How James the 2nd of Scotland nearly destroyed golf.

Did you know that golf is one of the few ball sports, that is not played using a standardized playing area? Although most golf courses are normally made up of 18 holes, each golf course has a unique design. It is odd to think that courses are like fingerprints or snowflakes, no two are alike. Golf just happens to be one of the few sports that do not require a referee. It is up to every individual player to govern their own game.

There are some historians that think that there were earlier versions from the game, but golf as we now know it originated in Scotland in the 15th century. The first written record of golf occurs when James King of Scots banned the game in 1457. He felt the game became a distraction to people learning archery. Seeing that golf is now a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry, it's safe to say his attempts to stifle the development of golf failed miserably. We do however have 1 of his ancestors, James the 4th, to thank for lifting the ban in 1502. Scotland to this day has some of the best golf courses on the planet, and some of the oldest. Musselburgh links in East Lothian has been said to be the oldest golf course in the world, documenting rounds from the 2nd of March 1672.

St Andrews is a little village on the east coast of Scotland. Although it has a well-known universityin which some members of the Royal family were educated, it boasts one of the crowning jewels of international golf. The Old Course is the most famous of the four courses in St. Andrews. It is world famous and it has hosted the British Open, or open championship, a lot more than any other course throughout history. The open championship actually returns to this very venue every five years. The Open championship is the oldest of the Four Major championships. It is played each year on one of nine different links style courses, spread across Scotland and England. It was first played at Prestwick golf Club in Scotland on the 17 Of October 1860.

Golf has certainly changed a lot since the first time it was played. The first golf balls were actually made from wood. I don't think that there is much chance of getting any backspin using one of those bad boys! They were superseded by balls made from leather and full of goose feathers. Sounds more like a pillow than a golf ball. Still no backspinwith these I suppose?

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