Golf

The earliest reference to golf is a Scottish law forbidding it in 1457; until the nineteenth century, it was almost exclusively a Scottish game. It is often called the "Royal and Ancient game" and the R and A rules have long been accepted internationally. In England golf courses have been popular meeting places of the business community and their club houses are usually fitted with a bar. In Scotland there are cheap municipal golf courses, but in England until recently there were few courses and the game was confined to private, expensive clubs. Now new municipal courses are being constructed to meetthe growing demand. In Scotland golf has always been a popular sport.