research golf and social class

Quinn L. Richardson-Newton

SPT-501 20TW5 Southern New Hampshire University

GOLF & SOCIAL CLASS 9-1 Final Project: Research Proposal

Golf & Social Class

Introduction

The game of golf has been dated back to 100 BC, when early forms are traced to the

Roman game of pagancia, which the participants used a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball.

Also, during the Song Dynasty (960 CE to 1279 CE) in China, they played chuiw an, which was

played with several clubs and a stuffed ball (A Brief History of Golf, 2017). One can imagine,

the game and technology has changed since then. The PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association)

was not formed until 1916 and women only started playing with men in 1952. A game, which

such long history, comes with many rules, etiquette, and the need of money to play the game

today.

The game of golf is getting more and more expensive every year. The price of golf clubs,

with the newest technology, continues to skyrocket. A new driver can cost as much as $500 -

$1,000, for one of the thirteen clubs that you need to play a round of golf. A set of irons can run

the common golfer up to $2,000. After all that, they still need a putter. A club that is considered

the most important club, can also be anywhere between $500 - $1,000. After that’s all said and

done, a new golfer is still missing equipment. They are still in need of a golf bag, clothing, shoes,

and other miscellaneous equipment (range finder, golf balls, tees, divot tool, ball markers, etc.).

Now that they have their equipment, it’s time to find courses to play and “belong” to a golf club.

There are 15,500 courses in the United States (Lumen Sports, 2020), which include many public

and private courses. Some of the best public courses to play include Shadow Creek, Pebble

Beach, and Whistling Straits. Since they are considered the best, they are expensive for the

common golfer to play. Shadow Creek is expensive as $500 per round, Pebble Beach is $495 per

round, and Whistling Straits is $340 per round (Golf Courses in America, 2011). The private

courses require memberships in order to play. These memberships are not easily accessible. The

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less expensive courses just require payment to join. Other courses require letters of

recommendation, references, and include an interview process; not to mention the hefty

payments after all of that. One of the most expensive golf memberships in the world, Liberty

National in New Jersey, costs $240,000 per year. The Commissioner of the PGA, Tim Finchem,

went on to say, “I think it’s one of the most stunning settings for professional golf there is on the

planet”. This golf club includes an on-site heliport, yacht services, and numerous spa services

(Golf Industry Central, 2017). Liberty National may be an extreme case, but there are private

courses that expensive as well. Other courses, like Augusta National in Georgia, are completely

private and do not allow women to play the course.

As seen above, golf is an extremely expensive sport. The game is driven to attract and

serve a certain type of social class. With golf being so expensive, the common golfer would have

a difficult time playing the game on a consistent basis. The purpose of this study is to determine

whether golf and social class have a direct correlation. Golf is not strictly for the middle and

upper class, as anyone can play, but the constant increase in price to play is forcing players away

from the game. Some semi-private courses drive up their price to push public golfers away in

hopes of keeping the etiquette and integrity of the club.

By researching different courses all over the country and surveying golfers from those

courses, there will be a better idea of how the courses operate to attract new members and how

existing golfers feel towards the price of the game.

Literature Review

With the sport of golf being geared toward a certain social class and demographic of

people, golf uses a common “etiquette” and dress code to help separate the common golfer to the

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higher ups. Before the etiquette and dress code, it was race. Separation of white and black

(Dawkins, Braddock, Gilbert, 2018). African American youth first served as caddies at the all-

white golf clubs during the 1800s and early 1900s, which did provide early exposer of golf to the

African American community. The purpose of Dawkins, Braddock, and Gilbert’s (2018) article

was to “describe the role played by the earliest African American golf clubs in promoting golf

among African Americans”.

