News
The Golf Trinity - why golf is definitely Scottish
24 May 2018
Forty years ago, a Dutch banker claimed that golf was not Scottish in an article that was widely quoted by well-respected journals. Subsequently, the main basis for the claim was discredited, but this has not stopped the 'fact' that golf was not invented in Scotland being oft repeated. Read more
Scottish Golf 1457 to 2057 - The End of Golf is Nigh!?
27 January 2018
Will Scottish golf still be around in 50 years time? There are recent reports of a sharp decline in golf club members, serious erosion of historic links courses and surveys showing that people think golf is the most boring sport in the world. Does golf here have a long term future? Read more
Oldest Leather Stitched Ball in the World
31 December 2017
Lying in a 'dusty' corner of a museum in Stirling is one of the most important artefacts in sporting history. It is an old ball with the identical construction to later feathery golf balls. It has been dated to 1514-1570 making it the oldest of its type in the world. Read more
Chuiwan 捶丸 - Coincidence or Espionage?
15 December 2017
Chuiwan or Chui Wan ( 捶丸) was an ancient 13th century royal bat and ball game played in China which had similarities to putting in golf and an etiquette similar to that of golf. Is this just a strange coincidence or the product of industrial espionage? Read more
Golf is the most Scottish thing about Scotland
1 December 2017
Golf is more Scottish than Scotland, St Andrew, tartan, whisky, the Saltire, bagpipes, kilts, haggis or the Highland Games (but not Nessie). Read more
John Mayne - First Golf-Club Maker?
24 November 2017
William Mayne's grandfather was a bow-maker who supplied clubs to King James IV. Was he a golf-club maker? Read more
The Hutton Letter - Golf at Kinghorn 1812
9 October 2017
A recently discovered letter written by John Hutton to Alexander Orrock at Wemyss in 1812 records that golf was being played on Kinghorn Links in the early 19th century and probably for some time before that. The Links land was owned by the Shanks family of Castlerig, a title which goes... Read more
The Bower Burgesses of Edinburgh
12 April 2017
New research for this website shows that there are direct connections between William Mayne, his Majesty's bower in 1603, and the golf-club makers of the early 20th century in Edinburgh. Read more
Right Royal Company - the Archers and the Golfers
10 April 2017
The close connections between the Royal Company of Archers and the early Leith Golfers are well known. Recent research has now shown that there were also strong connections with the golfers at Bruntsfield for over a hundred years. Read more
Two New Golf Club Makers in 17th Century
4 April 2017
Two new 17th century golf club makers have just been discovered. They are John Elder and Patrick Fyfe. That brings the total number of confirmed club makers pre-1700 to 7! Read more