They Played Golf in ... Egypt?

Color me confused, but yeah, according to this article anyway, it's possible that references to a form of golf have been discovered in Egyptian hieroglyphs. I grew up thinking that golf originated in Scotland, and of course the form we currently play is its direct descendant, but I did hear years ago that the Chinese claim golf actually came from them, in the form of an ancient game called "chui wan", which means literally, "striking small ball" (also referenced in the above linked article).

Heck, according to this article on Wikipedia, "some historians trace the sport back to the Roman game of paganica, in which participants used a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball. One theory asserts that paganica spread throughout Europe as the Romans conquered most of the continent, during the first century B.C., and eventually evolved into the modern game."

I guess the point is, the game of golf isn't really unique in its form, and it's not surprising that other bored souls would have thought to hit something with a stick, be it a rock or a ball or whatever, and knock it across a field at various points in human history. I mean heck, anyone out there ever played kick the can? And given the human predication for competition, it's no surprise that someone would eventually turn it into a game of sorts by doing the obvious and giving the object a destination.

According to the same Wikipedia article above, the most widely accepted account is that "the modern game originated in Scotland around the 12th century, with shepherds knocking stones into rabbit holes on the current site of the Old Course at St Andrews."

I wonder if King Tut had the same problem with casting as me...?