Reminiscences of Golf on St.Andrews Links, 1887

By James Balfour

This vintage book is a fascinating chronicle of the changes that took place in the forty years that the author had been playing golf on St. Andrews Links. One of the oldest courses in the world, St. Andrews links is widely considered to be the “home of golf”. This volume is highly recommended for those with an interest in the history of this most venerable of golfing locations and would make for a fantastic addition to collections of vintage sporting literature. Contents include: “Links”, “Balls and Clubs”, “Medals”, “Players”, “Professionals and Caddies”, “Incidents in Golf”, and “Merits of the Game”. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on the history of golf. First published in 1887.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Sep 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473352902

Book preview

REMINISCENCES

OF

GOLF

ON

ST. ANDREWS LINKS

BY

JAMES BALFOUR

1887

Copyright © 2013 Read Books Ltd.

This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

A Short History of Golf

Golf is defined, in the rules of golf, as ‘playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules.’ It is one of the few ball games that do not require a standardized playing area. Instead, the game is played on a course, in general consisting of an arranged progression of either nine or eighteen holes. While the modern game of golf originated in fifteenth century Scotland, the game’s ancient origins are unclear and much debated.

Some historians trace the sport back to the Roman game of ‘paganica’, in which participants used a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball. One theory asserts that ‘paganica’ spread throughout Europe as the Romans conquered most of the continent during the first century BC, and eventually evolved into the modern game. Others cite ‘chuiwan’ (‘chui’ means striking and ‘wan’ means small ball) as the progenitor, a Chinese game played between the eighth and fourteenth centuries. A Ming Dynasty scroll dating back to 1368 entitled ‘The Autumn Banquet’ shows a member of the Chinese Imperial court swinging what appears to be a golf club at a small ball with the aim of sinking it into a hole. The game is thought to have been slowly introduced into Europe during the Middle Ages.

The modern game as we know it originated in Scotland, where the first written record of golf is James I’s banning of the game in 1457 – as he felt it was an unwelcome distraction to learning archery. To many golfers, the Old Course at St. Andrews (Fife, Scotland), a links course dating to before 1574, is considered to be a site of pilgrimage. The home of the Open Championship, it is one of the oldest golf courses in the world, and the townspeople gained the right to play on the links in 1552. It has since been pivotal to the development of how the game is played today. For instance, in 1764, the course had 22 holes. The members would play the same hole going out and in with the exception of the 11th and 22nd holes. The members decided that the first four and last four holes on the course were too short and should be combined into four total holes (two in and two out). St Andrews then had 18 holes and that was how the standard of 18 holes was created.

The oldest surviving rules of golf were compiled in March 1744 for the Company of Gentleman Golfers, later renamed The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which played at Leith, Scotland. It was not until the late nineteenth century that the sport witnessed a considerable boom outside of Scotland however. This was largely the result of Queen Victoria, and her fondness of the Scottish Highlands. The royal enthusiasm for Scotland and the development of the railways, alongside the travel writings of Sir Walter Scott caused a boom for tourism – and an interest in Scottish culture. This period also coincided with the development of the Gutty; a golf ball made of Gutta Percha which was cheaper to mass-produce, more durable and more consistent in quality and performance than the feather-filled leather balls used previously.

Soon, golf spread to the rest of the British Isles. In 1864 the golf course at the resort of Westward Ho! became the first new club in England since Blackheath (established by James VI of Scotland in 1603) and the following year London Scottish Golf Club was founded on Wimbledon