In 1955 I was staying with my Aunt & Uncle in Scotland prior to attending boarding school. Whilst exploring a garden shed, I found some hickory shafted clubs and small balls with rectangular dimples. On inquiry, my Uncle explained the clubs were for playing golf which consisted of hitting the small ball into a hole some distance away.
He demonstrated the action by hitting a ball into a neighbouring field, and informed me that good players were supposed to play around courses in a certain number of strokes determined by the degree of difficulty of the course. I spent the rest of the day attempting to copy him, which resulted in large lumps being taken out of the lawn until I was banished to an adjoining field.
That was how I became hooked on golf, an addiction which persists to this day despite all my attempts, conscious & unconscious, to overcome it by becoming good enough to play around a variety of courses in the designated number of strokes, preferably also getting a hole in one to demonstrate my superior skill, and therefore having no further need to play the game.
For some books on the early days of golf see Early days of golf
For some prints of the early days of golf see Early golf prints
For a good history of golf & golf equipment see http://www.golfeurope.com/almanac/history/
