Who invented golf? China takes a swing

HONG KONG: A Ming-era artefact, which opened for exhibit for the first time in Hong Kong on Wednesday, claims to establish that a variant of modern-day golf was first played in ancient China. But that claim is being met with scepticism by officials at the St Andrews Links in Scotland, which advertises itself as the “Home of Golf”.

The artefact – a painting titled The Autumn Banquet – captures a scene from a farewell banquet accorded to an officer of the Ming era, which extended from the 14th to the 17th Century. It shows courtiers playing a variety of leisure activities and games in an alfresco setting.

In one corner of the brushwork on paper are the images of two men playing a game that the Chinese knew as chuiwan (which means ‘hit ball’); it’s a ball game that bears a striking resemblance to modern-day golf. The two men hold clubs similar to modern-day golf clubs, and their objective — to hit the ball over an undulating landscape into a hole in the ground – pretty much sums up what Tiger Woods does for a living in the modern age.

Chuiwan, evidently, was hugely popular among noblemen and commoners alike, particularly in the the Song era (10th-11th C) and Jin era (12th-13th C), and there is recorded evidence of chuiwan tournaments in those days.

For instance, The Classic of Spheres, a 13th century manuscript written by The Old Man of Ning Zhi during the Yuan Dynasty records that at least two emperors — Huizong of the Song Dynasty and Zhangzong of the Jin Dynasty were fond of chuiwan, and that even children were known to play the game. 

The Autumn Banquet, and many other artefacts from ancient China, are now on display at the Heritage Museum in Hong Kong; the theme of the exhibition is “Ancient Pastimes”, and it showcases the leisure pursuits of ancient Chinese civilizations. There are still more exhibits that chronicle the place of sports in ancient China.

For instance, there’s a bronze mirror, dating back to the Song era, with a football game motif on it. And painted clay figures excavated from Shaanxi Province and dating back to the Tang era (7th-10th C) depict figures on horsebacks evidently playing a game much like modern-day polo.

However, Chinese claims on the origin of golf are being met with a healthy dose of scepticism half a world away, in St Andrews Links in Scotland, which claims to be the “home of golf”. When DNA asked for comments from the St Andrews Links Trust on the Chinese claim, a spokesman responded: “Research is conducted on stick-and-ball games around the world from time to time which attracts publicity. It has long been clear that there were many different variations of this rudimentary pastime but the game of golf as we know it today was first played at St Andrews. The Links are known around the world as the Home of Golf and attract many visiting golfers each year whose dream is to play here.”