Lot 49
Golf
Two Spanish-language works relating to the beginnings of golf in Argentina
Auction: Books & Manuscripts | 01 October 2026 from 10am | Lots 1 to 78
Description
Asociación Argentina de Golf. Buenos Aires: Talleres Gráficos P. Ventriglia & Cia., 1927. First edition, 8vo, original red pebble-grain cloth lettered and decorated in gilt and blind, 123 pp., folding table, spine dust soiled and worn at head, internally clean, rare (no copies recorded in WorldCat);
Mar Del Plata Golf Club. Reglamento Del Golf, Sancionado por el Royal & Ancient Golf Club de St. Andrews. Septiembre 24 de 1912 (A regir desde Febrero 1 de 1913). Buenos Aires: [Monqaut & Bonthoux, 1912]. 18mo (10.6 x 6.7cm), original cloth, xxiii, [1], 61 pp., light spotting to initial and final leaves, occasional ink annotations, rare (no copies recorded in WorldCat) (2)
Footnote
Golf was introduced to Argentina in the late 19th century by British, Irish and Scottish railway engineers and executives. An ex-pat Scot, Valentin Scroggie [Valentine George Gilfillan Scroggie (1853-1924)], who is believed to have played the first recorded golf match in 1892 in San Martin, is considered the father of the sport in Argentina. Initially, there were only a few clubs in the Buenos Aires area, who played their own versions of the rules. In 1897, The River Plate Amateur Championship Executive was founded to organise an annual match play tournament for members of the various clubs. Mar del Plata Golf Club, ‘the Cathedral of Golf,’ was one of the first golf clubs in Argentina and was formally founded in 1900 by British workers. Membership was dominated by English-speaking ex-pats; however, the 1912 rulebook, presumably a private publication for members, was aimed at the growing community of Spanish-speaking Argentinian players, translating the official rules of the Royal and Ancient Club of St. Andrews into their native language, along with recommendations for local rules, golf etiquette, terms and definitions, and a match play handicap table. In 1926, the Argentinian golf clubs met to formalise a national association with a board of directors, and official regulations. The 1927 publication was the first official publication of the Argentine Golf Association. It includes a list of member clubs, details of the board of directors, regulations and the official rules of golf, in Spanish, approved by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (these were approved by the board in September of 1926, but were only legally constituted in November 1927). It also includes the results of the Argentine championships of 1926 and 1927, in both the men's and women's categories, as well as the results of the ‘Argentinians vs. Foreigners’ tournaments. Many of the players were of English, Irish, or Scottish origin, including Valentin Scroggie.