About the Wyoming County Geo-Trail:
This geotrail consists of 12 caches hidden throughout Wyoming County and is designed to delight and entertain you while showcasing the many beautiful, interesting and historic things Wyoming County offers. To complete the trail and claim glorious victory, you should:
- Find at least 10 of the 12 caches
- Scribble down the unique code word you find in each cache
- Visit the Wyoming County Tourism website to enter the code word with its corresponding cache
- If you have 10 code words correct, sit back, relax and wait to get your limited edition/super collectible WyCoGT wooden nickel
- Brag to all your friends about your geo-awesomeness
About this cache:
With Wyoming County’s rolling hills and beautiful scenery, it’s no wonder golfers love playing here. But did you know the origins of golf as we know it today can be traced back to 15th-century Scotland?
The first written record of golf occurred in 1457, when King James II of Scotland banished the game because he felt it distracted his people from learning the finer points of archery. However, in 1502, King James IV of Scotland lifted the ban after he himself became an avid fan of the game. One of the oldest courses in the world is the Old Course at St. Andrews, a place that is not only a popular course to play, but also considered the “home of golf” and a pilgrimage site for history buffs and golf enthusiasts.
In the United States, settlers at Fort Orange, near Albany, New York, recorded the first round of golf in December 1650. Golf was played by Dutch settlers all year around, and in the winter it was played on ice instead of in a field but with the same rules.
Some more historically fun golf facts:
- Musselburgh Links in East Lothian, Scotland was established in 1672 and is the oldest golf course in the world according to Guinness World Records.
- The earliest golf courses were 22 holes, before being standardized to 18 in 1764.
- The South Carolina Golf Club was one of the first golf clubs, established in 1787.
- The world's oldest golf tournament is The Open Championship, which was first played on October, 17 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland.
- Delegates from 7 clubs met in New York City in 1894 to form United States Golf Association and by 1910 there were 367 clubs. Today there are nearly 11,000 clubs in the US.
- Today, Wyoming County is home to 11 golf courses varying from 18-hole to 9-hole – and even a couple putt-putt courses!
An immense thank you to Crys71 for placing this cache.
Fun fine print:
No night caching is allowed for this hide! All final caches are 30 caliber ammo cans or larger. Permission was given to place this cache by the land owner / manager. Please respect their property by leaving no trace, practicing Cache-In-Trash-Out and replacing the cache better than you found it. Enjoy!
