Codified in Scotland in 1754 by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the sport has various origins whose game mail. It was imported and the Netherlands where it was practiced under the name "colf" from the thirteenth century. We note, however, thanks to recent research, a similar game was played in China in the eleventh century.
The course takes its rise in the second half of the nineteenth century with the arrival of professionalism and private clubs in Scotland and England, where in 1860 established the first British Open played by professional and at the beginning of twentieth century. This development continued during the First World War sees redefine the world rankings, reaching the Americans to end the hegemony of the British. After the Second World War, golf sees the arrival of other nations like South Africa, Germany, Spain, South Korea, Japan or Australia and globalizing at the end of twentieth century. There are 2003 more than 60 million practitioners worldwide.
This sport is widely practiced among women, but its recognition is still lower. Today, unlike tennis, women's golf is suffering from a very unequal treatment in the media plan and financial.
On October 9, 2009, golf is once again an Olympic sport that will figure in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
