THE EARLY DAYS by C Stadler
Since the earliest reports about the game of golf, dating back to the fifteenth century until far into the nineteenth century, golf courses had not
been built but discovered. In Scotland, the cradle of golf, the so-called links land which is the unarable belt of sand dunes between the ocean
or river estuaries and the fruitful hinterland-proved to be ideal as golfing grounds. The golfers looked for areas where the grass grew as
close and even as possible, called them greens, and put a hole into them. In the early days, tees did not yet exist: according to rule one of
the thirteen rules of 1745, the tee-shot had to be played from within one club-length of the previous hole. At first there was also no ruling
about the number of holes for a golf course-it varied between five and twenty-five. St. Andrews initially had eleven hales running behind
each other along the coast (out), and in order to come back to the starting point (home), the same holes were played in the opposite direction.
Under this arrangement eleven holes became twenty-two.
Until the end of the eighteenth century, this counter play was held on the same fairways and to the same holes on the greens until the
increasing number of players necessitated creating parallel fairways and the famous double greens.
In 1764, the Society of St. Andrews, the future Royal and Ancient Golf Club decided to combine the first four holes, and consequently the last
four to two new starting and finishing holes, thus reducing the number of holes to eighteen.
When the Royal and Ancient took the leadership of the game of golf in the early nineteenth century, this purely coincidental number became
the standard. Until the late nineteenth century, golf holes were simply laid out by reasonable routing; there was no construction work involved.
The game of golf was played over completely natural terrain; the well-drained links with their fine, crisp grasses offered optimal conditions.
Since the earliest reports about the game of golf, dating back to the fifteenth century until far into the nineteenth century, golf courses had not
been built but discovered. In Scotland, the cradle of golf, the so-
the thirteen rules of 1745, the tee-
Under this arrangement eleven holes became twenty-
increasing number of players necessitated creating parallel fairways and the famous double greens.
In 1764, the Society of St. Andrews, the future Royal and Ancient Golf Club decided to combine the first four holes, and consequently the last
four to two new starting and finishing holes, thus reducing the number of holes to eighteen.
When the Royal and Ancient took the leadership of the game of golf in the early nineteenth century, this purely coincidental number became
the standard. Until the late nineteenth century, golf holes were simply laid out by reasonable routing; there was no construction work involved.
The game of golf was played over completely natural terrain; the well-
© 2009 PHIL JACOBS DESIGN
THE GAME OF GOLF IS EVOLVING.........
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