Long before the wooden peg, golfers built their own tee from a pinch of wet sand. Here is what the early rules say about it, and where the peg really came from.

A leather case, a top hat of boiled feathers and a maker with a sore chest: the story of the ball that carried golf for centuries. We look at how it was made, who made it and why it gave way.

Golf grew up on windswept coastal ground, and its clothes grew up with it: wool, tweed, oiled cotton and, much later, membranes. Here is how golfers dressed for the rain and how it changed.

Before there were clubhouses, there were societies of gentlemen, a silver trophy and a tavern table. Here is what the record shows about the first golf clubs, and how the clubhouse became part of the game.

Who plays first from the tee, and why do golfers call it the honour? We trace the order of play from the 1744 Leith rules to the modern Rules of Golf and today’s ready golf.

Two partners, one ball and a shot each in turn: that is foursomes, and it is one of golf’s oldest and most demanding formats. Here is what we can say about where it comes from and why it is still played.

Nothing in nature says a round of golf should be 18 holes. It was a decision made at St Andrews in 1764, and it took a long time to become the rule everywhere else.

Long before anyone timed a round, golfers were expected to hold their tongues, keep still and let the other player have the course to himself. This is the real history of golf etiquette and pace of play, myths named as myths.

The pot bunker looks like a small thing, but its shape and its stacked-turf face come from wind, sheep and centuries of hard-won practice on links land. Here is where it came from, how it is built, and why golfers still respect it.

Golf was a walking game long before it had a rulebook, and the long walk beside a partner is still what many players love most about it. Here is the history behind that walk, and the myths we left out.