Established in 1744, the Honorable
Company of Edinburgh Golfers in
Edinburgh, Scotland was often recognized as the
first organized golf club. The word
"Golf" originally meant club , from the Dutch
word "kolf." The club wrote the first
rules, they were used to govern and to settle
disputes. Royal and Ancient Golf Club
of St. Andrews was founded in 1754 as the Society
of St. Andrews Golfers. It became
the leader in establishing golf's regulations
and standards. Example, it sets the
standard round of golf at 18-holes.
Golfers played with a leather-covered
ball stuffed with feathers called the
feathery until the gutty was introduced in 1848.
Featheries were made in Scotland in
c. 1450 by stuffing a hatful of boiled goose
feathers into a leather casing.
Golf emphasizes skill rather
than strength. To play golf, golfers try to hit
their ball into a hole in the distance in the
fewest strokes as possible. You may use
one of several kinds of clubs to hit the ball.
He or she competes against par. The par
is the number of strokes the course officials
decide are normally necessary to hit ball
into the hole. Pars ordinarily vary from three
to six strokes, depending on the length
and difficulty of the hole.
Tracy Ronnebaum & Mindy Hudson