Where Was Golf Invented

You might be wondering where golf was invented, and why it was invented. Here are some answers to your questions.  Golf was invented in the 17th century in Scotland, although it could have possibly been earlier than that. The word 'golf' probably came from a German word ‘gowf’, which means club or bat. The world's oldest golf course in the world is in Scotland, called Musselburgh Links. There are many other old golf courses in Scotland with the most famous being St. Andrew's. Many people today believe that the reason golf courses today have 18 holes is because St. Andrews only had enough space for nine, but the early golfers there decided that they would play through the holes twice.

The Scottish origin of Golf is a matter of debate among the Dutch, the Chinese and the French, which of all claim that they had similar games to golf many years ago. While this may be true, and they may have had games like this, it is pretty obviously clear that the golf we play today was most likely invented in Scotland. Many other countries had games with clubs and balls, but Scotland's game most closely resembles the game we play today.

Surprisingly, not much of the game has changed. The object of the game is still to get the ball in with the least amount of strokes, and the game is still scored nearly the same way as it was back then. What are the differences between now and then? New technology means it's easier to hit the ball farther, putt more accurately, and play more effectively. Lawn mowers have made the grass shorter, and the playing surfaces are also more well- kept. Did I forget to mention that the balls have dimples now too?

The game didn't really start to spread to the rest of the world until the 1900's. The number of golf courses in China increased from 0 to 200+ from 1985 to the present. Golf also became very popular in Japan after World War Two even though there isn't much space in Japan for building golf courses. This is why Japan is know as the pioneers of virtual and indoor golf. Today, there are well over 30,000 golf courses in the world. Think about that- that's over half a million holes!  The U.S. has the most total golf courses, but Scotland has the most golf courses per its people.