Golf was a sport supposedly created from the Dutch game of "kolf," but the first substantiated reference to it came in 1457, when the Scottish Parliament deplored its popularity. After all, it took young men away from archery practice.

Initially, golf was played on seaside grounds filled with crisp turf and natural hazards such as water and sand. It was only later on that the practice moved to the downs, moorland, and parkland courses.

The U.S. got their golf balls and sticks from Scotland, shipping them down to Charleston, South Carolina, in the mid-18th century; it was not until the late 1880s that the country built its first permanent courses in "country clubs," which were mainly built for elite white males.

The golf tee holds the ball as the player swings his stick. The tee was invented by George F. Grant, in Boston, who claimed a patent on the wooden tee with a tapering base and a flexible, concave shoulder, on December 12, 1899.

The practice of building 18-hole courses came from renovations on the Old Course of the famous St. Andrews course around 1848, and, with the invention of a new, cheap, golf ball, the British grabbed ahold of the game. They originally played the nine holes of the Old Course in both directions; this meant they went up then back down the same course. It made for a lot of physical activity.

The first thought to correct the problem was to extend the course and bring it around to the starting point in a circle, with the players ending up where they began. This was met with great uproar, however, and so the authorities added the additional greens, increasing the width of the course to accommodate the "back nine."

When King George V saw what they had done, he had an 18-hole course built at Richmond Palace, the object being to provide the people who couldn't afford the private clubs with a course they could use. The Old Course at St. Andrews is still regarded, though, as one of the greatest courses in the world.