Golf Tiff Between Scotland and China


A Chinese professor says he’s uncovered evidence that golf was played in China as early as 945 A.D., thus throwing into question the widely held belief that the game was invented in Scotland.

In making his claim, Professor Ling Hongling of Lanzhou University cited references in a book of a prominent magistrate instructing his daughter to "dig goals in the ground so that he might drive a ball into them with a purposely crafted stick." The professor also claims golf was exported to Europe by Mongolian travelers in the Middle Ages.

Predictably, the Scots have their kilts in a knot over the claim. A story in the UK newspaper The Herald indicates the two sides clearly can’t event agree on the word "clearly."

Says Ling: "This misunderstanding can be corrected. Golf, as we know it today, clearly originated in China."

A spokesman for Scotland’s Royal & Ancient Golf Club countered with, "Stick and ball games have been around for many centuries, but golf as we know it today, played over 18 holes, clearly originated in Scotland." Stay tuned.