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It should come as no surprise to find that the game of golf in Canada owes its establishment to the massive immigration of Scots during the 19th Century.
The game had been played in Scotland for well over 300 years by the time the word "golf" is first found in print in Canada. That was 1826, when the Montreal Herald ran a notice "To Scotsmen A few true sons of Scotia, eager to perpetuate the remembrance of her Customs have fixed upon the 25th December and the 1st January, for going to the Priests' Farm, to PLAY AT GOLF. Such of their Countrymen as choose to join them, will meet them before TEN O'Clock, A.M., at D. M'Arthur's INN, Hay-Market. Steps have been taken to have CLUBS provided."
Unfortunately, there is no record following up this invitation, so we may never know how many, if any, took up the offer. Likewise, there are many theories that golf was played earlier than 1826, but no proof has been found as unequivocal as this invitation.
The next time golf made it into print was 1854, when a young man from a merchant vessel came ashore at Quebec to practice his swing on the Plains of Abraham. That it was reported certainly indicates this was still unusual behaviour. While there may have been avid closet golfers throughout the young dominion, it undoubtedly was an uncommon occurrence.
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