American Golf Culture: Social Sustainability

Cardinal Newman High School

William Carlson

Dr. Maryanne Berry

AP Seminar

November, 2023

Golf has been played in varying social spheres throughout its over six hundred-year history. It has spread from Holland to Scotland, to England, to America, and now throughout the world and has transformed within every new culture it is introduced to. It is played by different people in different ways; some of which are more sustainable than others. Sustainability is determined by multiple factors that intertwine and affect each other to formulate the overall success of the golfing landscape. Economic stability, environmental impact, and social relevance are all key factors in sustaining a healthy golf culture. While all of the factors are important and the success or failure of one of them affects the others, the social aspect has the biggest impact on golf as a whole. Who is playing golf, who is allowed to play, and people’s outlook on the game determine if and how the game will exist in society.

The game was brought to the United States from Great Britain during the late 1800s. But, even before golf left the old world, its centuries-old traditions had already begun to be modified. Andrew Lang, a nineteenth-century Scottish writer whose main focus was Scottish tradition and culture, wrote extensively on the origins and merits of golf. In an article for the North American Review, he wrote about how golf in America and golf in England differed from its Scottish heritage. The most likely origins of the game we know today were brought to Scotland by Dutch merchants who played the game while their ships were in Scottish ports. It caught on amongst the Scots and for a majority of its history remained a recreational game of the people until it grew in popularity among English high society in the 1700s (Lang, 1899). Many golf customs accepted as facts today were integrated during this era including scorecards, handicaps, and the very idea that golf was a game of the upper class. While these changes were being made in places where golf had recently arrived, in Scotland the traditions and customs persisted and continue to do so to this day. As said by Lang; “The Scots plays in the ancestral spirit of the game (Lang, 1899, p142)”.

When golf was introduced to the United States in the late 1800s, the newer English form of the game was utilized. This is likely because only wealthy travelers had the means to bring golf equipment on the journey across the Atlantic. At the same time as golf’s arrival, the American Country Club was gaining popularity amongst the upper classes of Gilded Age America. Golf was added to preexisting country clubs which already offered other sports such as tennis, polo, and horseback riding. These country clubs had already developed a culture of their own, one of exclusivity and exclusion of minority groups such as African Americans and Jews. (Guttmann, 2000) These ideals were combined with the social norms that had developed in English golf which resembled the courtly behavior of the English ruling class, to create the American golf culture we know today. America as a young democracy had not yet developed a court culture, but it was imported from Britain through golf. (Varner, 2000) Golf became labeled as a gentlemen’s game, which may have been seen as a positive because it influences respect and civility among players. It could also be a negative due to its snobbery and uninviting character to people new to the game. Regardless of opinion, golf has created its own culture in America, as said by Monica Varner in her study of golf conduct; “...American golfers set themselves apart from other social classes in an essentially class-less society. The “golfer” signified membership in the upper social class”(Varner, 2000, p7). This culture persists to this day, especially within private clubs. However, movements are being made to reduce the extent of the old customs to make golf more attractive to younger generations.

When golf began to mature in America, it continued to change and develop its characteristics along with those it inherited from the old world. In Scotland, golf courses originated on public land that was open to the use of the townspeople. Golf clubs didn’t own the land, they were groups who played together on the course, and there would often be various clubs playing over the same golf course. Due to this, these courses were very accessible, and although as golf modernized and courses began to move to private land where golfers would be required to pay greens fees to keep the course running, the accessibility of the game remained. Alister MacKenzie, on of golf’s greatest golf architects, wrote for Golf Illustrated that in 1903, the annual dues a golfer paid to have access to the Machrihanish Golf Links for an entire year were the equivalent of only two dollars, about sixty-four dollars today. (MacKenzie, 1933) This accessibility remains today, with some courses going as far as only having an honesty box for visiting golfers to pay for their round. The courses, including the private clubs, are also very welcoming to visitors, honored at the fact that people are coming to visit their course. This relaxed character has allowed golf to stay integrated into Scottish society, and Americans visiting Scotland have remarked, “Seemingly every small town you pass through has a golf course that serves as the social center of the community” (Hartsell, 2021). This social and business structure of golf has withstood the test of time and will likely continue long into the future. The courses are natural and lightly manicured to preserve the landscape and provide reasonable green fees. The accessibility attracts enough golfers to play and therefore support the club. Nobody is necessarily making money off the course, but everyone is benefiting from it. 

American golf today has developed a very different social and economic system. Many courses have been developed as a business venture to generate profit as a financial investment. This is often done by building golf courses in housing developments to sell homesites for a higher price or developing a course as an amenity of a resort. This process creates a competitive market in which money is poured in to improve the superficial physical quality of the golf course, to allow higher fees to be charged. This method can be successful in the short run, but eventually, the golfers will be forced out of many courses, and the courses will fail economically because of it. One location with this extensive golf development is Algarve, Portugal. The development in the region has prompted studies on the sustainability of the development to be conducted. (University of Algarve, 2010) City-owned municipal courses have been introduced to combat the golf industry and provide more accessible golf to the public. But, these courses often struggle for the same reasons; expensive green fees, putting too much money into course maintenance, and a lack of interest from the public. 

Accessibility to the general public is key to the survival of golf courses that don’t have robust membership funding behind them. The community has to be interested and involved in the golf course and to achieve this the course must be inviting on all levels. A study by the University of Michigan aimed towards finding sustainable practices in the golf course industry suggested integrating recycled water systems, renewable energy, short courses for beginner golfers, walking paths, and hosting community events and more, as ways golf courses can function more sustainably in modern society. Golf is an ancient game that has lasted centuries thanks to people’s love of the sport. To keep it thriving for centuries more for people to enjoy, the public must be recognized and be the focus for the future of American golf.