Golf, as we understand it today, seems to have been an invention of the Scots at the beginning of the 15th century. The tough Highland Scots pounded the stones with sticks to put them into the holes made by the rabbits. The first written mention that refers to golf appears in the Act of the Scottish Parliament of March 6, 1457, and is its prohibition. The King of Scotland James II , involved in the War of the Roses By giving his support to the House of Lancaster against the House of York, he forbade his practice because his subjects preferred to play golf than continue with the tedious military practices.
That golf be completely condemned and prohibited. And that a couple of targets be placed in all the parish churches and shooting practiced every Sunday. In addition, we order that those caught practicing it be punished by local authorities or, failing that, by the King's officials.
The following kings, James III and James IV, reconfirmed the ban in parliamentary acts of 1471 and 1497, respectively. Everything would change with the signing of the Perpetual Peace Treaty , signed by James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England in 1502, ending an intermittent conflict between Scotland and England that had lasted two hundred years. With the need for a military-trained population gone, the ban was lifted and golf returned to occupy the leisure time of the Scots. Even the king became a regular in this game.
But looking back to Ancient Rome, we find a game called paganica which could be considered the origin of golf. With a curved wooden stick, a leather ball stuffed with wool or very tight feathers had to be hit, somewhat larger than the current ones, with the aim of bringing it closer or hitting a specific target (tree, rock...) or putting it into a hole. It is assumed that the Romans introduced it to the Roman province of Britania , center and south of the current island of Great Britain, and from there it would pass to Caledonia (Scotland).
The 1st century poet Marcus Valerius Martial quotes him in the Epigrams of him :
This ball (paganica) made up of tightly packed feathers, is less soft than a ball (follis) and less compact than the small ball (trigonica)
Sources:Encyclopedia Britannica, The Golf Professor, Golf Information,