With the Masters Tournament coming to a close, golf’s biggest annual tournament is now over. Rory McIlroy won back-to-back Masters this year, and fans stayed glued through 72-holes to see if he would be repeating his win or if the title would be handed off to another golfer.
Golf started long before the Masters began. The Dutch first played a version of golf in the late thirteenth century, however, golf was banned in the mid-1300s. But when the Dutch settlers arrived in the Western Hemisphere in 1650, they resumed playing the sport.
The modern game of golf is generally credited to Scotland. They developed the first rules in 1744, by The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. They created some of the rules we know today, such as having a tee on the ground and keeping your ball throughout all your strokes at the hole.
The 18-hole game was also created by Scotland. The original course consisted of eleven holes, with a golfer going through the course once and playing it backwards for a total of 22 holes. But the golfers at the club decided that two of the holes were too short for actual play and cut them out, reducing the total number of holes to nine and a full course to 18 holes.
When Queen Victoria began visiting Scotland in the 1850s, transport between England and Scotland improved significantly. Golf spread to England and to other parts of the British empire over time. The United States started around the same time independently, starting clubs in the 1880s and growing to 267 total clubs in the nation by 1910. During this time, they also founded the United States Golf Association. The Roaring Twenties brought on a boom in golf’s popularity. However, expansion of the sport paused due to the Great Depression. It eventually resumed and has continued to grow since.
At Saint Francis, the Lancers have excelled since the West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL) began their golf competition. The team has won 21 varsity championships, with the most recent being last year, in 2025. They rank second in the history of WCAL, behind our rival Bellarmine College Preparatory. They have also accompanied these championships with three wins in the Central Coast Section (CCS), with the most recent win having been in 2016.
This year, the Boys’ Varsity Golf Team is anchored by seven seniors. The three juniors, Luke Coyle, Matteo Gemmel, and Lucas Houtzer will look to learn and bring balance to the team in preparation for their last year. This year, the Lancers stand at 6-3 in league play, currently ranking fourth in the WCAL.
The Lancers have six more matches remaining before they enter the WCAL championship on April 27, and CCS Finals begin May 12. We’re excited to see what the Lancers can manage in the second half of the season and if they can bring home back-to-back titles!
