Golf Vacations - Brief History of Golf

A Brief History of Golf

Golf is usually regarded to be a Scottish invention, as the game was mentioned in two 15th century laws prohibiting the playing of the game of "gowf". Some scholars however suggest that this refers to another game which is actually much akin to the modern field hockey. The same scholars also point out that a game of putting a small ball in a hole in the ground played with "golf clubs" was played in the 17th century Netherlands. The term "golf" is believed to have originated from a Germanic word for "club".

What we think of as the modern game really came into being in the second half of the 19th century in Scotland. The basic rules of the game and the design of equipment and courses strongly resemble those of today. The major changes in equipment since then were better mowers, especially for the greens, better golf ball designs using rubber and man-made materials beginning around 1900 and the introduction of the metal shaft beginning in the 1930s. Also in the 1930s the wooden golf tee was invented. In the 1970s the use of metal to replace wood heads began, and shafts made of graphite composite materials were introduced in the 1980s.

Social aspects of golf

In the United States, golf is the unofficial sport of the business world. It's often said, in fact, that board meetings merely confirm decisions that are actually made on the golf course. For this reason, the successful conduction of business golf (which extends beyond merely knowing the game) is considered a useful business skill; many business schools include a "business golf" course.

Golf is not inherently an expensive activity; the cost of an average round of golf is $36 [4] (http://www.ngf.org) and the game is regularly enjoyed by over 26 million Americans. In fact, most regions of the country feature public courses which strive to be affordable for the average golfer. But the perception of golf as a sport for the wealthy elite and country clubs as a haven for corrupt businessmen is common among many.

(This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.)