How Did Golf Get It’s Name?

In Scotland, a new game was invented entitled: Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden….and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

It’s funny but unfortunately has little evidence to support it.

One theory is that golf came from ‘kolf’, which is Dutch for ’stick’ or ‘club’. That theory stems from the fact that golf was said to have originated from the Netherlands. However, it seems that none of the games played in the Netherlands bare enough similarity to the golf played for centuries in Scotland.

Golf is likely to mean ‘goulf’, (or, spelled gouff, goiff, goffe, goff, gowff, and golph etc. The concept of having only one correct spelling per word is a relatively modern notion,) which is an old Scottish term for striking or hitting.

Thus golf got it’s name -

Golf originated from a game played on the coast of Scotland during the 15th century.

Golfers would hit a pebble instead of a ball around the sand dunes using a stick or club. After 1750, golf evolved into the sport as we recognize it today.

The earliest man-made golf balls included thin leather bags stuffed with feathers.

The gutta-percha ball was invented in 1848 by Reverend Adam Paterson. Made from the sap of the Gutta tree, this ball could be hit a maximum distance of 225 yards and was very similar to its modern counterpart.

In 1898, Coburn Haskell introduced the first one-piece rubber cored, when professionally hit these balls reached distances approaching 430 yards.

According to “The Dimpled Golf Ball” by Vincent Mallette during the early days of golf the balls were smooth. Players noticed that as balls became old and scarred, they traveled farther. After a while players would take new balls and intentionally pit them.

In 1905, golf ball manufacturer William Taylor was the first to add the dimple pattern using the Coburn Haskell ball. Golf balls had now taken on their modern form.

Tags: Accessories, Adam Paterson, Balls, Coburn Haskell, goff, goffe, goiff, Golf, Golf ball, golph, gouff, goulf, gowff, Gutta tree, name, Netherlands, Scotland, Shopping, Sport, Vincent Mallette, William Taylor

This entry was posted on Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 10:41 am and is filed under Welsh Golf. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.