The History of Golf
... are several other famous clubs in Scotland such as Turnberry, Dunbar, Southerness, Nairnr and Carnoustie. The craftsmen who made golf clubs during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were a group of individuals who played an important part in the history of the game. The earliest clubs were fashioned by bow makers, wood turners and carpenters. Their club making skills were passed from father to son. Hickory imported from America was used to make golf shafts. Irons were much less common than woods until the late nineteenth century. There were several types of odd designs to come on the scene in this period like the “one piece” club. It was made of ash, thornwood, or dogwood. The most significant advancement in the first years of the twentieth century was the introduction of the steel shaft. The first steel shafts were made in Britain in 1912. Steel shafts remained popular for many years until the recent advent of graphite shafts which are today widely used because they are so light and extremely strong. As far as the golf ball is concerned, the types of balls have shaped the way the game has evolved and have had a great influence on golf club design. The “feather filled” ball was mostly used until the advent of the “gutta percha” ball in 1848. This ball, made from a rubber-like substance, was the advent of the “gutta percha” ball in 1848. This ball, made from a rubber-like substance, was easy to shape in the form of a ball. This made it easier to standardize and for the first time attention was given to the ball size and weight. The invention of the wound rubber-core Haskell ball at the turn of the century was a big event in golf history. This ball was created by winding lengths of rubber around a solid core and made the ball fly farther and perform better. Until the end of the twentieth century, there were three basic types of golf balls- “one-piece ball”, “two-piece ball”, and two types of “three-piece balls.” (Campbell 57) What has been described as the earliest reference to golf in the United States is in the Dutch ordinance of the magistrates of Fort Orange, which was the old name of Albany, New York, dated December 10, 1659. There was a famous advertisement in Rivington’s “Royal Gazette” in April of 1779 which read: To The Golf Players “The season for this pleasant and healthy exercise now Advancing, Gentlemen may be furnished with excellent Clubs and the veritable Caledonian Balls, by enquiring At the Printer’s” (Browning 114) This confirmed that Scottish officers in New York were playing golf during the period of the Revolutionary War. Golf in Georgia and South Carolina also dates back to the late 1700’s as seen in the “South Carolina and Georgia” Almanac from 1793. A reference to golf in Georgia appears as late as 1818, but the declaration of war by the United States against Great Britain in 1812 had a lot to do with the fading out of the popularity of the game. The earliest of the Canadian golf clubs anticipates the renaissance of the game in the United States and it can be said that the history of golf on the American continent started with the founding of the Royal Montreal Club in 1873. It was through this Club that many of the finest professionals of that time came to the United States from Scotland and England. In 1894, the United States Golf Association was established to regulate the game in the U.S. and Mexico. By 1900 there were more than one thousand golf clubs in the United States. Chicago was the first to have 18 holes. The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) of America was formed in 1916. By 1944, the PGA tour was played throughout the year and consisted of 22 events. The Ladies PGA was formed in 1951 and replaced the Womens Professional Golf Association. There have been many great players throughout the history of this game. Following are three people I found the most interesting. Harry Vardon was one of the greatest players to play the game of golf. As the leading member of what was known as the “Great Triumverate”, with James Braid and J.H. Taylor, Vardon dominated golf around the turn of the twentieth century, winning a total of six British Opens. He was at his best between 1896 and 1903. Then he was struck with tuberculosis and never fully recovered from it. He still managed to win two more British Opens in 1911 and 1914. Vardon may best be known for what he did for the game by providing a model of style for golf. Before he came along, there was no standard style and each person hit the ball his own way. Vardon’s style was so easy that it was easy to imitate and so effortless that it seemed suited for any persons physique. One of the most gifted all-around athletes in sports history was a lady named Babe Zaharias. She made her living as a baseball and basketball player and even won gold medals in track and...