Tiger Woods has his millions. Jack Nicklaus has his majors. But more than 500 years ago, King James IV of Scotland had something arguably even more historic: a royal obsession with golf. Today, the sport might feature in your weekend plans or dominate Golf Channel. However, its journey to becoming the global game we know today began centuries ago in Scotland. And one man played a surprisingly important role in that history.
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Enter King James IV! He is widely recognized as history’s first recorded golfer. And royal records document his purchase of golf clubs for 14 shillings. That seemingly ordinary transaction became an extraordinary piece of sporting history, offering one of the earliest documented links between golf and the Scottish royal court in the early 1500s. But who was this monarch, and how did golf become part of his life?
Who was King James IV?
According to Scottish Golf History, James IV, who was born into the House of Stewart in 1473, inherited the Scottish throne from his father, James III, in 1488 at the age of 15. The young king was known for practicing dentistry and founded the Royal College of Surgeons.
King James IV is also credited with making it compulsory for the sons of wealthy landowners to attend universities in St Andrews, Glasgow, or Aberdeen. His most significant contributions came in 1502.
He lifted the ban on golf. You see, golf had previously been prohibited because Scotland faced the threat of war, and archery was considered a more useful skill for military service.
With the threat easing, however, James IV allowed golf to return to royal life. Even if the threat of war returned, a cannonball would be much more useful than archery. James IV’s reign eventually ended in 1513 when he was killed at the Battle of Flodden.
The 14-shilling golf equipment mystery
On September 21, 1502, the Scottish royal accounts recorded King James IV’s payment of 14 shillings to a bow-maker in Perth, then known as St John’s Town, for a set of ‘clubs’. The Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland showed:
“Item, the xxj of September, to the bowar of Sanct Johnestoun for clubbes, xiiij s.
“Item: the 21st September – to the bow-maker of Saint John’s Town (Perth), for golf clubs, 14 shillings.”
But that wasn’t the end of James IV’s golfing expenses. In 1506, he spent four shillings on 12 golf balls and another two shillings on two golf clubs. Additional records from Stirling Smith Museum in December that year also mention two clubs purchased from a bow-maker, with one sent to Stirling.
However, James IV was not the only golfer around at the time. Alexander Ra, a Burgess in Stirling, had three dozen golf balls in his estate inventory, valued at 14 shillings. That said, it remains unclear whether he played golf or supplied the equipment to others.
In any case, these purchases are commonly interpreted as the earliest recorded purchase of golf clubs and help establish James IV as the world’s first named golfer.
Where did golf begin, and what did it look like?
Golf might seem glamorous today, with expensive equipment and men in plaid trousers. But when it began, it was a humble game played by Scottish shepherds. Historic UK believes the game originated on the eastern coast of Scotland, near the royal capital of Edinburgh. And unlike golf today, early players used to hit pebbles across sand dunes and around tracks using bent sticks or clubs.
Golf became so popular that it turned into a concern for the Scottish monarchy. In the 15th century, there was a significant threat of another English invasion. Meanwhile, Scots were busy playing golf and ignored their military training. So, King James II introduced a ban on the sport in 1457, but the restriction was largely ignored. Despite that, it was King James IV who eventually lifted the ban in 1502.
When and how did golf become a sport?
Golf began taking shape as an organized sport in 1744. The Gentlemen Golfers of Leith formed the first golf club and established an annual competition with silverware prizes. To govern the tournament, Duncan Forbes drafted a set of 13 rules, some of which bear a striking resemblance to modern golf regulations.
One rule, for instance, allowed players whose balls landed in water or other hazards to retrieve them. Then the player could place the ball behind the hazard and continue playing, while conceding their opponent a stroke. Ever since, the sport continued to evolve over the following years.
Although golf had been played at St Andrews since at least 1552, its Society of Golfers was not established until 1754. The club initially adopted Leith’s rules for its annual competition. A decade later, in 1764, St Andrews constructed the first 18-hole course, establishing the format that eventually became the standard for golf worldwide.
Today, of course, golf looks vastly different. But imagine this: Had it not been for King James IV’s royal endorsement, the ban might have remained in place or, worse, even stricter restrictions could have been introduced to prevent people from playing the game.