The Origins of Golf
So where did this crazy game of using a long slender club to hit a small ball into a small hole come from? Who was the first to think that would be one heck of a good time? Was it a caveman entertaining himself by hitting small boulders into snake holes with his weapon ‘club’ while out looking for animals to whack over the head for food? If that’s what you thought, you were close.
The origins of golf are debated quite a bit, but most agree that is originated in Scotland during the 12th Century. It is believed shepherds would use their shepherd hooks to knock small rocks into rabbit holes as a pastime. You can’t blame them really. It must have been quite boring waiting for those docile lambs to start an uproar and provoke excitement themselves. And waiting for a wolf or two to come along must have also been quite a snoozer.
Golf: As Ancient as the Great Pyramids?
According to www.Wikipedia.com, “Scholars have claimed references to a form of golf from hieroglyphs found on stone tablets dating to ancient Egyptian Pharaohs.” There have also been findings of references to golf in ancient Chinese books dating back to the 11th Century. Golf also seems to have origins in various parts of Europe. However, taking into consideration the equipment, courses, and skills it takes to play modern day golf, we’ll all have to agree that all of these games are the ancestors to this evolved, highly competitive game.
G-O-L-F: Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden
If you have ever been told that the name golf is actually an acronym for “Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden,” you were told wrong. So gentlemen, you can deflate your egos and ladies, you can unruffled your feathers. It seems this tale is nothing more than the wishful thinking of a few homo sapiens with perhaps a bit too much of the Y chromosome.
According to: “the word ‘golf’ derives from older languages and dialects. In this case, the languages in question are medieval Dutch and old Scots. The medieval Dutch word ‘kolf’ or ‘kolve’ meant ‘club.’ It is believed that word passed to the Scots, whose old Scots dialect transformed the word into ‘golve,’ ‘gowl,’ or ‘gouf.’ By the 16th Century, the word ‘golf’ had emerged.” Sources: British Golf Museum, USGA Library
It’s also worth noting what Snopes has to say about it. According to snopes, “It bears saying it again: only a few common words have acronymic pedigrees…Golf is an old word, one that first appeared in our written language in 1425.” So again, sorry guys. It doesn’t mean what you want it to mean.
We can also safely conclude that golf does not mean “Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden” as also according to Wikipedia, in 1567, Queen Mary of Scots was “seen playing golf shortly after the death of her husband Lord Darnley, and is the first known female golfer.” You can view the full timeline here:
While we assume she was working through grief and not celebrating, we can also assume she wasn’t breaking any laws by taking a few swings with her female arms.
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