The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-05-04
M E N, w o M E N
 A ND T HIN c s

t@olr had it's birth on the graSS-coNerCo sandy downs, or links" of the seaboard of Scotland, so had been told, and the Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia so holds; but I fear l got the wrong tip and that the usually reliable authority quoted is in error.
 The great trouble with having the his- toric instinct is that it is sure to land one in confusion if pains are taken to inves- tigate even the simplest incident, for sooner or later the historians will be found at variance with one another. This is why I am less dogmatic about any, thing than when I was in college.
 have had so many of my illusions de- stroyed just because when I got on the trace of a thing l have a passion for going to the bottom of it. Somehow, it was pleasing to me to associate golf as what was my disappointment to find that by some of the knowing ones it was dis covered by the Dutch It doesn't fit the case, and I wish l hadn't been so cu- rious.
 But there is one thing you can count on, and that is, l always give in this column the results of my studies whether they happen to be in accord with my previous beliefs or not at least try and be honest and hold an open mind. l may not happen to land on the truth, but rest assured I do not change the record in order to bolster up any assertion may wish to make palatable because of my own likeness for it.
 do not pretend to know the literature of golf, for about the fascinating game there has grown up quite a number of volumes which I have neither the time nor the disposition to make mine by serious reading. All that I set down here is at the command of the casual investigator who has a good reference library of his own or access to one and yet in the limited range of my reading I have been puzzled by the contradictory statements as to the origin, the name 9f the clubs and the rules of the game. Without going extensively into the origin of the game, golf Gin it's older forms golf, gouff, gowff), a game which probably derives it's name from the Ger
 man kobe, a club, in Dutch, kolf, which last is nearly in sound identical and might easily suggest Dutch origin and this is in keeping with the majority of authorities on the question who seem to think that the Dutch beat the Scots to it.
 A curious sidelight on it's origin comes from the fact that one reason the honor goes to the Dutch is because one of the most ancient and most interesting of the pictures in which the game is portrayed is the tailpiece to an illuminated Book ot Hours made al Bruges at the begin ning of the sixteenth century, the original of which is in that vast repository of information of all kinds, the British Mu- scum. The players, three in number have but one club apiece the heads being either of steel steel covered
 But more than this to establish that it was golf and not some other game is the fact that each one has his own sep- arate ball. and they are putting at a hole in the turf, and not as in most of the other pictures, where a game some what similar is played on the ice by putting at a stake. It is scarcely to be doubted that the game is of Dutch origin, the date of which went much further back than the illustration alluded to above.
 But if further confirmation be needed we can get 1t from an unusual source by dragging in the tariff as we know from an enactment of James VT then James of England), bearing date 16is, that aeconsderable importation of gole balls at that time took place from Hoi- land, and as thereby ma small quan- z'erly bout of his Hienes' kingdom of Scotland, he issues a royal prohibition. at once as wise economy of the na = tional moneys, and a protection to an
 infant /iustry,' all of which sounds
 nightly up-to-date. and that James was sponsor Tor "buy-a- a-home-movement.' | Perhaps you are curious to learn why
 the Scots are credited with the eams | The answer is easy. for while the early Dutchmen played golf painted golf. they did not write golf. It is uncertain at what date it was introduced on the sandy downs of Scotland, but as early as 145I the popularity of the game had already become so great as to seriously inter- fere with the more important pursuit of
 archery, a sport which could be turned into a weapon of defense in time of war It was a case of giving preference to "bulls-eyes" over tin cups, arrow. over balls
 It isn't strange then to read that al this 1ariy date the Scottish Parlamen. ,decreted and ordained that wap.nshaw- 1 ingis be halden be the Iordis and baronis spirituale and temporale, four times in the Zeir; and that the fute-ball and golf be utterly cryit doun and noch usit: i: and that the bowe- merkis be maid at ilN
 paroche kirk a pair of buttis. and schut- tin be usit ilk Sunday Fourteen years Afterwards May. 1iT it was judged necessary to pass another act anent wapenshawngs
 don't blame you for wanting to know what is the meaning of the strange word which closes the para graph abova, It stands for show or review of per sons under arms. formerly made at cer- tain times in every district. These meet | ings were not designed for military pur- poses, but only to show that the lie ses were properly provided with arms The name has been revived in some ararters of Great Britain. and applied to the pe- riodscal gatherings of the. volunteer corps of a more or less wide district for re
 view inspection. shooting competitions 1i1 r<~