100 BC |
Early forms of Golf traced back to the Roman
game of paganica, in which participants used
a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball |
960-1279 |
Games similar to golf – called chuíw án —
played with several clubs and a ball are
being played in China during the Song
Dynasty |
15th Century |
The origin of the modern game is usually
traced to Scotland. In the 15th century |
1457 |
The Scottish Parliament passed several acts
banning the practice of the game, along with
football (soccer), because the two sports
were interfering with archery practice,
which was necessary for national defence.
The first act was passed in 1457 by James
II, King of Scotland, and it was reaffirmed
in 1471and 1491. |
1500 |
The ban on golf in Scotland is lifted and
within two years King James IV of Scotland
takes up the game himself. |
1552 |
Archbishop Hamilton’s Charter recognises the
right of the people of St Andrews to play
golf on the Old Course. |
1567 |
Mary Queen of Scots reportedly plays golf
just days after the murder of her husband
Lord Darnley. |
1603 |
King James VI ascends to the English throne
and his court begins playing golf at
Blackheath in London. |
1724 |
The first known reference to golf balls
being stuffed with feathers. They were
previously made from hard leather. |
1729 |
The first known reference is made to golf in
the USA with clubs being recorded in the
estate of William Burnet, the Governor of
Massachusetts. |
1744 |
The first Rules of Golf are set out by the
Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. |
1754 |
The Society of St Andrews Golfers is formed.
It became the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of
St Andrews in 1834. |
1764 |
The Old Course at St Andrews is reduced from
22 holes to 18 holes. This became the
recognised format for the game around the
world. |
1848 |
The gutta percha ball is introduced. It was
a solid ball, made by softening strips of
gutta percha, (dried sap of a Sapodilla
tree) in boiling water and then moulding the
ball by hand before placing it in cold water
to harden. |
1860 |
The first Open Championship is played at
Prestwick and is won by Willie Park Senior
of Scotland |
1885 |
The secretary of Royal Liverpool Golf Club
came up with the idea of an amateur event in
which leading clubs were invited to send
entrants. The Amateur Championship is played
for the first time in 1885 at Hoylake. It is
won by Allan MacFie of England. |
1890’s |
Persimmon becomes a popular wood for making
club heads. |
1893 |
The Ladies’ Golf Union is formed in the UK
and the British Ladies’ Amateur Golf
Championship is played for the first time at
Royal Lytham & St Annes. It is won by Lady
Margaret Scott of England. |
1894 |
The United States Golf Association (USGA) is
formed in New York. One of its most
important functions was to serve as arbiter
for questions of amateur status. The five
charter members of the newly formed the USGA
were the St. Andrew’s Golf Club of Yonkers,
N.Y., Newport (R.I.) Golf Club, Shinnecock
Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., The
Country Club in Brookline, Mass., and
Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Ill. |
1895 |
The
US Amateur Championship and the US Open are
played for the first time at Newport Country
Club, Rhode Island and are won respectively
by Charles B Macdonald (USA) and Horace
Rawlins (England). The US Women’s Amateur
Golf Championship is also played for the
first time at Meadow Brook Club in Long
Island and is won by Lucy Barnes Brown of
the USA. |
1900 |
Golf
is played at the Paris Olympic Games. Twenty
two participants took part (12 men and 10
women) from four countries who competed in
36-hole individual stroke play events for
men and women. The women’s Olympic champion
was Margaret Abbot (USA) and Charles Sands
(USA) was the men’s champion.1901 The rubber
cored Haskell ball is introduced. It changed
the way the game was played. The Haskell
ball travelled farther than the old
gutta-percha ball and cost considerably less
because it could be mass produced. The
game’s popularity surged in response. |
1901 |
The first Professional Golfers’ Association
(PGA) is formed in the UK. |
1904 |
Golf is played for the second time in the
Olympic Games in St Louis. Only men’s
competitions were staged. (A team event of
36 holes stroke play won by the United
States of America’s team and an individual
event was won by George Lyon from Canada). |
1916 |
The PGA of America is formed and the US PGA
Championship is played for the first time at
Siwanoy Country Club in New York. |
1921 |
The Ryder Cup is played for the first time
between the men’s professionals of Great
Britain and the USA at Gleneagles. It is won
by Great Britain. |
1922 |
The
Walker Cup is played for the first time
between the men’s amateurs of Great Britain
and Ireland and the USA at the National Golf
Links of America in Southampton, New York.
It is won by the USA. |
1929 |
Steel shafted clubs are accepted by The R&A. |
1930 |
Bobby
Jones completed the Grand Slam of The Open,
the Amateur Championship, The US Open and
the US Amateur Championship in one season. |
1932 |
The
Curtis Cup is played for the first time
between the women’s amateurs of Great
Britain and Ireland and the USA at
Wentworth. It is won by the USA. |
1934 |
The inaugural Masters is staged at Augusta
National. It is won by Horton Smith of the
USA. |
1946 |
The
US Women’s Open is played for the first time
at Spokane Country Club in Washington and is
won by Patty Berg of the USA. |
1950 |
The Ladies’ Professional Golfers’
Association (LPGA) is formed in the USA. |
1953 |
The Tam O’ Shanter World Championship of
Golf becomes the first nationally televised
golf tournament in the USA. |
1955 |
The LPGA Championship is played for the
first time at Orchard Ridge Country Club. It
is won by American Beverly Hanson. |
1958 |
Representatives
of 35 national amateur golf organisations
form the World Amateur Golf Council. They
agree to stage the World Amateur Team
Championship with teams of men competing for
the Eisenhower Trophy, named after President
Dwight D Eisenhower. The event was staged at
the Old Course in St Andrews and Australia
defeated the USA in a play-off. |
1964 |
A friendly match between the American Curtis
team and France is expanded to invite other
international teams to establish a Women’s
World Amateur Team Championship. The trophy
was provided by Mrs Espirito Santo Silva
through the Portuguese Golf Federation. A
total of 25 teams took part in the inaugural
competition at St Germain Golf Club in
France which was won by the home team. |
1976 |
The Women’s British Open is played for the
first time at Fulford Golf Club. It is won
by England’s Jenny Lee Smith. |
1980’s |
Metal woods made of stainless steel are
introduced. |
1994 |
The Evian Masters is played for the first
time at Evian-les-Bains in France. It is won
by Helen Alfredsson of Sweden. |
2000’s |
Materials such as graphite, titanium, carbon
fibre and tungsten are used to manufacture
golf clubs. |
2003 |
The World Amateur Golf Council becomes the
International Golf Federation. |
2009 |
The International Olympic Committee (IOC)
votes in favour of golf returning to the
2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. |
2010 |
The 150th anniversary Open Championship
takes place on the Old Course at St Andrews. |
2012 |
Work begins on the Rio 2016 Olympic golf
course at Barra da Tijuca. |
2016 |
Golf will be played at the Olympics in Rio
de Janeiro for the first time in 112 years. |