The game of golf is often associated with 15^th Century Scotland, where the first written record of the game is from 1457. It is believed that King James II banned the game in 1457, because he felt hat the game was distracting people from the practice of archery. It is believed that the name, “golf” derived from Middle Dutch “colf” or “clove”.

In the Oriental part of the world, however, it is believed that Asia had been the forerunner of golf in the ancient times, where, an ancient form of game using clubs and a ball, similar to modern day golf was played in China. Chinese historians are of the opinion that the history of golf dates back to 943 A.D, during the reign of the Song Dynasty. According to the writings of Wei Tai from the Song Dynasty, the ancient precursor of modern golf was called “Chuiwan”, where “chui” means ‘hitting’ and “wan” means “a small ball”, in which a small ball had to be driven with the help of a stick into the holes present on the ground.

Before being called “Chuiwan”, the game was also known as “Buda” (618-907 A.D) and was as popular as polo. Both “Buda” as well as”Chuiwan” were popularly played at leisure by ordinary people and palace maids during the Hanshi festival. Chinese professor Ling Hongling claims that “Chuiwan” was taken to Europe by the Mongolians in the 12^th and 13^th Centuries.

Golf became popular in modern Asia again in the colonial times, when the British colonized most of Asia, and introduced the modern game of golf. The first and the oldest golf club in Asia, the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, located in Kolkata, was established in 1829. It attained the stature of a mainstream sport only in the late 20^th Century. Since then, hundreds of golf courses have been designed and established all over Asia and the popularity of the game among the Asians, especially among the Japanese, South Koreans, Chinese and Indians have surged.

In China, the number of golf courses has tripled within a decade’s span, whereas Japan has emerged to be the sixth country of the world where golf is a popular sport. Researches show that by 2020, more than 23.3 million people all over Asia are playing golf. Not just among men and children, golf surges as a popular sport among women as well. This is because:

1. Urbanization and Economic Development: The colonial times gave rise to a middle-class economy in Asia, particularly in countries like Japan, China, Singapore and South Korea where people have a disposable income growing with time. With growth of economy, the middle class are climbing the social ladder, and are engaging in golf which is often considered to be a game of prestige.

2. Corporate Sponsorship: Golf is a game that enhances business relations among successful corporates. Thus, corporate partnerships and sponsorships have supported golf, leading to the development of infrastructure that golf requires.
3. Support from Government: The governments of Asian countries like China, Japan and South Korea have been instrumental in extending support to golf by organizing international golf tournaments and developing the infrastructure of golf courses and driving range.
4. Development of Golf Tourism: Golf Tourism plays a major role in the growing popularity of golf among Asians. For example- Sentosa Golf Club (Singapore), Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (Malaysia) and other such popular golf clubs organize prestigious tournaments like HSBC Championship, Asian Tour Open etc. Thus, golf courses like these attract a lot of people to play in these courses. The cost of playing golf in countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, etc is cheap, thereby inviting many tourists to play in the beautifully located and designed golf courses located in these countries.
5. Golf Academies: Asian countries are taking golf lessons with utmost seriousness. India, China, Japan, South Korea and other Asian countries have developed properly built junior training programs that are nurturing young golfers to learn golf skills and practice golf on a regular basis under the guidance of able coaches and using modern teaching techniques and the implementation of training using various technologies and AI. These help the junior golfers reach heights of success and compete better at the international level.

Despite all the positivity, Asian golf also faces a lot of challenges like scarcity of land due to dense population, lack of sustainable practices, etc. However, these challenges are expected to pave way for innovations in the field of golf. Professionals believe that golfers of Asia have a bright future lying ahead of them. Asian countries are trying to make the game of golf popular and mainstream among every strata of the society which is likely to have more people experience the joys of golf and turn the game into a cultural phenomenon.