With going into further detail, Dawkins, Braddock, and Gilbert (2018) explain that

African Americans had created their own golf clubs mainly because of the country’s segregation

and racism against African Americans. They stated, “the earliest African American golf clubs

sought to develop golf as a sport that would be interwoven into the social fabric of black life at

both elite and grassroots levels and free of barriers to enjoyment and participation for blacks”

(Dawkins, Braddock, Gilbert, 2018). In any given sport, African American athletes had been

viewed as inferior. Especially during the Jim Crow era (late 19th to early 20th century), sports

were aimed and promoted towards whites only. Which led to African Americans creating their

own organized leagues. In the golf world, golf was able to exclude African Americans with the

“Caucasians only” clause. With only one, widely known African American golfer on the PGA

Tour, Tiger Woods, golf was viewed not very popular within the black community (Dawkins,

Braddock, Gilbert, 2018). Throughout the early to mid 1900s, African American golf clubs had

rose around the country to help promote the sport of golf within the black community. Their

hopes were to create networking through tournaments, men and women, to help increase the

popularity. In conclusion, Dawkins, Braddock and Gilbert (2018), had concluded that the rise of

African American golf clubs during the 1920s-1940s had advanced the popularity of golf within

the African American “society” elite and the black masses.

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Although there was no precise research methods and data presented, Dawkins, Braddock,

and Gilbert had given qualitative research on how golf had separated African Americans,

especially during segregation times, from the rest of the golf world. Without having quantitative

data, is their only limitation. This study directly correlates to my proposed research study of how

golf promotes itself to certain social classes and demographics. With golf separating whites and

blacks early on, it shows that it can still happen today. Yes, golf is more popular within the black

population. As you see more African Americans on the PGA Tour, not just Tiger Woods.

Much like the separation of white and black people in the game of golf, Cock (2008),

looks into golf and the exclusion of masses within South Africa. Cock’s purpose of study is to

show the social exclusion of golf within South Africa. This study takes a look at how expenses of

certain golf clubs exclude certain people. The River Club has an entry fee of R200,000 (local

currency) and an annual fee of R25,000 (Cock, 2008).

There are different forms of exclusion that Cock looks further into such as, exclusion

from arable and grazing land, exclusion from communally owned land, exclusion from scarce

water sources, exclusion from access to fishing and recreational sites, exclusion from heritage

sites, exclusion from decision making, exclusion from decent work, and exclusion of social

classes and social categories (Cock, 2008). Not only has golf excluded the common people from

participating from the price to play, it has also taken away daily life for South Africans. The

exclusion that directly relates to my proposed study is the exclusion of social classes. This

exclusion is based on how expensive the courses are to play. Cock (2008) gives more examples,

the Johannesburg Country Club costs RI5,000 entrance fee and R5,000 a year. At Tsitsikamma

Coastal Golfing estate membership fees are R40,000 per annum; At Fancourt membership fees

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Golf & Social Class

are RI3,350, and RS50 for IS holes. At Pezula visitors pay R775 for I8 holes. Not only is it

expensive for the common golfer, there is an elaborate etiquette and dress code strictly imposed

for different golf courses.

Cock goes further in how the golf courses have taken away land for daily life, which

would be a whole other study to research. There is a limitation to the study, that Cock focuses on

the more expensive golf clubs. Cock mentions that there are over 500 golf courses in South

Africa. Could some of those courses be available to the lower class? Or are all of them geared

toward the social elite? Again, this study was more of telling the facts rather than conducting

research. That is another limitation of Cock’s article.

Ceron-Anaya (2015) goes further into the research of the exclusion based on social class

in Mexico. The purpose of Ceron-Anaya’s study was to “show how private golf clubs are

invisible sites for the average city dweller, both metaphorically and literally. This characteristic

fulfills a dual political role, by (1) preventing any questioning over the monopolization of

resources and (2) reinforcing social distance. The analysis then examines the relationship

between old golfers (natives) and new golfers (newcomers) and how the growing participation of

newcomers illustrates an important transformation in the world of affluent private golf clubs”

(Ceron-Anaya, 2015).

Ceron-Anaya focused his study on three exclusive golf clubs in Mexico City and focused

his research to be conducted during the summers of 2010 and 2014. 58 semi-structured

interviews were conducted with corporate executives and businesspeople who use golf as part of

their professional interaction (Ceron-Anaya, 2015). Ceron-Anaya used participants from all

different social classes. He was able to interview upper middle and upper class (represented

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39.6% of sample), caddies (29.3% of sample), golf journalists who belong to the lower middle

class (6.9% of sample), golfer without a club who are part of the middle class (10.3% of sample),

golf consultants (10.3% of sample) and golf instructors (3.4% of sample). By having participants

of all different social classes, it will help validate Ceron-Anaya’s point (Ceron-Anaya, 2015).

