<Ul> <Li> 1421--A Scottish regiment aiding the French against the English at the Siege of Baugé is introduced to the game of chole . Hugh Kennedy, Robert Stewart and John Smale, three of the identified players, are credited with introducing the game in Scotland . </Li> <Li> 1457--Golf, along with football, is banned by the Scots Parliament of James II to preserve the skills of archery . Golf is prohibited on Sundays because it has interfered with military training for the wars against the English . </Li> <Li> 1470--The ban on golf is reaffirmed by the Parliament of James III . </Li> <Li> 1491--The golf ban is affirmed again by Parliament, this time under James IV . </Li> <Li> 1502--With the signing of the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between England and Scotland, the ban on golf is lifted . <Ul> <Li> James IV makes the first recorded purchase of golf equipment, a set of golf clubs from a bow - maker in Perth . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1513--Queen Catherine, queen consort of England, in a letter to Cardinal Wolsey, refers to the growing popularity of golf in England . </Li> <Li> 1527--The first commoner recorded as a golfer is Sir Robert Maule, described as playing on Barry Links, Angus (near the modern - day town of Carnoustie). </Li> <Li> 1552--The first recorded evidence of golf at St. Andrews, Fife . </Li> <Li> 1553--The Archbishop of St Andrews issues a decree giving the local populace the right to play golf on the links at St. Andrews . </Li> <Li> 1567--Mary, Queen of Scots, seen playing golf shortly after the death of her husband Lord Darnley, is the first known female golfer . </Li> <Li> 1589--Golf is banned in the Blackfriars Yard, Glasgow . This is the earliest reference to golf in the west of Scotland . </Li> <Li> 1592--The Royal Burgh of Edinburgh bans golfing at Leith on Sunday "in tyme of sermonis ." (Eng: sermons) </Li> <Li> 1618--Invention of the featherie ball . <Ul> <Li> King James VI of Scotland and I of England confirms the right of the populace to play golf on Sundays . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1621--First recorded reference to golf on the links of Dornoch (later Royal Dornoch), in the far north of Scotland . </Li> <Li> 1641--Charles I is playing golf at Leith when he learns of the Irish rebellion, marking the beginning of the English Civil War . He finishes his round . </Li> <Li> 1642--John Dickson receives a licence as ball - maker for Aberdeen . </Li> <Li> 1658--Golf is banned from the streets of Albany, New York - the first reference to golf in America . </Li> <Li> 1682--In the first recorded international golf match, the Duke of York and John Patersone of Scotland defeat two English noblemen in a match played on the links of Leith . <Ul> <Li> Andrew Dickson, carrying clubs for the Duke of York, is the first recorded caddie . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1687--The student diary of Thomas Kincaid includes his Thoughts on Golve, and contains the first instructions on playing golf and an explanation of how golf clubs are made . </Li> <Li> 1721--Earliest reference to golf on Glasgow Green, the first named course in the west of Scotland . </Li> <Li> 1724--"A solemn match of golf" between Alexander Elphinstone and Captain John Porteous becomes the first match reported in a newspaper . Elphinstone fights and wins a duel on the same ground in 1729 . </Li> <Li> 1735--The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh is formed . </Li> <Li> 1743--Thomas Mathison's epic The Goff is the first literary effort devoted to golf . </Li> <Li> 1744--The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is formed, playing at Leith links . It is the first golf club . <Ul> <Li> The Royal Burgh of Edinburgh pays for a Silver Cup to be awarded to the annual champion in an open competition played at Leith . John Rattray is the first champion . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1754--Golfers at St. Andrews purchase a Silver Cup for an open championship played on the Old Course . Bailie William Landale is the first champion . <Ul> <Li> The first codified Rules of Golf are published by the St. Andrews Golfers (later the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews). </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1759--Earliest reference to stroke play, at St. Andrews . Previously, all play was matchplay . </Li> <Li> 1761--The Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society of Edinburgh is formed . </Li> <Li> 1764--The competition for the Silver Club at Leith is restricted to members of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers . <Ul> <Li> The first four holes at St. Andrews are combined into two, reducing the round from twenty - two holes (11 out and in) to 18 (nine out and in). St. Andrews is the first 18 - hole golf course and sets the standard for future courses . