The first known rules of golf were drawn up in 1744 in Edinburgh for the world's first open golf competition at Leith by the Gentlemen Golfers of Edinburgh, who became The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. In the nineteenth century, the rules evolved as local clubs took the Edinburgh rules and adapted them for their own use. In 1897 the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews assumed oversight of the rules and in the same year published the first national set of rules. This book examines the history of the rules of golf from their first codification to the present day. It looks at the circumstances of the composition of the first rules, their scope, and afterlife.