29/07/10
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Rare and unique golfing artefacts charting the social history of the game in Scotland are attracting considerable interest at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh – including the earliest known rules of golf and the first printed book devoted entirely to the game.
A Swing Through Time exhibition was launched to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Open Golf Championship in St Andrews, and showcases some of the most iconic items in the history of the game. Over 200 items are on display, including letters, diaries, photographs, account books, portraits, trophies, written club records and museum artefacts.
The exhibition – which was recently visited by none other than Sir Sean Connery – features items from as far back as the 15th century, highlighting the significant changes that altered the course of the game and the influences which guided its destiny, turning it into the game we know and love today.
Amongst the many golfing gems are the earliest known written rules drawn up in 1744 by the world’s oldest golf club, The Company of Gentlemen Golfers, as well as the club’s first ever minute book and the silver golf club donated by Edinburgh Town Council as a prize for its competition at the world-famous Leith Links.
Other highlights include The Goff, Thomas Mathieson’s mock-heroic poem of 1743 which is also the first printed book devoted entirely to the game, and Thomas Kincaid’s Diary 1687-1688, which gives detailed instructions on how the game should be played, analysing his golf swing and describing an early handicapping system.
The National Library of Scotland’s Olive Geddes, curator of A Swing Through Time, said the exhibition is proving to be a real hit with golf enthusiasts and non-golfers alike. She added: “It is fantastic to be able to bring together, for the first time, some of the most important items relating to the formation and development of the game in Scotland. The origins of golf are a matter of mystery and controversy and only by piecing together the evidence of early documents can we gain a true insight into the earliest ages of the sport.
“The exhibition tells the story of golf over 500 years from its roots as a frivolous pastime, frowned upon by the authorities as dangerous and a nuisance, banned by both Parliament and the Kirk, through to its growing acceptance among the nobility and its popularity among the wider population.
“Whether you are a golf professional, just learning the ropes or simply keen to find out more about the birthplace of the game, don’t miss the opportunity to view one of the most enthralling exhibitions on the much-loved game.”
Additional exhibition items include the Golf Match Record Books of Frederick Guthrie Tait 1886-1900, one of the most gifted and charismatic amateur golfers of the late Victorian age; A Few Rambling Remarks on Golf by Robert Chambers in 1862, which features a short history of the game and instructions and drawings on best play; and a promotion from a railway company brochure entitled A Week-End Golf at Cruden Bay for 7 Guineas all-in promoting the idea of a golfing holiday in Scotland in 1932 being ‘heaven on earth’ to the overworked English businessman.
Visitors can also view the Act of Parliament of 1457 banning golf and football in favour of archery practise from the National Archives of Scotland; the Musselburgh Cup of 1774 provided by the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club; a Henry Philp golf club of the early 19th century on loan from the British Golf Museum as well as some of the most important golfing portraits from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, including David Allan’s portrait of William Inglis on Leith Links, 1787.
A Swing Through Time exhibition is open to the public until Sunday, 14 November, at the National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. Entry is free.
For further information log onto www.nls.uk