History of Golf - Part Two: The Early Years

By George White (Continued)

Kirk Session (church court) records in the 16th and 17th centuries contain many references to men playing at the ‘gowf.’ At St. Andrews in 1599, miscreants were fined small sums for the first two offenses before use of “the repentance pillar.” After that, the culprits were “deprived of office” – excommunicated from the church.
 
King James IV (King James I of England), the grandson of the king who originally tried to ban the sport, also tried to prevent the playing of golf. But he, too, found it hopeless and gave up, eventually beginning to play the game himself. The Treaty of Glasgow lifted the ban in 1502.
 
James has the first recorded purchase of a set of golf clubs, also in 1502, his treasurer paying 14 shillings to an archery bow-maker in Perth, Scotland. Records of his expenses show that from then on, there was a steady stream of bills paid from his royal account for golf clubs and golf balls. History also records several lost bets that were debited from the royal bank account.
 
King James IV played in the first officially documented match, pitting himself against the Earl of Bothwell in 1504.
 
It was during this 16th century that it became firmly established on Scotland’s East Coast. By this time, the game had gained respectability among high society and was even played by Mary Queen of Scots. She played golf with one of her attendants, Mary Seton. Seton won one match with the queen and was presented with a famous necklace.

Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots eventually was executed after a golf match. She played golf at Seton House shortly after the mysterious murder of her husband, Lord Darnley, in l567. Did she commit the murder? Circumstantial evidence suggests she did, though it never was proven. But at the least, many thought her playing golf during the mourning period was just unacceptable, and she herself was put to death at the age of 44..
 
During this period golf was expanding to England. Political powers in that country provided for land grants to the links – narrow strips of land only a couple of hundred yards wide that connected the sea to the villages. These “links” proved to be ideal golf areas, what with the spongy surfaces and the seaside vegetation.
 
Membership to the clubs and golfing societies which suddenly flourished carried a considerable amount of prestige. “Gentlemen Golfers” were considered privileged groups who played a “legal, honorable, and respectful sport.”
 
It was the royal acceptance of the game that helped spread it throughout the country and beyond. Golf had spread as far north as Montrose in Scotland and inland to Perth, Scotland, by the beginning of the 16th century. It was most likely taken there by James IV.
 
The earliest centers of golf all had associations with royalty. In the case of St. Andrews, the two pillars of Scottish society were located there – education and the church. St. Andrews is Scotland’s oldest seat of learning, and it was also a powerful church stronghold.
 
Scotland’s capital city of Edinburgh was the seat of the Scottish court, and golf was intertwined throughout the city aided by the royals. The Scottish towns of Dunfermillon and Perth also had royal palaces and they, too, developed strong golf connections.
 
By the start of the 17th century, golf was actively pursued from the southeast of Scotland and beyond to the far north, to the remote Orkney Islands.
 
The premier golf course of the time was at Leith.. Indeed, King Charles II was busily engaged in a round at Leith when he got the news of the Irish Rebellion of 1642.
 
Leith was also important 41 years later, in 1682, when the first international golf match was played. The Duke of York and George Patterson played the match representing Scotland, defeating two English noblemen. Indeed, the game of golf has been primarily an activity of upper-class citizens for much of its existence.