edinburgh in the year 1744.

Golf is rich in history:

The first golf club was formed in Scotland and the first golf course was established with 18 holes. The tournaments were arranged between different cities in Scotland. Gradually the game spread to England. The oldest golf course is the Musselburg old links golf course. The golf course has links with the glorious history of golf. Mary, the queen of Scotland played in the course in 1567.

You can view great many developments throughout the golf history. The game was played in course with 18 holes initially. However, it was common to see golf courses with 12, 15, 19 or holes until the early 1900s. The standardization of 18 holes in the course was followed only after 1900s.

The game established its roots steadily in North America in 18th century. In 1873, Royal Montreal club was formed for golf players. The first golf course was opened in 1895 in New York City. Due to the efforts of a Scottish golfer John Reid, the game became a national pastime in United States.

Reviewing the golf history can give you some fascinating news. The balls that were used in this game initially could travel even 180 yards, but wet conditions provided a hindrance for its performance. Modern balls are made up of durable cover of balata and synthetic balls are becoming more popular now.

The First World War ruined the game to a larger extent. However, some players managed to survive simply because of their passion to the game. The game had its emergence again after the two world wars. American golf had come into maturity in 1960s. The game now becomes a multi-million dollar industry. Media coverage ensures star-status to many golfers.

The splendid days of Scottish golf return now. The championship events are held every year and cash prizes and gold medals are awarded to the winners. Learn and pursue the game of golf as it can truly enhance the quality of your life and give you something to be passionate about.

�By Kenneth Gorveski www.articlebase.com

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The History of Golf Clubs
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The modern game of golf, as we know it today originated in Scotland around the 12th century. The exact location was on the current site of the Old Course at St Andrews. It was recorded that Shepherds were found knocking stones around a course into rabbit holes. Often players carved their own clubs out of wood and fashioned golf balls from leather bags.

The first reference to a set of golf clubs were those made specifically for King James VI of Scotland by a bow maker named William Mayne. Mayne was commissioned to make the very first set of matched clubs in the year 1603. Although reference to these clubs has been made, no clubs exist from that time.

The oldest clubs known were discovered in a house in Hull along with a newspaper dated 1741. In the Royal an Ancient Club's museum there are specimens of ancient clubs including two woods and a notable putting cleek. The cleek was made in the second half of the 18th century by a club maker named Simon Cossar from Leith and was made having an iron head on a wooden shaft.

For next hundred years, early players were so fond of the game that they would fashion their own clubs and balls out of wood. The clubs used ash or hazel for the shafts while the heads were made from tougher wood such as beech, pear, apple, and holly. Just like today, a variety of clubs were used in a single game:

•Longnose - used for driving
•Bulgers - has a bulbous head similar to the wood of today
•Fairway clubs - for medium range shooting
•Spoons - used in short range shots
•Niblicks - similar to the wedge we have today
•Cleek - used for putting.
Things would remain much the same until the early 19th century when in 1826 Robert Forgan of Scotland changed the way in which golf clubs were made. Forgan's golf clubs were made by using American hickory to fashion the shafts instead of the traditional ash or hazel. Soon Forgan's golf clubs became quite popular and set the standard for later makers.

In 1848 Reverend Adam Pearson was the innovator of the Gutta-Percha golf ball. Not only was the gutta-percha a better ball than the ‘feathery', it was cheaper to make. With the popularity of the gutta-percha ball came the requirements for a new generation of golf club that could cope with the increased stress associated with this new type of golf ball. The outcome of this new generation of golf clubs best resembles the modern set of woods in today's game of golf.

In the beginning of twentieth century, America started to manufacturer and export golf clubs in large volumes. Outdated materials such as hickory were being replaced with hard woods such as beech or American persimmon used for golf club heads. During this time there also became a growing demand for hand-forged metal club heads and in 1902, the first groove-faced irons appeared. These new club heads offered an increased amount of backspin, compared to wooden club heads.

As manufacturing technology evolved, the technique of forging clubs became more sophisticated. Now the factories could produce the irons in numbers as golf became more popular with the masses. Aluminum was first used about this same time period, replacing the hand-forged method of the previous century.

The Prince of Wales would bring about the next major change in the history of golf clubs. Steel shafts had been experimented with since the late nineteenth century but gained little acceptance. Then in 1929 the Prince of Wales began using steel-shafted golf clubs made to his specifications. He was spotted using a set of these golf clubs at St. Andrews. They soon became quite popular with golfers outside the royal circle.

Shortly after that, the Haskell ball came out in the United States and steel shafts replaced the hickory shaft altogether. This is also the time when many modifications and substitutions were made to lighten the shaft. With this new innovation, the clubs would finally begin to more resemble those we see today. The US Open was the first major tournament to feature this new type of golf club.

