Oil Painting of Kolf by Aert van der Neer
source: Wikimedia Commons
author: Aert van der Neer
Description
A warm-colored oil painting depicts Dutch villagers skating and playing kolf on ice. Players can be seen taking turns, and several balls can be seen dotting the ice in the distance.
Date
Illustration: mid 17th century
Information
This oil painting by Dutch artist Aert van der Neer (1603–1677) depicts an afternoon of leisure and games on ice for a village in the Netherlands. Here, the sport kolf can be seen played by a few of the men in the foreground. In this sport, players took turns using a club to strike balls toward a target, such as a stake or a hole in the ground. It was often played on ice, as can be seen here. While kolf may have been related to ice hockey, it also may have contributed to the development and history of golf in Scotland.
Related Articles
History of Golf | Dutch Kolf/Kolven
Bohn, M. K. (2007). Money golf: 600 years of bettin’ on birdies. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books.
Graves, R. M., & Cornish, G. S. (2002). Classic golf hole design: Using the greatest holes as inspiration for modern course. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley & Sons.