Manic Monday | It's time to register for Kolf....ehhem...Golf

I am always fascinated about the origin of things. Things that, despite a world of change and advancing technology, we continue to do today in this the “modern world”.

For example, during the planning for our upcoming  26th Annual TOTA Golf Tournament the question arose as to how and when the game of golf began. Naturally the immediate response from most referenced a Scottish origin however after further investigation it actually looks to be the Dutch who may be responsible.

Records show that one of the first known games of golf (known for years as "kolf") took place in the Netherlands in 1297, but was referenced even earlier by a Dutch poet in 1261. This stick and ball game continued to be played by the Dutchmen well into the 13 century and was, in fact, a year round activity using fields in the warm months and actually playing on ice in the winter ...maybe that’s why golf enthusiasts and hockey players are so often aligned!

It did, of course, finally make its way to Scotland where the first documented record of the game was dated 1457 and where the first written instructions appeared in and around 1644 with the oldest surviving "rules" dating back to 1744.

Interestingly, and somewhat surprisingly, in many of the early decades, golf was frequently banned by law and definitely never played on Sundays....oh how far we have come...

All of this history is just our way of saying "why not live on the wild side and take part in an often illicit and centuries old tradition" by joining us August 29th for our 26th TOTA Golf Tournament hosted at Sun Peaks Golf and Country Club.

Registration opens Friday July 7.  Stay tuned for more details!

Glenn Mandziuk, TOTA President & CEO