Ceron-Anaya found that his own social class affected how members would answer and

elaborate during the interview. He stated that a member stopped elaborating his answers when

the member found out that Ceron-Anaya took public transportation to get to the golf course. I

believe Ceron-Anaya’s study directly correlates to what I am looking for in my proposed

research. Again, like Cock, having participants of different backgrounds and social classes

provides more information to the study. Also, by gathering participants from multiple golf

courses helps the study as well. Every course is individualized, so by getting a bigger sample

pool helps gather different perspectives.

In the article, Golf class teaches students the art of schmoozing, it shows that people use

golf to help network and benefit of getting set up for a job. The article explains that there is a lot

of busines taking place on the golf course between golfers. Proper gold etiquette should be

followed in order to impress a client and it states that you want to make the other person feel

special.

This article has some serious limitations as it does not include any research conducted,

but it does show that people are thinking like a businessperson while on the golf course. It’s not

just for leisure, golf is used to conduct business. This adds to the social aspect of golf and how

the “higher ups” use golf.

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Golf & Social Class

Malcolm and Tangen’s (2015), main goal of their research was to examine the cultural

diffusion and the etiquette code of golf. Through their research, they were able to gather

information on the role of emotions and psychological life (Malcom and Tangen, 2015).

Although they were only able to provide qualitative data, they were able to conclude that the

concepts self-control, embarrassment and impression management would be valuable to

understanding the phenomenon of golf etiquette (Malcolm and Tangen, 2015).

After interviewing 38 golfers of all levels, from scratch golfers, golfers with handicaps as

high as 33, and golfers who do not report their handicap, Malcolm and Tangen were able to

understand that golf etiquette plays a huge role. All golfers also reported that dress code plays a

major role in who is “accepted” on the course (Malcolm and Tangen, 2015). The four main

etiquette categories of golf include: safety, courtesy, pace of play, and care of the course, and

some would include dress code (Malcolm and Tangen, 2015). Through my experience of playing,

etiquette plays a role in every round that a golfer participates in. Providing the data that golfers,

of all levels, recognize the importance shows that they are serious about the game enough to

learn and understand. The article never stated anything regarding social class but does show that

the serious golfers follow the different categories of golf etiquette.

Although the research provides great information, there are limitations to Malcolm and

Tangen’s findings. As I have a prioritized field on golf in the United States, their research was

conducted with Norwegian and English golfers. Yes, golf is a universal sport and all serious

golfers do follow proper etiquette, this could be a much different case (Malcolm and Tangen,

2015).

Humphries (2011), takes a different approach to the golf industry in his article. Her goal

was to determine if there is a correlation between the level of golfer and the type of course they

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choose to play, while on vacation. This study also had a wide range of golfers, ranging in number

of years of experience, handicap and total number of vacations (Humphries, 2011). Like

Malcolm and Tanger, Humphries only gathered qualitative data. She believed that this would

allow greater opportunities for in-depth insight of the study. Her methods included using semi-

structured interviews through email to gather information.

Through Humphries methods, she used an email database to contact golfers. After

contacting 107 different golfers, Humphries ensured to use golfers, of different levels,

“infrequent golfers” (5 or less rounds per year), “moderate golfers” (6-25 rounds per year), and

“dedicated golfers” (25 or more rounds per year). Humphries conducted, in total, nine interviews

with each golfer, lasting anywhere between 30-90 minutes (Humphries, 2011). Making sure to

use semi-structured interviews, this allowed flexibility to respond to the comments and details

provided by the participants which ensures that all relevant issues come to light (Humphries,

2011).

Through Humphries research, she was able to determine that there are multiple factors

that play a role in which course a golfer will choose to play while on vacation. These include

access, perceived golf reputation, quality and reputation of course, word-of-mouth

recommendations, course design, and linking the golf capital with its reputation (Humphries,

2011). Lots of golfers are willing to spend money, especially on vacation, at the finest courses at

their destination. Yes, they will take recommendations of certain courses and decide which to

play based on the factors above. But then they will also make a decision based on how much

each course will cost. If the course is a once in a lifetime opportunity, they may be more willing

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to pay more. Golfers in a lower social class may not even play golf on vacation; or they will play

at a much less prestigious course.

