ABSTRACT
This paper attempts a reminder that golf is a major social phenomenon and, as such, is open to meaningful interpretation by researchers in the social sciences and the humanities. Examples are developed from issues surrounding the creation of new golf courses, especially in the developing world; from cultural shifting which results in altered social patterning, and from literary accounts. A central point is that the human passion for golf is not only an interesting case for academic observation, but also the principal ingredient in the worldwide boom that is so central to the economic growth of the golf industry.
