Modern-day golf originated from a game played on the eastern coast of Scotland, in an area close to the royal capital of Edinburgh. Players would attempt to hit a pebble over sand dunes and around tracks using a bent stick or club. In an Act of Parliament, King James II (King of Scotland from 1437 until his death in 1460) banned citizens from playing golf and football on March 6, 1457, as it was a distraction from military training. He wanted Scotsmen to instead focus on perfecting archery. After several more golf bans throughout the 15th century and golf being lambasted as an unprofitable sport, restrictions on playing the game were removed with the Treaty of Glasgow coming into effect in 1502. That year, the game gained the royal seal of approval when King James IV of Scotland (1473 -1513) became the world’s first golfing monarch, overturning the ban from King James II. Thanks to this royal endorsement, the popularity of golf rapidly spread throughout Europe in the 16th century. King Charles I introduced the game to England; Mary Queen of Scots brought the game to France when she studied there. She had helpers carry her equipment; the term “caddie” derives from her French military aides, known as cadets (often the younger sons of the aristocracy).