Timeline Of Golf History

16th century
17th century
18th century
19th century
20th century

1353
The first recorded reference to chole, the probable antecedent of golf. It is a derivative of hockey played in Flanders (Belgium).

1421
A Scottish regiment aiding the French against the English at the Siege of Bauge is introduced to the game of chole. Hugh Kennedy, Robert Stewart and John Smale, three of the identified players, are credited with introducing the game in Scotland.

1457
Golf, along with football, is banned by the Scots Parliament of James II because it has interfered with military training for the wars against the English.

1470
The ban on golf is reaffirmed by the Parliament of James III.

1491
The golf ban is affirmed again by Parliament, this time under King James IV.

1502
With the signing of the Treaty of Glasgow between England and Scotland, the ban on golf is lifted.
James IV makes the first recorded purchase of golf equipment, a set of clubs from a bow-maker in Perth, Scotland.

1513
Queen Catherine of England, in a letter to Cardinal Wolsey, refers to the growing popularity of golf in England.

1527
The first commoner recorded as a golfer is Sir Robert Maule, described as playing on Barry Links (near the modern-day Carnoustie).

1552
The first recorded evidence of golf at St. Andrews.

1553
The Archbishop of St. Andrews issues a decree giving the local populace the right to play golf on the links at St. Andrews.

1567
Mary, Queen of Scots, seen playing golf shortly after the death of her husband Lord Darnley, is the first known female golfer.

1589
Golf is banned in the Blackfriars Yard, Glasgow. This is the earliest reference to golf in the west of Scotland.

1592
The City of Edinburgh bans golfing at Leith on Sunday "in tyme of sermonis."

1618
Invention of the feathery ball.

King James VI and I confirms the right of the populace to play golf on Sundays.

1621
First recorded reference to golf on the links of Dornoch (later Royal Dornoch), in the far north of Scotland.

1641
Charles II is playing golf at Leith when he learns of the Irish rebellion, marking the beginning of the English Civil War. He finishes his round.

1642
John Dickson receives a license as ball-maker for Aberdeen, Scotland.

1659
Golf is banned from the streets of Albany, New York-the first reference to golf in America.

1682
In the first recorded international golf match, the Duke of York and John Paterstone of Scotland defeat two English noblemen in a match played on the links of Leith.

Andrew Dickson, carrying clubs for the Duke of York, is the first recorded caddy.

1687
A book by Thomas Kincaid, "Thoughts on Golve," contains the first references on how golf clubs are made.

1721
Earliest reference to golf at Glasgow Green, the first course played in the west of Scotland.

1724
"A solemn match of golf" between Alexander Elphinstone and Captain John Porteous becomes the first match reported in a newspaper. Elphinstone fights and wins a duel on the same ground in 1729.

1743
Thomas Mathison's epic The Goff is the first literary effort devoted to golf.

1744
The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is formed, playing at Leith links. It is the first golf club.
The City of Edinburgh pays for a Silver Cup to be awarded to the annual champion in an open competition played at Leith. John Rattray is the first champion.

1754
Golfers at St. Andrews purchase a Silver Cup for an open championship played on the Old Course. Bailie William Landale is the first champion.

The first codified Rules of Golf published by the St. Andrews Golfers (later the Royal & Ancient Golf Club).

1759
Earliest reference to stroke-play, at St. Andrews. Previously, all play was match.

1764
The competition for the Silver Club at Leith is restricted to members of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.

The first four holes at St. Andrews are combined into two, reducing the round from twenty-two holes (11 out and in) to 18 (nine out and in). St. Andrews is the first 18-hole golf course, and sets the standard for future courses.

1766
The Blackheath Club becomes the first golf club formed outside of Scotland.

1767
The score of 94 returned by James Durham at St. Andrews in the Silver Cup competition sets a record unbroken for 86 years.

1768
The Golf House at Leith is erected. It is the first golf clubhouse.

1773
Competition at St. Andrews is restricted to members of the Leith and St. Andrews societies.

The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh is formed.

