It seems that every civilization in history has enjoyed a game with a club and a ball. When golf was born is difficult to pinpoint. The word “golf” may have originated from the old Scottish words “gowl,” “golve,” or “gouf” but the then the Dutch also like to claim ownership. Wherever it came from, one thing remains certain: every culture likes to think they came up with it.

Around the 1740s, golf began to take the shape of the modern game with the founding of many golf clubs. Club-makers and ball-makers came into being, and certain brands were so coveted that they were forged. Apparently imitation was the sincerest form of flattery even back then.