Golf has been around since at least 1457, when King James II of Scotland banned golf and football on the grounds that they where keeping his subjects from their archery practice. The first surviving written reference to golf in St. Andrews is contained in Archbishop Hamilton’s Charter of 1552. This reserves the right of the people of St. Andrews to use the linksland “for golff, futball, schuteing and all gamis”. As early as 1691, the town had become known as the “metropolis of golfing”.
The term seems to have originated from the old Scots words golve, gowl or gouf and is possibly borrowed from medieval Dutch (colf being club and “spel metten colven” being game (played) with club – this was a Dutch game resembling golf). As time has passed, the name has remained and been refined to golf, as we know it today. You will still hear older Scottish golfers refer to the game as the Gowf, keeping the older Scots name in use. Indeed, a golf club in Ayrshire is still called Loudoun Gowf Club today.
With thanks to the Museum of Golf which contains many other fascinating facts!