1774
Thomas McMillan offers a Silver Cup for competition at Musselburgh. He wins the first championship.

The first part-time golf course professional (at the time also the greenkeeper) is hired, by the Edinburgh Burgess Society.

1780
The Aberdeen Golf Club (later Royal Aberdeen) is formed.

1783
A Silver Club is offered for competition at Glasgow.

1786
The South Carolina Golf Club is formed in Charleston, the first golf club outside of the United Kingdom.

The Crail Golfing Society is formed.

1787
The Bruntsfield Club is formed.

1788
The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers requires members to wear club uniform when playing on the links.

1797
The Burntisland Golf Club is formed.

The town of St. Andrews sells the land containing the Old Course (known then as Pilmor Links), to Thomas Erskine for 805 pounds. Erskine was required to preserve the course for golf.

1806
The St. Andrews Club chooses to elect its captains rather than award captaincy to the winner of the Silver Cup. Thus begins the tradition of the Captain "playing himself into office," by hitting a single shot before the start of the annual competition.

1810
Earliest recorded reference to a women's competition at Musselburgh.

1820
The Bangalore Club is formed, the first club outside of the British Isles.

1824
The Perth Golfing Society is formed, later Royal Perth (the first club so honored).

1826
Hickory imported from America is used to make golf shafts.

1829
The Calcutta Golf Club (later Royal Calcutta) is formed.

1832
The North Berwick Club is founded, the first to include women in its activities, although they are not permitted to play in competitions.

1833
King William IV confers the distinction of "Royal" on the Perth Golfing Society; as Royal Perth it is the first Club to hold the distinction.

The St. Andrews Golfers ban the stymie, but rescind the ban one year later.

1834
William IV confers the title "Royal and Ancient" on the Golf Club at St. Andrews.

1836
The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers abandons the deteriorating Leith Links, moving to Musselburgh.

The longest driver ever recorded with a feathery ball, 361 yards, is achieved by Samuel Messieux at Elysian Fields.

1842
The Bombay Golfing Society (later Royal Bombay) is founded.

1844
Blackheath follows Leith in expanding its course from five to seven holes. North Berwick also had seven holes at the time, although the trend toward a standard eighteen had begun.

1848
Invention of the "guttie," the gutta-percha ball. It flies farther than the feathery and is much less expensive. It contributes greatly to the expansion of the game.

1851
The Prestwick Golf Club is founded.

1856
The Royal Curragh Golf Club is founded at Kildare, the first golf club in Ireland. Pau Golf Club is founded, the first on the Continent.

A rule change is enacted that, in match play, the ball must be played as it lies or the hole be conceded. It is the last recorded toughening of the rules structure.

1857
The Golfer's Manual, by "A Keen Hand" (H.B. Farnie), is published. It is the first book on golf instruction.

The Prestwick Club institutes the first Championship Meeting, a foursomes competition at St. Andrews attended by eleven golf clubs. George Glennie and J.C. Stewart win for Blackheath.

1858
The format of the Championship Meeting is changed to individual match play and is won by Robert Chambers of Bruntsfield.

Allan Robertson becomes the first golfer to break 80 at the Old Course, recording a 79.

1859
The first Amateur Championship is won by George Condie of Perth.

Death of Allan Robertson, the first great professional golfer.

1860
The Prestwick Club institutes a Professional Championship played at Prestwick-the first Championship Belt is won by Willie Park.

1861
The Professionals Championship is opened to amateurs, and the British Open is born. The first competition is won by Old Tom Morris

1864
The North Devon Golf Club is founded at Westward Ho!

1867
The Ladies' Golf Club at St. Andrews is founded, the first golf club for women.

1869
The Liverpool Golf Club is founded at Hoylake, later Royal Liverpool.

Young Tom Morris, age 17, wins the first of four successive British Open championships. His streak would include an 11-stroke victory in 1869 and a 12-stroke victory in 1870 (in a 36-hole format). His 149 in the 1870 British Open over 36 holes is a stroke average that would not be equalled until the invention of the rubber-cored ball.

1870
Young Tom Morris wins his third consecutive British Open Championship, thus winning permanent possession of the Belt.

