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Golf · Level 9: Master · Sub-level 9.1

Origins in Scotland

4 tests · 40 facts · updated 13 October 2026 · markdown

Where golf began: early records and royal bans, St Andrews and the R&A, the first clubs, and the feathery era.

Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.

Test 1Early recordsTake a test

  1. Golf and football were 'utterly cried down'.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  2. Archers were needed against the English.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  3. From a bow-maker in Perth.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  4. She was said to have played at Seton.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  5. Played with a stick and ball, sometimes on ice.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  6. Written for a competition at Leith.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  7. Later the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  8. 1457, 1502 and 1744.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  9. 1457, 1567 and 1603.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  10. The oldest known written rules.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · applied

Test 2St Andrews and the R&ATake a test

  1. Ten years after the Leith golfers.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  2. In 1834.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  3. Four short holes were merged into two.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  4. Other clubs followed the home of golf.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  5. Built in 1854.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  6. The club itself remains a private members' club.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  7. Seven of them, with two flags each.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  8. 1754, 1764 and 1834.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  9. 1854, 1873 and 2004.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  10. Seven greens on the Old Course are shared.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · applied

Test 3The first clubsTake a test

  1. It began as the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  2. It moved there in 1891.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  3. Its 12-hole course hosted the first twelve Opens.

    Source: The Open Championship records (The R&A) · recall

  4. Its nine holes lie inside a racecourse.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  5. It claims roots going back to 1608.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  6. Now the Royal Calcutta Golf Club.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  7. Founded in 1856 by Scots wintering there.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  8. 1744, 1754, 1829 and 1856.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  9. Scotland 1744, England 1766, India 1829, France 1856.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · applied

  10. It hosted six Opens between 1874 and 1889.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · applied

Test 4The feathery eraTake a test

  1. A soggy feathery could also split.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  2. A maker might finish only a few a day.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  3. Wood-working skills were needed for shafts and heads.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  4. A St Andrews ball-maker; Old Tom worked for him.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  5. A likely root of the shout 'Fore!'.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  6. Possibly via Mary, Queen of Scots' French court.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  7. 'Baffing' meant striking the ground to loft the ball.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  8. Drying feathers expand while the leather shrinks.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  9. 1815, 1821 and 1851.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · recall

  10. Used until about 1850.

    Source: Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories) · applied

Sources

Golf histories and museum records (R&A, USGA, World Golf Hall of Fame), Open and major championship records, PGA Tour and LPGA records; only settled facts used as keys; original questions authored, nothing reproduced.

  • Golf histories (R&A and USGA museums; World Golf Hall of Fame; club histories)39
  • The Open Championship records (The R&A)1