17: Kolf in the USA
In the United States, golf is an $84.1 billion industry and directly affects over 2 million jobs.
With countless tournaments taking place on US soil every year, and 24 million Americans who say they actively play golf, you could say golf has become intrinsic to American culture
But did you ever wonder how it started out in America? Or how long it’s been around? Well, like most things that are considered American today, golf was brought over by immigrants.
READ MORE: Why do golf courses have 18 holes?
The earliest traces of the sport in North America go back to Dutch immigrants in the 17th century who played Kolf in the streets of Fort Orange- now Albany, NY.
No that’s not a typo. Kolf is a Dutch game and an early variation of what we know today as golf. The sport was typically played a smaller scale than modern golf and is perhaps more comparable to mini golf. Some believe that Kolf contributed to the development of modern golf in Scotland. Although, as you might expect, there is a lot of debate around this.
Played in groups of four, the game involves hitting a ball over a certain distance whereby first people to reach their opponents’ starting point wins.
While it is a very traditional sport, it is still played in a few communities in the Netherlands. There are 14 courses still in operation and all but one of these are in the North Holland province.
Since the 17th century, golf (and variations thereof) steadily increased in popularity in the US. It was only in the 19th century that the competitive and commercial side of the sport really took off.
Long story short, it took roughly 275 years between the arrival of America’s first “golfers” and the first tee-off at the Augusta National Invitation Tournament (now The Masters) in March 1934.
This article is part of our Countdown to The Masters series. Join us every day between now and April 7 for fun facts and interesting stories about golf and The Masters tournament.