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The History of Golf and Golf Equipment

Golf has been around since the 15th century. It was originally started on the coast of Scotland. Back then players would hit a pebble around the sand dunes using a stick or club. After 1750, golf evolved in to the sport we know today. The first rule book was wrote in Edinburgh in 1774.

Golf Balls

Hitting pebbles was not the best way to play the game. The first actual golf balls that were created were made of thin leather bags that were stuffed with feathers that did not go very far.

A ball called the gutta-percha was invented in 1848 by Reverend Adam Paterson. It was made from the sap of the Gutta tree, and it could be hit for almost 225 yards, very similar to today’s golf balls.

Around 1898, a man named Coburn Haskell introduced the first one-piece rubber cored ball. These balls reached distances approaching 430 yards. In 1905 a golf ball manufacturer named William Taylor was the first to add dimples.

Golf Clubs

Golf clubs used to be wooden shafts and not very technological. Today’s clubs are made from steel or graphite and are much more durable and lighter that the old wooded clubs. Golf clubs evolved with the evolution of golf balls. Balls had to be made tougher to withstand the harder hits from newer clubs.

Carrying & Caddies

In the 1880s, golf bags were introduced. Then of course there were caddies that were paid to carry these bags around the course. In 1962 the powered golf car was invented by Merlin L. Halvorson.

Golf Tees

The word “tee” in golf originated as the name for the area where the golfer played. In 1889 the first portable golf tee was patented by Scottish golfers William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas. This tee was made of rubber and had three vertical rubber prongs that held the ball in place. It laid on the ground and did not stick in to the ground like modern golf tees.

The Rules

In 1774, the first standardized rules of golf were written and used in the first golf championship, which Doctor John Rattray won on April 2nd in Edinburgh, Scotland. This rule book has been the basis of the game of golf as we know it for over 200 years. Of course some rules have been modified for the modern game, but the principles have pretty much stayed the same.

I hope this has gotten you to appreciate the great history of the game of golf.

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