Considering a Junior Golf Membership? Engage Young Players With This History Lesson
Kids these days often seem to lack an appreciation for golf history. Sadly, with their smartphones and video games, many modern children don’t have much interaction with the sport. For those youngsters interested in learning from the stories of the past, however, golf has much to teach. Here are just a few highlights from the exciting history of the game for young learners.
It Has Humble Origins
Most historians trace the beginnings of the sport to the 15th-century stick and ball games of Scotland, around St. Andrews. Teaching youngsters about these early years will make history come alive. Children will love to hear about its origins as a game in which a pebble was knocked around the Scottish lowlands with a primitive club.
It’s Really Old
Unless young students are explicitly taught that the sport has some roots in the Dutch Low Countries, how are they to know that the Flemish poet Jacob van Maerlant was the first to mention the proto-sport of “kolf” in 1261? That means people have been enjoying the greens for over 700 years!
It’s for Everyone
There is a popular rumour at St. Andrews that golf originally stood for, “Gentlemen only. Ladies forbidden.” But don’t tell that to Mary, Queen of Scots, who was fond of hitting a few balls and scandalously hit the links after her second husband was murdered. Today, a junior golf membership means anyone can enjoy the game!
It’s a Game for Friends
Relaxing on the links is an excellent way to spend time with friends. Young students learning about its history will learn how John Rattray, a surgeon to Prince Charles Edward Stuart and one of the earliest champions of the sport, was saved from the gallows by his friend and fellow linksman Duncan Forbes after being imprisoned following the Jacobite Rising of 1745. Fellow Jacobean, Sir John Foulis, a Baron from the affluent Ravelston area of Edinburgh, was not so lucky, but before his execution, he would meet his friends at the Leith links at least once a fortnight.
It Has a Rebellious Side
The youth of today will appreciate the freedom of a junior golf membership all the more when they hear the cautionary tale of the six boys from Perth, Scotland. After being caught hitting the tees on the Sabbath in 1604, the boys had to confess their sins to their congregations publicly.
It’s the Real Sport of Kings
Students who think that horseracing is the Sport of Kings obviously don’t know about golf! James IV of Scotland banned the game in the late 1400s, but that didn’t stop him from playing. Much of the English and Scottish upper crust around this time insisted that the sport be reserved only for them.
Golf has come a long way since its humble origins in Scotland. Today there are over 10,000 USGA courses across the United States, making the game accessible to nearly any young student interested in a junior golf membership. Talk about a hole in one!
