The Early History of Golf in the U.S. Essay -- Golf Sports Athletics E

The gritty of golf is one of the oldest of todays modern sports. Its consume beginnings are not known however, some historians trace golf back to the Stone Age while others claim it originated from the idle antics of shepherd boys knocking humble stones into holes in the ground with a crook while their flocks grazed nearby (Peper 1). Researched back to the time of the Roman Empire, it is also believed the sports-oriented Romans played a forerunner of the game of golf called paganica. This sport involved the use of a bent stick and a ball stuffed with wool played in the open countryside. Golf comes to the unite SatesThe legendary beginnings of golf in the United States can be traced back to the mid-1600s. One of the first published references to golf in America was in 1659 referring to the illegalize on golf in the streets of Albany, forward-looking York. The next substantial reference to the game comes from Charleston, North Carolina in 1786. At that time, a local Charleston newspaper publisher ran a story about the formation of the Harleston Green Golf Club. The Harleston Green remained in operation for approximately twenty-five years, closing about the time of the warfare of 1812. Around the same time period, approximately1795, another golf club opened in Savannah, Georgia. References to this golf club continued until 1811 again apparently closing skillful before the beginning of the war. The War of 1812 served to destroy the desire to play golf. It wasnt until the late 1870s, well after the Civil War ended, that there was a revival of golf in the United States.Golf fever springs up throughout the United StatesCharles Macdonald was an early founder of American golf. He recalled playing golf in the Chicago area as early as 1875. Another promoter of golf, a young man named Andrew Bell from Burlington, Iowa, was initially exposed to golf when he went to Scotland to attend the University of Edinburgh. Upon his return to the United States in 1883, he lai d out four informal golf holes on the family farm and played a fewer rounds with his friends. In 1884 Colonel Hamilton Gillispie, a former Scotsman who went into the lumber business in Florida, was known to hit golf balls in a field that is now the main street of Sarasota (History of Golf 7). Also in 1884, the Oakhurst Golf Club was formed in North Carolina now famous for its first hole from the Clubs Homestead course, celebrated to... ...ip. Today, the USGA membership exceeds 5,500 clubs throughout the United States. Golf, being one of the oldest of todays modern sports, thrives in popularity continuing to entice young and old, virile and female, rich and poor players. Works CitedSimpson, W.G. The Origin of Golf. A Tribute to Golf. Ed. Thomas Stewart. Harbor Springs, Michigan Stewart, Hunter, and Associates. 1990. 78.Golf Magazines Encyclopedia of Golf. The Editors of Golf Magazine. New York, NY Harper-Collins 1993.Doyle, Kathleen. In John Reids Cow Pasture. Sports in America. Sept. 1988 34-38.Peper, George. The Father of American Golf. Golf Magazine. Dec. 1995. 118.Peper, George. Birth of the USGA. Golf Magazine. Dec. 1994. 124.Hannigan, Frank. The History of the game of Golf. Golf Digest Magazine. Jan. 2000. 171.Fields, Bill. ever-changing the course of history. Golf Digest Magazine. Sept. 1999. 17. McCord, Robert, R. Golf an album of its history. Short Hills, NJ Burford Books. 1998.Anderson, David. The story of golf. New York W. Morrow. 1998.Menzies, Gordon. World of golf. New York Bantam. 1982.