Did you know that the word golf does not mean Gentleman Only Ladies Frobiden as some still seem to believe and contrary to popular belief, the Scots were not at the origin of golf, the word "Golf" comes from the continent and not from Great Britain!
Did you know that the origins of the word "Golf", which nevertheless remain quite obscure to historians, are linked to the Dutch and Flemish game called "KOLVEN" and meaning "kolf" : stick .
It is said to have first appeared in 1297 in Holland .
In any case, on December 26, 1297 the oldest recorded match of "Kolf" was recorded and found in the manuscripts of the Dutch town of Loenen aan de Vecht, near Utrecht. (For the record, the first and legendary Scottish Golf of St Andrews was created in 1754.)
Before that, golf would have been called, depending on the case and origin , ''la paganica' ', ''le mail'' , ''le pall-mail'', ''la chole''. It was basically about hitting a ball towards a target using a stick.
The Roman legionaries were passionate about the game of paganica which they played in the 1st century by hitting a ball filled with feathers with a stick.
Practiced in England in the 13th century, derived from the paganica, the cambuca of Latin origin was none other than a hooked rod or stick used like a crook to hit a wooden ball.
In the Middle Ages in Scotland, people played Gowf. In fact, an act of the Scottish Parliament, dating from 1457, was found there, which prohibited the practice of "gowf" because it harmed the training of King James II's archers.
(at war with the English)
Originating from Flanders ''Chole'' and the North of France ''Soule'', this game also comes to us from the Middle Ages. It was played with a stick (beech handle) that was used to hit the ''soulette'': an ovoid ball made of hornbeam wood.
Mail was played in France and Italy in the Middle Ages (early 15th century). Then it drifted to England under the name of ''pall mail'' in the 17th century.
The origin of the word mail comes from the Latin malleus: mallet that was used with a handle to push the boxwood ball.
However, a Chinese researcher has made a discovery that could well reignite the debate on the origins of Golf, which, according to him, was invented in China more than 1000 years ago .
This sport was called ''Chuiwan'' which translates to ''hitting the ball''
