ABSTRACT

This chapter provides insights into key factors that define the sport of golf as a product of society and the economy, with a focus on implications on golf consumption. Factors unique to the business of golf are identified that give rise to consideration of issues of cultures and governance. The place of culture is of central importance to the chapter, as individual experiences are evaluated as fundamentally affected by cultural factors embedded in the production, distribution and consumption of golf. Golf is viewed as a cultural product of nineteenth-century British society, transformed by twentieth- and twenty-first-century economic activity into a discrete global industry and business by liberal capitalism. The legacy and tensions created by these social and economic influences are placed in what may be considered modern and postmodern contexts. Within the latter consumer culture driven by recent developments in digital technology, media and marketing have enabled golf to transcend active forms of consumption and become a brand and a commodity that is passively consumed. Practical insight is provided by a number of examples that highlight and evaluate product innovation and enterprise in the market supply of golf facilities – the interface between active golf and the consumer experience.