Humphries concluded that golfers will play at certain course to add to their own golfing

capital. Golfers feel that their capital is enhanced by experiencing elite, highly reputed, golf

courses and destinations. This can be achieved through reporting their experiences within their

cultural network, recounting their playing of a signature hole, their overall score achieved or

their opinion of the course, the facilities and the welcome (Humphries, 2011). By increasing their

personal capital, golfers are able to place themselves higher in their local social class of fellow

golfers. They can feel they have experienced something other golfers have not.

Lastly in McGinnis’ research, the article goes into depth regarding women and their

position in a male-dominated world of golf. There is perceived sexism in the sport. This study

was taken back in 2000, before Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie, Martha Burk, and other

newsmakers in golf penetrated the national media (McGinnis, 2005). McGinnis spoke about who

the sport of golf promotes masculine hegemony with the “citizen golfer” framed as young, male,

and able-bodied (McGinnis, 2005).

McGinnis was able to gather information from ten female golfers that had played rounds

of golf at Midwestern golf courses. The main goal was depth of experience of each golfer while

playing multiple courses. From how they were treated at the start of their round, throughout, and

after their round. Female golfers are viewed much differently from men when it comes to golf.

The lady’s tees are much closer to the whole and men perceive female golfers to be slow

(McGinnis, 2005). This is an of statistical discrimination when it comes to women golfers.

Driving distance is often an easily identifiable and important marker of who deserves to be on

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the course. Much of the results were spent on the issue of driving distance and how the female

golfers feel about the issue.

The article dives deeply in a major social issue when it comes to the game of golf. Male

golfers definitely are viewed differently when compared to their counterpart. There are

limitations to the research. For starters, the qualitative data was tested and recorded in the year

2000. With the changing game of golf, these results could be extremely different in 2020. Also,

the courses being played were in the Midwest. Could the results be different in different parts of

the country? Could the results be different in different parts of the world? Based on the LPGA,

most golfers come from all over the world; there are not many “good” American women golfers

on tour.

Research Design

The proper design for gathering data and research is by surveying golfers from different

golf courses, that range in price (memberships and public play per round) and are in a similar

geological location. There are a lot of courses in the New England area, all ranging in price and

privateness. By surveying the golfers, this will provide qualitative data to help gather opinions of

the golfers. Conducting semi-structured interviews and surveys will allow flexibility to respond

to the comments and details provided by the participants which ensures that all relevant issues

come to light. Along with getting qualitative data, by gathering financial data of each participant

will help gather quantitative data. Some of this financial data includes income, numbers of

rounds per year, price of golf clubs, and price of equipment. This data will give a better sense of

how much each participant is willing to spend (money and time) on golf per year.

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There are strengths and weaknesses to this approach. The strength of gathering opinions

of each participant gives strength of how they feel towards constantly rising prices of golf and of

each golf course. The participants will provide personal experience to give a better idea of what

they go through on a daily basis. By collecting the quantitative data, mentioned above, this will

give a better sense of how much each participant makes and how much they are willing to spend

on golf. That will give a better understanding of where each participant falls on the social ladder.

The weaknesses of this approach are that the geographical location of intended research

is a limited area. Not every golf course, in the United States, is the same. As mentioned, there are

15,500 golf courses in the United States, which means thousands (maybe millions) of golfers.

Researching a certain area of the country will only give a general idea of what every golfer is

feeling. This approach will not give a whole answer of how EACH golfer feels. Also, not every

golfer may feel comfortable to give their opinion or financial data. This would require finding

more participants for the study, researching other golf courses, or finding another area of the

country to research.

Data Analysis

In order to make sure the qualitative and quantitative data provides strength to the

intended research, it must be valid information. This means that the data is non-bias. This is a

four-step process: 1) fraud, making sure every participant had been interviewed. 2) screening,

making sure each participant was chosen for the correct criteria. 3) procedure, making sure the

procedure was followed correctly. 4) completeness, making sure all of the questions had been

asked (Humans of Data, 2019). This will help the quantitative data. By getting a mean of each

participants income and financial data, this will show the average of each participant. It will

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show the frequency of how many times each participant plays per year. It will also show the

range of how much each participant spends on golf (courses and equipment).

