your earliest golfing memories

for me, my first memory of golf was whilst visiting my grandparents in edinburgh, watching my grandpa pulling his trolley up the road to his club, coming back and having a bowl of baxters scotch broth with us.

my first golfing experience: when i was about 10, on holiday, said grandpa took me to a practice net and gave me a shot of his 7iron. he spent about forty five minutes with me patiently urging me not to knock the socks off it. he died a few months afterwards, and i didn't pick up a club again until i was 16, when i saw an advert in the post office a guy selling his old clubs for £30. my mum told our next door neighbour and he offered to spend half an hour on the range with me and loaned me a few clubs to see if i was interested. completely hooked, i picked up the £30 set the following week. i joined the local club who were offering juniors entry with no joining fee, and for half the rate due to it being the end of the summer - a grand total of £18. first round ever round was out in 64 back in 56. a couple of months later i got my first handicap of 23.

Caddying for Dad when I was about 7...taking a sneaky puff on his discarded cigarette and then trying not to choke

Cut down hickories and well hacked 65's on a championship course that was 200 yards from our house. 3 or 4 black and golden labradors in tow.
Aged about 4 years old.

My great uncle introduced me to the game, he was the closest I had to a grandad as a kid. We'd visit on a Sunday afternoon and I used to nag him to take me to his course so I could walk round and hit a few shots. That was at Kilmalcolm golf club in Scotland. I was hooked from then until I discovered women and booze when I was about 16/17.

Only experience with Golf until my late twenties was a school putting green and a Littlehampton pitch and putt when staying there on business.

Then a work colleague had the bright idea of absconding for an afternoon to Richmond Park and life has hot been the same since.

Very similar to Doons, except the course was at Eaglescliffe near Stockton on Tees, there were no dogs in tow, it was raining (no surprise there then) and both my Dad and my 'uncle' Mike were wearing the very flattering full waterproofs of the late 1950's.

That scenario happened quite a lot after that, but do also remember the first time I actually got the ball into the air.

Hunting for lost golf balls with my dad and brother on the fringes of the course he'd recently joined having retired from rugby and I later joined as a junior. Good times.

Earliest memory, summer evenings as a 4 year old walking the course with my dad whilst my mum was at work. Being in awe of how my dad could hit a little white ball so far with a stick. It never registered to me at the time I would become addicted to the game.

Earliest playing memory, as a 12 year old after being grounded for weeks and having to walk the course with my dad on Saturdays and Sundays whilst my mum was a work I was given the option by my dad to either try playing the game on those days with other juniors or continue being dragged round for being grounded. So I said fine anything better than standing around watching someone else play. He cut down a set of old Ben Sayers blades and invested in a ladies Slazenger driver and 3 wood, armed with an old Wilson TPA (ladies putter) I played my first game with another junior new to the game along with our fathers and I was hooked from the first tee. The following Monday my junor subs were paid by my dad and looking back being grounded was the best thing that happened to me in a sporting sense

1950's waterproofs~ when men could wear rubber and no one was shocked!

Earliest golfing memories.
1978. Some relatives were going to Scotland for a holiday and asked my wife and I if we would join them.
My Uncle and his then 14 year old son were golf mad. Not being a golfer or having my own clubs I hired right handed clubs at Pitlochrie and Blair Atholl golf courses. Utter frustration as I'm left handed. Finally found a course that had some left handed clubs for hire, Taymouth Castle. Never forget that first tee shot. Out of the middle and straight. From then on I was hooked. Thinking back, that shot was probably the beginning of the end of my marriage.
My cousins golf continued to improve, eventually becoming a successful European Tour player.

Earliest memory, In my back garded with a cut down 9 iron at the age of 3....but im told i was swinging the ELC plastic clubs and an old cut down hickory shafted wedge way before then. Around the age of 4 i was let loose on Allerton GC where my Dad and Grandad were members. that was 20 odd years ago and have pretty much played at every opportunity since then.

My first time on a golf course, with a set of Pinseeker irons (the old type blades), thought I would never be able to use my right hand ever again, hit that many balls thin thought my hands might fall off.

I must have been around 23 at the time and a bloke I worked with had a set of clubs and always tried to get finished early so he could go hit some balls. I tagged along one afternoon and he tried to teach me how to swing etc. I spent 30 minutes churning the turf up all around this ball, thinking what a stupid sport .... I then managed to connect and wow, it felt great watching the ball fly straight and high landing about 60-yards away. I connected with another 3 or 4 over the next half hour and was hooked. I went with him to practice over the next couple of weeks and then it was time for my first round, with a bunch of used, non-matching clubs. Well in excess of 100 but felt good

Going with a few pals to ask for caddy jobs at local golf club (posh). Told to "bu..er off" and didn't go back to a golf club for 30+ years!
Still eventually returned and love it! Very supportive of any junior activities at golf club!!!