The origin of the game of golf is obscure.  The Romans played a similar game with club-like branches and feather filled balls.  The Dutch practiced a game on frozen dikes, according to illustrated literature from the turn of the 15th century.  Golf was banned in Scotland in 1457 because it took too much time from archery practice, which was necessary for the defence of the country.  The Scots did not obey this ban and continued playing their golf.  The oldest golf course in the world, St. Andrews in Scotland, was already in use in the 16th century.

The first British Open was held in Prestwick, Scotland in 1860.  The Royal Montgomery Club in Canada was the first to be established in North America in 1873 and the St Andrew's Club is among the oldest in the USA, established in 1888 in Yonkers.

The British and the Scots have kept records of the game's history and claim to be its nations of origin.  The Icelanders have played the game since the thirties.  The first golf clubs established here were The Golf Club of Iceland in 1934 and the G.C. of the Westman Islands in 1938.  The Icelandic Golf Association was established in 1942 and since then the clubs have increased in number.  Now there are about 72 member clubs.