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1766--The Blackheath Club in London becomes the first golf club formed outside Scotland . </Li> <Li> 1767--The score of 94 returned by James Durham at St. Andrews in the Silver Cup competition sets a record unbroken for 86 years . </Li> <Li> 1768--The Golf House at Leith is erected . It is the first golf clubhouse . </Li> <Li> 1773--Competition at St. Andrews is restricted to members of the Leith and St. Andrews societies . </Li> <Li> 1774--Thomas McMillan offers a Silver Cup for competition at Musselburgh, East Lothian . He wins the first championship . <Ul> <Li> The first part - time golf course professional (at the time also the greenkeeper) is hired, by the Edinburgh Burgess Society . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1780--The Society of Golfers at Aberdeen (later the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club) is formed . </Li> <Li> 1783--A Silver Club is offered for competition at Glasgow . </Li> <Li> 1786--The South Carolina Golf Club is formed in Charleston, the first golf club outside of the United Kingdom . <Ul> <Li> The Crail Golfing Society is formed . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1788--The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers requires members to wear club uniform when playing on the links . </Li> <Li> 1797--The Burntisland Golf Club is formed . <Ul> <Li> The town of St. Andrews sells the land containing the Old Course (known then as Pilmor Links), to Thomas Erskine for £ 805 . Erskine was required to preserve the course for golf . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1806--The St. Andrews Club chooses to elect its captains rather than award captaincy to the winner of the Silver Cup . Thus begins the tradition of the Captain "playing himself into office" by hitting a single shot before the start of the annual competition . </Li> <Li> 1810--Earliest recorded reference to a women's competition at Musselburgh . </Li> <Li> 1824--The Perth Golfing Society is formed, later Royal Perth (the first club so honoured). </Li> <Li> 1826--Hickory imported from America is used to make golf shafts . </Li> <Li> 1829--The Dum Dum Golfing Club, later Calcutta Golf Club (and later still Royal Calcutta) is formed . </Li> <Li> 1832--The North Berwick Club is founded, the first to include women in its activities, although they are not permitted to play in competitions . </Li> <Li> 1833--King William IV confers the distinction of "Royal" on the Perth Golfing Society; as Royal Perth, it is the first Club to hold the distinction . <Ul> <Li> The St. Andrews Golfers ban the stymie but rescind the ban one year later . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1834--William IV confers the title "Royal and Ancient" on the Golf Club at St. Andrews . </Li> <Li> 1836--The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers abandons the deteriorating Leith Links, moving to Musselburgh . <Ul> <Li> The longest drive ever recorded with a feathery ball, 361 yards, is achieved by Samuel Messieux at Elysian Fields . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1842--The Bombay Golfing Society (later Royal Bombay) is founded . </Li> <Li> 1844--Blackheath follows Leith in expanding its course from five to seven holes . North Berwick also had seven holes at the time, although the trend toward a standard eighteen had begun . </Li> <Li> 1848--Invention of the "guttie," the gutta - percha ball . It flies farther than the feathery and is much less expensive to make . It contributes greatly to the expansion of the game . </Li> <Li> 1868--The Bangalore Club is formed . </Li> </Ul> <Li> 1421--A Scottish regiment aiding the French against the English at the Siege of Baugé is introduced to the game of chole . Hugh Kennedy, Robert Stewart and John Smale, three of the identified players, are credited with introducing the game in Scotland . </Li> <Li> 1457--Golf, along with football, is banned by the Scots Parliament of James II to preserve the skills of archery . Golf is prohibited on Sundays because it has interfered with military training for the wars against the English . </Li> <Li> 1470--The ban on golf is reaffirmed by the Parliament of James III . </Li>

When was the first round of golf played