Golf in America Older than Originally Believed


A recent discovery has found that golf arrived in America earlier than previously thought. A researcher at the National Archives of Scotland discovered that Charleston, S.C. - always considered the birthplace of golf in America - actually received golf clubs in 1739, not 1743 as originally believed.

According to a December 1 article by Tommy Braswell in Charleston's Post & Currier, a document dated June 29, 1739, cites golf clubs were shipped from Scotland to Charleston businessman William Wallace in "Carolina" at a payment of 1 pound, 18 shillings (estimated at $350 today).

The documented was presented by Dr. David Purdie during a meeting with members of Charleston's St. Andrews Society. Wallace was once a member of the philanthropic organization.

It had long been thought that golf equipment was first introduced to America in 1743, when Charleston businessman David Deas received 432 balls and 96 clubs.

In both cases, the golf balls were "featheries," meticulously hand-made spheres comprised of goose feathers stuffed and stitched into leather. The clubs were likely hickory-shafted, with perhaps heads made of hazel.

Discovering the four-year discrepancy in the "founding" dates came serendipitously. "Because I was involved in checking out the 1743 shipment, the researcher at the National Archives of Scotland called and said, 'You have to come down here. We have seen something you will be interested in,' " Purdie told Braswell.

"The cradle of golf in America is this city. The oldest continuous golf club in America is the Saint Andrew's Golf Club in Yonkers, N.Y. They were founded in 1888. But 150 years earlier, (golf) was going on in Charleston," added Purdie, a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh.

For Braswell's full article, visit http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20141201/PC20/141209933/1177/rewriting-history-golf-arrived-in-america-even-earlier-than-thought-at-charleston.