To analyze the qualitative data, content analysis and narrative analysis will need to be

used. The content analysis will be used to analyze the documented data, surveys. It will help

analyze the responses provided by the participants. The narrative analysis will provide

information from the interviews of each participant, how they are acting in each interview. It will

also provide information of personal observations of each golf course (Humans of Data, 2019).

As mentioned, each golf course is not the same. They all have their own rules and way of doing

things. Giving personal observations can give further insight of how each golfer and golf course

acts. This will show a big difference between each course.

This way of collecting data will provide strength to the overall research by providing lots

of data of each participant. By having the financial data, mean, frequency and range, this will

provide the best insight of each participant and how they relate to a certain social class. By

providing their opinions, it will also help gather their input on the constant changing price of golf

and how it affects their standing.

There are strengths, but there are also weaknesses. By collecting data this way, there

could be outliers that skew the data. Every participant is different and individualized. Some

participants may play a lot of golf but use cheaper equipment and play at less expensive courses.

This means they could feel completely different to other participants, that play at the more

expensive golf courses.

At the end of the day, golf is one of the most expensive sports in the world. Between the

equipment and pay-to-play prices, the price can stack up. The better off a golfer is, the easier it

would be to help pay for golf. This proposed study will help show that the game of golf is

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designed to attract the upper class of people, in order to keep the tradition and integrity of the

game. Through the rules, code of etiquette, and price, the game is able to force people out of the

golfing world and create its own “club”.

Resources

Ceron-Anaya, H. (2017). Not everybody is a golfer: Bourdieu and affluent bodies in Mexico. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 46(3), 285–309

Cock, J. (2008). Caddies and “Cronies”: golf and changing patterns of exclusion and inclusion in post-apartheid South Africa. South African Review of Sociology, 39(2), 183.

DAWKINS, M. P., BRADDOCK, J. H., & GILBERT, S. (2018). African American Golf Clubs in the Early Development of Black Golf. Western Journal of Black Studies, 42(1/2), 71–82.

Golf Class Teaches Students the Art of Schmoozing. (2002, April 19). The Chronicle of Higher Education, 48(32). Retrieved from https://link-gale- com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/apps/doc/A146965209/ITOF?u=nhc_main&sid=ITOF&xid=f62ee7c6

Humphreys, C. (2011). Who Cares Where I Play? Linking Reputation with the Golfing Capital and the Implication for Golf Destinations. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 16(2), 105-128. doi:10.1080/14775085.2011.568086

Malcolm, D., & Tangen, J. O. (2015). Etiquette and the Cultural Diffusion of Golf: Globalization and Emotional Control in Social Relations. International Journal of Golf Science, 4(1), 33-49. doi:10.1123/ijgs.2014-0018

McGinnis, L., McQuillan, J., & Chapple, C. L. (2005). I JUST WANT TO PLAY Women, Sexism, and Persistence in Golf. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 29(3), 313–337.

A Brief History of Golf. (2017, April 28). Retrieved from https://www.thesportshistorian.com/a- brief-history-of-golf/#

How many golf courses in the US? - Lumen Sports. (2020, January 20). Retrieved from https://lumensports.com/golf-courses-us/#:~:text=And now the approximate number,in the US is 15,500.

The 10 most expensive golf club memberships in the world. (2017, February 04). Retrieved from https://www.golfindustrycentral.com.au/golf-industry-news/the-10-most-expensive-golf-club- memberships-in-the-world/

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The Top 10 Most Expensive Public Golf Courses in America. (2011, May 09). Retrieved from https://www.hagginoaks.com/blog/the-top-10-most-expensive-public-golf-courses-in-america/

Gebreamlak, Kenneth, Castro, L. D., Sese, T., Blessing, Vandana, . . . Nwabia, C. (2019, July 12). Your Guide to Qualitative and Quantitative Data Analysis Methods - Atlan: Humans of Data. Retrieved from https://humansofdata.atlan.com/2018/09/qualitative-quantitative-data-analysis- methods/

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