Golf has been played in this country since at least 1457. That’s the first written record we have of it at least, and enough people were playing then for King James II to issue an act of parliament banning the game. So, we can give golf a few extra decades at least. Probably fair to say then, it’s an established pastime.
Golf has changed quite a bit over the centuries and those early pioneers who incurred Jimmy the second’s displeasure would be astounded to see golf today. Golf is now not just played by a few hundred, maybe a few thousand, archery-practice shirkers. It’s played by 65 million people across the globe.
