[Neil Regan]

According to a book published in 1898

The Goede Vrouw of Mana-ha--ta
  At Home and in Society
     1609—1760
          BY
Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer

New York Charles Scribner’s Sons 1898
[/color]

Golf was played in Manhattan as early as 1659. Do any of you golf historians know more about this ? Is this the earliest record of golf in America ?

Backgammon was a favorite game among the early
settlers, and there is a minute in the town records re-
garding the arrest of some sailors, who were at play
in Jan Backus’s tavern, August 4, 1660, after the inn
should have been closed for the night. The “schout”
of the town also arrested people for “playing golf in
the streets,” and an ordinance was passed December 10,
1659, to prevent such a recurrence.

[Neil Regan]

Here is the ordinance. (from the Cornell University Library)

Some things never change.
Golf ... which causes great
damage to the windows of the Houses, and exposes
people to the danger of being wounded, ...[/color]

The fine was fl.25[/color].
Is this the first greens fee in America ?
(And how do costs compare now ?)
Were windows the first hazards ?

[Bill Gayne]

From Colonial Williamsburg. I have more on this info unfortunately it's at home.

1600s-1700s
Virginia death inventories from Northampton and Norfolk counties list “goff clubs, golfe sticks, balls” as items included in estates. Quantities in one Norfolk County inventory are large enough to suggest the deceased was a golf equipment retailer. In addition, it is likely that Scottish and Irish immigrants to the colonies brought their favorite recreation to the New World.  
1774 –1776
The last British colonial governor, John Murray, the Earl of Dunmore, was a Scot. Informal records indicate he played or practiced golf on the grounds of the Governor’s Palace in Williamsburg.

[Mike_Cirba]

Early records of "golf" in Manhattan are indicative of a vastly different game that what we know now.  It was, as the article indicates, a "street game", derived from the Dutch game "Kolven", played with a stick and a ball and involving a target, but also played often on ice.  It probably bore more relation to today's hockey than golf.

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