Oil Painting of Ice Games by Aert van der Neer
source: Wikimedia Commons
author: Aert van der Neer
Description
A cool-colored oil painting depicts Dutch villagers playing on ice. A few men in the foreground can be seen playing kolf, while others skate and sled around on the ice.
Date
Illustration: c. 1642
Information
This oil painting by Dutch artist Aert van der Neer (1603–1677) depicts inhabitants of a village in the Netherlands playing on a frozen body of water. 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.
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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.