The History of Golf

“Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden,” is what some people believe the word “golf” originally stood for. “It was a man’s game,” they’ll tell you, which may have been true once upon a time, but the word “golf” actually originated from a 14th century Scottish term “golve,” "goff" or “gouff,” which in turn, came from the medieval Dutch word “kolf.” The game as we know it did come from the Scots, but the USGA Museum states there is “considerable evidence” the game “derived from stick-and-ball games that were played in France, Germany and the Low Countries.”

The medieval Dutch word “kolf” meant “club,” and the Dutch did a lot of ice skating, while hitting balls with clubs curved at the bottom, which suggests the game of hockey. Golf and hockey obviously evolved along similar lines, branching into two completely different games. The Scots traded with the Dutch back in the Middle Ages, which is where they got their golf balls and clubs, but, it was the Scots who made golf the game it is today. They decided to dig a small hole and make getting the ball into the hole the object of the game.

The game was brought to America sometime around the 17th century. The terms “birdie” and “eagle” come from 19th century American slang. A “bird” back then meant something excellent or wonderful and an eagle, being a large bird, was even better than a bird, or “birdie.” The term “albatross” (bigger than an eagle) for “double eagle” was naturally used for the best of the best score. “Par” is a term meaning level or even. Other golf lingo was similarly derived. Why do golfers shout, “fore?” It’s Scottish for “look out ahead.”