ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the available research literature around young people and golf, and highlights that there is a dearth of work in this area at every level. It explores the developing area of work and understanding of young people's engagement in golf from a sociological and psychosocial perspective. The chapter focuses on the key empirical research in golf. It shows there is a significant lack of detailed and in-depth research on youth participation in the game. Beyond the in-depth work of Zevenbergen and group, the majority of available research has been based on those who already play the game at a good level, and the majority of this work is based in Europe. The future of the game of golf relies significantly on the impact of junior development, and at the earliest of stages, basic golfing engagement. There are a plethora of socio-cultural factors that have an impact upon the engagement and socialisation of young people in the game.
