Friday Fact: Golf “The Perfect Pandemic Sport”, Here Are Some Facts and a Brief History of It!

Brief history
The game was first mentioned in a Scottish Parliament Act in 1457, when it was proposed to be banned alongside football.
King James II of Scotland forbade the playing of games because it distracted from military training, and he believed that perfecting archery would be a more worthwhile sporting pursuit. The game of golf officially became a sport when the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith formed the first club in 1744 and set up an annual competition with silverware prizes. The rules for this new competition were drafted by Duncan Forbes. Rules that even now sound so familiar to many;
Today, the Scots are extremely proud of their golfing heritage and their “ancient” courses, which continue to draw thousands of visitors to the small country each year as they play their part in golf history.

Facts:

1. Golf originated from a game played on Scotland’s eastern shore, near the royal city of Edinburgh. Using a bent stick or club, people would attempt to hit pebbles over sand dunes and over tracks in the 15th century.
2. The same people who banned golf were also the ones who created the sport. Between 1457 and 1744, golf was prohibited not once, but three times in Scotland. This was due to the government’s belief that it interfered with military training.
3. Golf is one of only two sports played on the moon. Alan Bartlett “Al” Shepard, Jr. completed a one-handed swing with a six-iron on February 6, 1967, sending the ball hurtling through the moon’s low-gravity atmosphere.
4. Golf was banned not only once but three times in Scotland between the years of 1457 and 1744. That’s because the government believed it interfered with military training. In the early days of golf, players would golf publicly, such as on the streets or on business properties. This was seen as a nuisance.
5. Unlike most other major sports, where the highest score wins, in golf the aim is to achieve the lowest score possible. The object of golf is to get the ball from that initial teed-up position into the hole in the fewest number of strokes (hits) possible.

Top 5 greatest golf players:

1. Jack Nicklaus
2. Tiger Woods
3. Ben Hogan
4. Walter Hagen
5. Sam Snead

References:
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-History-of-Golf/
https://www.pantherrungolfclub.com/blog/33-surprising-golf-facts
https://collegeofgolf.keiseruniversity.edu/brief-history-golf/
https://deemples.com/top-10-greatest-golfers-of-all-time/