Golf is not only for the wealthy. It is a game for all that helps to develop patience and will-power.
The sport can be traced back to 1350. In a sketch on a stained glass window in Gloucester Cathedral, England, scenes of the Battle of Crecy in France show a man apparently preparing to strike a ball as if playing golf.
However, other sources have it that the sport comes from the Netherlands.
They say 'golf' comes from the Dutch word 'colf', which means 'club'.
The late golf historian Steven Van Hengel traced 'colf' back to December 26, 1297, in the town of Loenen an de Vecht in northern Holland. The townsfolk played four holes of the game to commemorate the relief of Kronenburg Castle the year before.
The fact that 'colf' was chosen to mark the occasion is, said Van Hengel, proof that the game was already popular by 1297. 'Colfer' or golfers also commonly featured in Dutch artwork of the time. Colf continued until the early 18th century when it suddenly fell out of fashion and was replaced by 'kolf', a much shorter game played on a 20-metre course.
