Morris on the game's story

The history of golf, in dates

Six centuries in one page: a ban, a charter, thirteen rules, a club, a ball that changed everything, a championship, two governing bodies and one handicap. Every date has a document behind it; the folklore is marked as folklore.

Short answer: golf is first mentioned in a Scottish ban of 1457. St Andrews’ links are reserved for it in 1552, the first rules are written at Leith in 1744, the R&A is founded in 1754 and 18 holes become the standard after 1764. The Open starts in 1860, the USGA in 1894. The gutta-percha and Haskell balls, then steel shafts, make the modern game; a joint rulebook arrives in 1952, a rewrite in 2019, and one World Handicap System in 2020.

By Morris, by Badgie Golf · Updated 9 October 2026

Before the rules (1457–1743)

Year	What happened
1457	The Scottish Parliament of James II bans golf and football: they distract from archery. The first written mention.
1471, 1491	The ban is restated by his successors.
1502	Clubs are bought for James IV. The court plays.
1552	A charter reserves the St Andrews links for golf and other games.
1567	Mary, Queen of Scots, is accused by her enemies of playing golf after Darnley's death. A claim, not evidence.
1632	A bystander is killed by a golf ball at Kelso.
1636	A school textbook in Latin sets out golfing terms.
1681	A match on Leith Links, Scotland against England: the first international, says the record.
1687	Thomas Kincaid's diary gives the first known instructions on how to play.
1743	'The Goff', a poem, is the first printed book entirely about golf.

Rules, clubs and 18 holes (1744–1860)

Year	What happened
1744	The Gentlemen Golfers of Leith write 13 articles for their silver club competition; John Rattray wins. The first rules.
1754	The Society of St Andrews Golfers is founded, 14 May. It publishes and formalises the rules.
1764	St Andrews cuts its course from 22 holes to 18.
1834	William IV becomes patron: The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
1840s	The gutta-percha ball replaces the feather ball: cheaper, tougher, and the scuffed ones fly better. Dimples follow.
1860	The first Open Championship, at Prestwick, over twelve holes.

The modern game (1894–today)

Year	What happened
1894	The United States Golf Association is founded.
1897–1899	The R&A forms its Rules of Golf Committee; the first consolidated code follows in 1899.
c. 1900	The rubber-cored Haskell ball: much longer. The game's distances change.
1924, 1929	Steel shafts are allowed, by the USGA and then the R&A. Hickory retires.
1952	The R&A and the USGA publish one joint code of Rules.
1970s–1980s	Graphite shafts and metal woods. The 'wood' keeps its name.
2016	Golf returns to the Olympic Games after 1900 and 1904.
2019	The Rules are rewritten and simplified: drop from the knee, flagstick in, no penalty for a double hit.
2020	The World Handicap System: one Handicap Index, converted by Slope and Course Rating on every tee.

Why it matters to your game

Every rule you play by is a decision someone made: the hole as the target, the 18 holes, the dropped ball, the handicap that lets a 24 play a 6. Knowing where they came from makes them easier to accept on a bad day. More of the story: who invented golf, golf stories that really happened, and where birdie and bogey come from.

Sources

National Library of Scotland — Early moments in Scottish golf — 1457 to 1744, with the documents. Read 9 October 2026.
The R&A — The Royal and Ancient Golf Club — 1754, 1834. Read 9 October 2026.
The R&A — Playing golf in St Andrews — 1552; 22 holes to 18. Read 9 October 2026.
The R&A — A brief history of revisions to the Rules of Golf, 1744 to 2016 (PDF) — Leith and St Andrews as rule-makers; the Rules of Golf Committee of 1897 and the first consolidated code of 1899. Read 9 October 2026.
The R&A — Rules of Handicapping — The World Handicap System. Read 9 October 2026.
USGA — Golf Museum — American golf history, the USGA's founding and the equipment eras. Read 9 October 2026.

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History questions

When did golf start?

The first written mention is a Scottish Act of Parliament of 1457 banning it, which means it was already common. The game with a hole and a course took shape on the east coast of Scotland during the 15th century; the first rules were written in 1744.

Who wrote the first rules of golf?

The Gentlemen Golfers of Leith, in 1744: 13 articles for a competition for a silver club presented by Edinburgh's town council, won by John Rattray. The Society of St Andrews Golfers (1754) adopted and later formalised them; today The R&A and the USGA publish one joint code.

Why are there 18 holes?

Because the Society of St Andrews Golfers, custodians of what became the Old Course, reduced it from 22 holes to 18, and other courses copied the home of golf. The whisky-bottle story is a joke.

When did the ball and the clubs change?

The feather-stuffed leather ball lasted until the gutta-percha ball of the 1840s, whose scuffed versions flew better and gave us dimples; the rubber-cored Haskell ball around 1900 added distance. Hickory shafts gave way to steel (allowed by the USGA in 1924, the R&A in 1929), graphite came in the 1970s and metal woods in the 1980s.

When did the handicap system become worldwide?

In 2020, with the World Handicap System of The R&A and the USGA: one Handicap Index everywhere, converted to a Course Handicap on each tee by Slope and Course Rating.

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