“Kolf” Club
In 1978 representatives of the Western Golf Association came to Vancouver to visit their Evans Scholars in school in BC at that time. The group included Mac McGuigan, the Educational Director, Jim Moore, Mac’s assistant, Marshall Dann, the financial director; and John Hanna, chairman of the WGA scholarship committee. To show their friendship and appreciation towards Jock Mckinnon, the Capilano G&CC head professional, the WGA officials presented Jock with a very unusal golf club – a kolf club.
When the BC Golf Museum opened in 1989 the Capilano G&CC donated Jock’s club to the new museum. No one knew the origins of the club.
In the past five years researchers in Holland and Belgium have been researching the early beginnings of old stick and ball games. Geert Nijs has published two excellent informative volumes on the subject – “Games for Kings & Commoners- Colf, Crosse, Golf Mail” and “Choule – The Non-royal but most Ancient Game of Crosse”. The Museum recently contacted Geert for his opinion on the history of the Museum “kolven club”.
“The new acquisition for the museum is indeed a c.1900 kolf club. The club was used in the short indoor game of kolf, the successor of the long colf game.
Your club is called a ‘sajet’ kliek (from the Scottish word cleek), a light weight iron headed club to be used in the kolf game with a sajet ball, a soft woolen ball.”
The Museum is now planning an exhibit featuring our unique club. The exhibit will illustrate the research to date that shows the relationship of Kolf and Colf to the beginnings of Golf.