Lesson 2: Where Golf’s Rules Came From
A long time ago — in 1744, in Edinburgh, Scotland — a group of golfers sat down and wrote golf’s very first rulebook. There were only 13 rules.
Some of those rules are still part of golf today. Simple ideas like: play the ball where it lands. Don’t move things out of the way to make your shot easier.
Over hundreds of years, more rules were added as new situations came up. Today golf has a big rulebook — but it still begins with those same simple ideas from 1744.
The rules of golf are updated every four years by two organizations: the USGA (United States Golf Association) and The R&A in Scotland. They make sure golf’s rules are fair and up to date around the whole world.
Rule: Play the ball where it lies — do not move it to a better spot unless a rule says you can.
If someone who played golf in 1744 could come and play golf today, what do you think would surprise them the most?
Find a piece of paper and write the year 1744 at the top. That was 282 years ago! Draw something that was happening back then (no cars, no planes, no phones). Then write: ‘In 1744, golfers in Scotland wrote the first golf rules.’ Put it on your wall as a timeline marker. Over the coming weeks, you will add more golf history to your timeline.