August 1: National Golf Month

Golf can be traced back to early Rome during the reign of Caesar. The Romans used a club-shaped branch to strike a feather-stuffed ball into a hole. It wasn’t until the 16th century that golf was established in Scotland. According to one legend, the first games of golf were played by shepherds tending to their sheep near St. Andrews. The shepherds would hit round rocks into rabbit holes with wooden crooks. Great Britain adopted golf into its culture in the 17th century, and in 1860 the first British Open was played. It wasn’t unit the late 1800s that golf was established in the United States.

Golf gained popularity in the United States in 1888 when John Reid of Scotland formed the St. Andrews Club of Yonkers in New York. The success of the Yonkers Club helped establish golf as a national pastime in the United States. Other notable golf clubs established during the late 1800s were Shinnecock Hills of Long Island and the Chicago Golf Club, which was the first 18-hole course in the United States.

Locally, golfing opportunities include Apple Valley Country Club, Fairmont Field Club, Green Hills Country Club and Whitehall Driving Range.

If you are looking for something that is a little more low-key, try your luck at Coal Country Miniature Golf Course.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/381590-early-history-of-golf-in-the-united-states/#ixzz210PMflK5