Painting of Noblemen Playing Kolf by Hendrick Avercamp
source: Wikimedia Commons
author: Hendrick Avercamp (1585–1634)
Description
An oil painting depicts some Dutch noblemen playing kolf on ice while a few villagers watch. One man is preparing to strike the ball, his extended club clearly displaying its iron head and wooden shaft.
Date
Illustration: 1625
Information
This oil painting by Dutch artist Hendrick Avercamp (1585–1634) 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 noblemen 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.