Along with the improvement of the shafts came the introduction of numbered, rather than named, clubs. Clubs had become more numerous and finely graduated than the names that traditionally had been applied to them. In addition, companies were able to manufacture to specifications and point of flex that allowed merchandising of matched sets rather than individual clubs. Formerly, a golfer seeking new clubs went through a rack of clubs searching for one with the ‘right feel' then tried to find other clubs with the same feel. The merchandising opportunities of numbered clubs and matching sets was carried to an extreme and in 1938 the USGA limited the number of clubs a player could carry per round to 14.

The 1960's saw a major innovation in putters from a gentleman named Karsten Solheim, a General Electric mechanical engineer. His first putter, the 1A, was created in his garage after his frustration with putting led him to design his own club. The putter not only improved his putting, but it was the source for the name of the putter and later the company. As he stroked putt after putt with a radical looking putter, it rang out - PINNGGG. Karsten's persistence resulted in new designs, including the Anser putter in 1966, which proved to be the most successful putter design in history. The company PING is credited with one of the earliest golf companies dedicated to the advancement of the golf putter.

Of course today's technology is continuing to transform the history of golf clubs. Innovations such as graphite shafts, titanium heads, adjustable distributed weight, peripheral weighting to reduce twisting if the club contacts the ball slightly off-center are just a few. Putters alone are subdivided into mallet, peripheral weighted and blade styles. The latest putter design technology incorporates power adjust-ability and practice/play convertibility features.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring in golf club design!

By Randy Raasch www.articlebase.com

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The History of Golf Fashion
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While golf has been around for a very long time, starting in Scotland, the fashion of golf for players has evolved – from clothing to shoes.

The history of golf clothing and accessories is sketchy but records show Woolrich Co. was the first to specialize in outdoor clothing. Woolrich, who became known for hunting coats, blankets and uniforms came up with the ‘golf pants’ in the early 1920s. Some golfers even took to wearing the short, distinctive trousers called knickers (the name comes from a fictitious Dutch family, the Knickerbockers). This style of loose breeches became popular before the 1900s.

In 1904 Thomas Burberry of London introduced some improvements into the women's golf clothing sold in his store. This included the Free-stroke Coat, which had special sleeves that moved freely with the golfer's arms. He also brought back the raisable skirt, which had been popular decades earlier with croquet players. Through the use of a drawstring, the skirt could be raised up to eight inches or so above the ground.

In the first decades of the 20th century, the standard golfing costume was a blouse, jacket and skirt. Starting around 1909, women began wearing a knit cardigan sweater instead of the jacket. Also, knit jersey was introduced as a fabric choice for the golf skirt and blouse. Other improvements were pleated skirts and pleats in the back of the blouse.

By the 1920s, the sweater and pleated skirt continued to be a popular choice for women golfers. Golf dresses were rather plain, with a straight or a pleated skirt. To add some flair, women often wore patterned stockings, and rubber soled golf shoes. Starting around 1921, women golfers were sometimes pictured in knickers, but that would not have been allowed at many country clubs.

The one-piece golf dress was introduced in the mid 1920. New York's Best & Co. sold a dress they called the "Shirtmaker." This one-piece frock was perfect for golf and other active sports, and was so popular that it was widely copied and became the most popular golf dress style for the next 30 years.

Throughout the 1930s and 40s, golf dresses pretty much followed fashionable lines. Unlike tennis, where the skirt became very short, while golf dresses retained their length. Through the 1950s and into the early 60s, most women golfers wore a blouse and skirt often topped with a cashmere sweater, or a cotton one piece shirt dress. Increasingly, it was acceptable for a woman to wear a sleeveless blouse and even Bermuda shorts on the golf course.

Men’s golf clothing evolved as well from the knickers and argyle socks to the polo shirt and Bermuda shorts. Today many golf courses have a specific dress code. Golfers should inquire about dress codes at golf courses they intend to play at. Generally, municipal golf courses do not have dress codes but many private courses require that those wishing to golf wear a collared shirt and Dockers-style shorts. Additionally, most golf courses do not allow metal spikes on golf shoes.

Speaking of golf shoes, how did they come about? Some credit the Duke of Windsor with making a particular style of shoe popular for the game of golf. This design was commonly known as the reverse calf or suede shoe. It wasn’t long before the well-dressed golfer was seen wearing the saddle shoe – the one that often has a different color band on the instep.

One thing that hasn’t changed in golfing fashion and that is the desire for comfort. With companies designing more and more sophisticated fabrics, golfers, both men and women, won’t have to sacrifice style for comfort as both are being blended nicely together. Once the outfit is pieced together, the golfer can then focus on what is really important – the game.

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By Justin Morris www.articlebase.com