The Royal Adelaide Golf Club is founded, the first golf club in Australia.

1872
The British Open Championship is reinstituted when Prestwick, St. Andrews and the Honourable Company offer a new trophy, with the Open Championship to be hosted in rotation by the three clubs.

Young Tom Morris wins his fourth consecutive British Open Championship.

1873
The Royal Montreal Golf Club is formed, the first club in Canada.

The British Open is held for the first time at the Old Course.

1875
The Oxford and Cambridge University Golf Clubs are founded.

1878
The first University Match is played at Wimbledon, won by Oxford.

1880
Royal Belfast is founded.
The use of moulds is instituted to dimple the gutta-percha ball. Golfers had long noticed that the guttie worked in the air much better after it had been hit several times and scuffed up.

1883
Bob Ferguson of Musselburgh, losing the British Open in extra holes, comes one victory shy of equalling Young Tom Morris' record of four consecutive titles. Ferguson ends up later in life penniless, working out of the Musselburgh caddy-shack.

1884
The Oakhurst Golf Club is founded at White Sulphur Springs. The first hole at The Homestead survives from this course and is the oldest surviving golf hole in America.

1885
The Royal Cape Golf Club is founded at Wynberg, South Africa, the first club in Africa.

1886
A.J. Balfour is appointed Chief Secretary (Cabinet Minister) for Ireland-his rise to political and social prominence has an incalculable effect on the popularity of golf, as he is an indefatigable player and catalyzes great interest in the game through his writing and public speaking.

1887
The Art of Golf by Sir Walter Simpson is published.

1888
The St. Andrews Golf Club is founded in Yonkers, N.Y., the oldest surviving golf club in America.

1890
John Ball, an English amateur, becomes the first non-Scotsman and first amateur to win the British Open.

Bogey is invented by Hugh Rotherham, as the score of the hypothetical golfer playing perfect golf at every hole. Rotherham calls this a "Ground Score," but Dr. Thomas Brown, honorary Secretary of the Great Yarmouth Club, christens this hypothetical man a "Bogey Man," after a popular song of the day, and christens his score a "Bogey." With the invention of the rubber-cored ball golfers are able to reach the greens in fewer strokes, and so bogey has come to represent one over the par score for the hole.

1891
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is founded.

1892
Gate money is charged for the first time, at a match between Douglas Rollard and Jack White at Cambridge. The practice of paying for matches through private betting, rather than gate receipts and sponsorships, survives well into the 20th Century as a "Calcutta," but increasingly gate receipts are the source of legitimate prize-purses.

The Amateur Golf Championship of India an d the East is instituted, the first international championship event.

1893
The [British] Ladies' Golf Union is founded and the first Open Championship won by Lady Margaret Scott, at St. Anne's.

1894
The Open is played on an English course for the first time and is won for the first time by an Englishman, J.H. Taylor.

The United States Golf Association is founded as the Amateur Golf Association of the United States. Charter members are the Chicago Golf Club, The Country Club, Newport Golf Club, St. Andrews Golf Club, and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.

Tacoma Golf Club is founded, the first golf club on the Pacific Coast.

1895
The United States Open is instituted. Willie Anderson is the first winner.

Chicago Golf Club opens the United States' first 18-hole golf course.

The pool cue is banned as a putter by the USGA.

The U.S. Women's Amateur is instituted. Mrs. Charles S. Brown is the first winner.

1896
Harry Vardon wins his first British Open.

1897
The first NCAA championship is held. Louis Bayard Jr. is the champion.

Golf, America's first golfing magazine, is published for the first time.

1898
Freddie Tait, betting he could reach the Royal Cinque Ports G.C. clubhouse from the clubhouse at Royal St. George's -- a three mile distance -- in forty shots or less, puts his 32nd stroke through a window at the Cinque Ports club.

The Haskell ball is designed and patented by Coburn Haskell. It is the first rubber-cored ball.

The term "birdie" is coined at Atlantic C.C. from "a bird of a hole."

1899
The Western Open is first played at Glenview G.C., the first tournament in what would evolve into the PGA TOUR.

continue to 20th and 21st century timelines


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