This place is considered the “home of golf,” as the sport was practiced there as early as the early 15th century. Golf was becoming increasingly popular in Scotland until James II banned the game because he thought young men were playing too much golf instead of practicing archery. The ban was upheld by James III and remained in effect until 1502 when James IV became a golfer himself.
In 1552, Archbishop John Hamilton granted residents of St. Andrews the right to play on golf courses. In 1754, 22 noblemen, professors, and landowners founded the St. Andrews Golfer’s Society (it became the forerunner of The R&A).
When the Society went bankrupt in 1797, the St. Andrews City Council allowed rabbits to be raised on the golf course. Legal battles over the right to the courses between golfers and rabbit farmers lasted for twenty years and ended in 1821. The local landowner and golfer James Cheape of Strathtyrum bought the land and saved the golf course.
In 1764, a standard 18-hole golf course was established in St. Andrews, having been modified from 22 holes to 18.
