A golf society, or golfing society, is a social club, whose members are dedicated to playing the sport of golf. Unlike a golf club, a golf society does not own a golf course, instead playing on the golf courses owned by one or more golf clubs. Golf societies may form for a number of reasons, including to provide opportunities for members to play more than one course, or to avoid the associated overheads of managing a golf course.

History

Golf societies arguably pre-date the course owning golf clubs, for in the early days of golf in Scotland it was played on common land such as at

Bruntsfield Bruntsfield is a largely residential area around Bruntsfield Place in Southern Edinburgh, Scotland. In feudal times, it fell within the barony of Colinton. Location Bruntsfield Place is less than south on the A702 main road from the West e ...

, Leith and

Musselburgh Links Musselburgh Links, The Old Golf Course in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, is generally accepted as being one of the oldest golf courses in the world. The course is not to be confused with The Royal Musselburgh Golf Club or the Levenhall Li ...

, where the societies that played golf upon the land had no prescriptive right to do so. Such prescriptive rights would not be introduced until the 17th Century.

The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh is a Scottish golf club, which holds claim to be the oldest golfing society in the world, with references to it being instituted in 1735 dating from 1834. The club enjoys a parkland course located ...

makes claim to be the oldest golf society in the world. They originally met at "various hostelries", before settling on the Golfers Tavern on the

Bruntsfield links Bruntsfield Links is of open parkland in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, immediately to the south-west of the adjoining Meadows. Unlike The Meadows, which formerly contained a loch drained by the end of the 18th century, Bruntsfield Links has always ...

in Edinburgh. As time went by they found themselves playing more frequently at

. By 1895 they had become a more traditional golf club, purchasing a course of their own at Barton where they continue to play to this day. Other golf societies have since cropped up in Scotland, and across the rest of the world.

References

Sports culture Sports clubs {{Golf-stub