History · SCOTLAND · KING JAMES II

In 1457, Scotland made golf illegal.

In 1457 King James II's Parliament banned football and golf so that Scotsmen would practise archery for the wars with England. The ban was passed again in 1471 and 1491. In 1502, the year of the peace treaty with England, King James IV bought golf clubs from a bow maker in Perth.

The one to remember

His golf clubs came from a bow maker.

Facts and sources

  • The Act of 6 March 1457 (1458 in today's calendar) ordered that football and golf "be utterly cried down and not used", and that every parish church have a pair of archery butts with shooting every Sunday.
  • A man who stayed away from the butts paid at least two pence, given to those who came to the bow marks, for drink.
  • The ban was passed again in 1471, in an act about resisting "the shot of England", and in 1491, when golf was listed among "unprofitable sports".
  • In 1502 Scotland and England agreed the Treaty of Perpetual Peace.
  • On 21 September 1502 the Lord High Treasurer paid 14 shillings "to the bowar of Sanct Johnestoun for clubbes": the King's clubs came from a bow maker in Perth, then called St John's Town.

Illustration: the burgh, its kirk and river, the archery butts, the golfers, the herald, the pennies, the treaty sheet, the King's round and the bow maker's workshop are drawn to tell the story, not reconstructed; early clubs and balls are shown as long wooden clubs and small pale balls.

Sources

  1. Concerning wappenschaws (RPS 1458/3/7), the Act of 6 March 1457/8 · The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, University of St Andrews checked 11 October 2026
  2. Act of the parliament of 6 May 1471 (RPS 1471/5/6) · The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, University of St Andrews checked 11 October 2026
  3. Act of the parliament of 18 May 1491 (RPS 1491/4/17) · The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, University of St Andrews checked 11 October 2026
  4. Early moments in Scottish golf · National Library of Scotland checked 11 October 2026
  5. Flodden, 1513: Scotland's relations with England · Scottish Archives for Schools (National Records of Scotland) checked 11 October 2026
  6. 1502 Perth: The Royal Golfer · Scottish Golf History checked 11 October 2026

The narration is AI-generated. Sources last checked 11 October 2026.

Script

In 1457, Scotland made golf illegal. King James the Second wanted his men practicing archery for the wars with England, and golf and football kept getting in the way. His Parliament ordered that football and golf be utterly cried down and not used. Every parish was to set up a pair of archery targets, and men were to shoot on Sundays. A man who stayed away paid at least two pennies, and the money bought drink for the archers who turned up. The ban had to be passed again in 1471, and again in 1491. In 1502, Scotland signed a peace treaty with England. That same year, King James the Fourth bought himself a set of golf clubs. He bought them from a bow maker in Perth.