1893 Harford Courant - First Reference to Golf

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

I was digging through the Hartford Courant historical archives and this is the first reference I can find to golf. Thanks to James Morgan for having the computer aptitude to allow to post this.

[Dan Kelly]

In case anyone is assembling a book of golf quotations (say, there's an idea!), it surely must include this (copy/paste now):

"Humor has it that golf is to become popular. It has already been adopted by some very wealthy people, but as it requires a servant to each player to carry the implements of the game, it is not likely to become very common." -- Hartford Courant, 8/1/1893

------------- By the way: What's a "gilly"?

[Dan Kelly]

Wikipedia to the rescue:

Ghillie or gillie is a Scottish dialect term that refers to a man or a boy who acts as an attendant on a fishing or a hunting expedition. In origin it referred especially to someone who attended on his employer or guests.

A ghillie may also serve as a gamekeeper employed by a landowner to prevent poaching on his lands, control unwelcome predators and monitor the health of the wildlife.