History
Although it is not generally known, the popular game of Woods was first invented
by some of the Hobbit children down in the Marish.
It appears that Jack Sandyditch and his sister Kitty, having been told the story of
'how Bullroarer Took (on a horse), charged the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram
in the battle of the Green Fields, and knocked their king Golfimbul's head clean off
with a wooden club. It sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a
rabbit-hole, and in this way the battle was won and the game of golf was invented
at the same time.' *
This history lesson inspired the children to emulate the deed and so Jack carved a
replica of the goblin's head and Kitty collected a couple of stout wooden clubs. The
ensuing attempts to hit the head down a nearby rabbit-hole attracted the
attention of several more children and soon there was quite a group running around
wildly bashing at the head with sticks.
That night one of the parents inquired as to the source of the many bruises his
children had acquired and when learning about the game sensibly banned the use of
the clubs.
Next day many of the children tried to continue the game by kicking the head, but
due to it's likeness to the goblin king, it wouldn't roll straight. At this point Jack
tried bowling the head along the ground at a nearby small white stone and was
startled by the way in which it curved and the degree of skill needed to get
anywhere near it. Realising that this was indeed something new and challenging, the
children set about carving their own wooden heads and within a few days the game
of Woods was well established in the Marish.
*The Hobbit pp25 by J R R Tolkien
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