Golf and Tennis Were Banned to Save Archery
Several sports that have become international institutions and staples were actually banned numerous times from play in England and Scotland, not due to any moral objection but because the kings needed all men able to practice with longbows.
Longbow archery was an incredibly useful military ability in England from the late 13th century until the 16th, when guns have replaced it, but it requires extensive practice to master, which could not be fulfilled unless all men practiced regularly. The English kings, starting from John and throughout Henry VIII, have mandated that every able man practice at least once a week, usually on Sundays, after attending church, and forbade other games entirely. The sport of cambuca (an early form of golf), according to Edward III, was a distraction from the sport of longbow archery, which was therefore banned in the 14th century. Similarly, he banned the game of quoits for the same reason, and his Scottish counterpart James II in the 15th banned football and golf (the latter being a popular game, apparently, despite earlier restrictions). The 14th-century ban on golf did not mention the sport by name, but was presumably a result of its popularity and the time that it claimed, as its 15th-century counterpart did specifically name golf.
This is an intriguing look at the restrictions of the past, one which demonstrates that behind every seemingly capricious ban by the government (or in this case, the king) there is often a purpose, even if it only existed in the minds of the people who enforced it. The reason for these bans were indeed a response to a very real threat to England – its national security, which was threatened when potential soldiers wasted their time at popular games rather than practicing their longbows.
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