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This study examines the discourse associated with the membership policies at Shoal Creek and Augusta National Golf Clubs. Get-away havens for wealthy White males, these clubs became contested terrains when each was scheduled to host a major golf event: the 1990 PGA Championship at Shoal Creek and the 2003 Masters Tournament at Augusta National. At the time of the events in this study, Shoal Creek had a Whites-only membership policy and Augusta National a male-only policy, which it maintains today. Controversy ensued when the chairs of each club made disparaging comments to the press about these excluded groups. Two parallel areas were considered in our comparative analysis: how the commercial sponsors responded to the controversies, and how the club chairs and their supporters used the rhetorical strategy of apologia to defend themselves and restore the public image of golf. Our analysis reveals the differences in how the cultural constructs of race and gender were negotiated in each case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the televised media portrayals of golfer Tiger Woods in the U.S. Analysis on the life history and golf accomplishments of Woods based on the media images; Influence of culture on the hegemonic practices in golf; Reinforcement of historical practices and stereotypes of the golf community by the media messages.

Macroeconomic conditions can have a substantial effect on the economic circumstances of individuals and therefore on the golf demand in a country. Using panel data on golf demand (number of golf players) and supply (number of courses), and indicators of the economic situation for 15 European countries, encompassing years 2000 through 2014,weestimate a dynamic panel datamodel inorder to evaluate the influence of the economic conditions and golf supply on the number of registered golfers. Economic situation is assessed through two variables: the gross domestic product (GDP) and the main stock market index of each country.We also test the hypothesis of uneven effects of the GDP before and after the beginning of the economic recession. The most crucial finding is that from the start of the financial crisis, the level ofGDP imposes statistically significant effect on golf demand, making those countries with higher GDP per capita the ones whose golf demand is harmed the least by the financial crisis. The number of golf players responds to the state of the economy after the start of the economic downturns, while the high persistence of the golf demand makes it rather difficult to find significant differences in the changes inGDP before the recession.Wealso find that the number of golf courses is not seen to bear a close relationship with the number of players unless we control for economic factors and business cycle. Within the economic factors, the level of development of a country, as measured by GDP per capita, outweighs stock market role in determining the demand for golf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article analyzes processes of social reproduction among upper-middle- and upper-class individuals in contemporary Mexico City, using affluent golf clubs as a case study. Drawing on ethnographic data, it shows 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. This change reflects the inherent struggle between preservation and transformation that characterizes any social universe. The results demonstrate that Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capital, and habitus offer a flexible and powerful model to analyze affluent communities within the context of a developing nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Golf was one of the fastest growing recreational sports in Britain before 1914. It created a market for professional golfers as shopkeepers, teachers, greenkeepers and craftsmen. A database of 3000 players was used to examine their social and economic experience at club and competitive level, and this experience was then compared to that of professionals in horse racing, cricket and football. Golfers were the first sportsmen to permanently organize themselves with the establishment of the Professional Golfers’ Association in 1901, which provided welfare services and promoted tournaments, thus actively and uniquely assisting the development of the industry within which its members worked. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Golf took the concept of the club from traditional voluntary organizations along with the ideas of committee structures, mechanisms for ensuring exclusivity and a place, both geographically and socially, for communal conviviality. It became one of the fastest growing recreational activities of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Britain and the first participant sport to expend and invest large sums of money. By means of a model constructed around the development of the British golf club before 1914, this paper offers a new approach to examining the history of associativity in sport. It uses five concepts of capital – physical, financial, cultural, social, and human – and argues that their formation in the context of club development should not be explored in isolation of each other. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years there have been new trends in tourism caused by the re-orientation of tourists' preferences, the development of new products, and the rising of global competition between tourist destinations in their attempt to achieve greater market interaction. As an elite tourism, golf has taken a key role for host destinations, diversifying supply and distributing tourist flows at national and international levels. This paper aims to distinguish elements that have allowed the development of golf tourism in Mexico, recognizing the environmental implications generated by its operation. One can show that an overgrowth of golf courses would place Mexican tourist destinations in environmental risk. Given this, companies must seek an alternative of environmental management, and governments must create a policy and regulatory framework to guide them towards sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Sports tourism has received growing attention in academic research over the past two decades but greater understanding of the consumer is needed, particularly the factors which shape the inclusion of sport as part of a leisure trip. This paper provides, through a focus on the sport of golf, insight into the characteristics of the sports tourist and how sports tourist behaviours influence the selection of locations deemed suitable for sports participation. This qualitative research employs a grounded theory methodology, underpinned by a constructivist epistemology, to evaluate 26 in-depth interviews with golf tourists. The findings propose a model which explains the relationship between golf tourist behaviours and destination selection. This identifies six strands which determine the relationship between the golf tourist, golf behaviours and destination selection (constructing the golf holiday, emotional rewards of taking a trip, total trip spend, amenities and support facilities, course characteristics and reputation of the destination). Furthermore, it illuminates the complexity of these relationships through recognition of four spheres of influence (group dynamics, competition and ability, golfing capital and intermediaries). Discussion elucidates how this increased understanding of the golf tourist behaviours and destination selection might be applied to other sports, with conclusions exploring implications for the sports tourism industry and destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender differences in coping in sport have received increased attention, but cross-sectional and retrospective designs of studies have provided equivocal results and limited conclusions in the area. To address this gap, two studies were conducted investigating stress, appraisal and coping in males and females when executing a golf-putting task. The two studies were conducted under controlled laboratory settings, including a control and an experimental condition. Participants performed the same golf-putting task in both conditions. In the experimental condition, stress was induced using a combination of evaluation apprehension, funny putter, monetary inducement (Study 1), and ego-threatening feedback (Study 2). Stress appraisal (type of stressor and its frequency) and coping (strategies used and their frequency) were assessed online using the think aloud protocol. Stress responses were assessed using self-report, physiological, and behavioral measures. Both studies found similar stress responses for males and females (e.g. increased heart rate, task completion time, and cognitive state anxiety) in the experimental condition. However, significant gender differences were found in relation to the frequency of stressors cited and coping strategies used for these particular stressors. Across both studies, females reported being more often concerned with task execution and males with the outcome. Differences in coping strategies observed between the genders were likely to be a consequence of different stress appraisals, in particular the frequency of particular stressors appraised. Findings provide tentative support for the situational hypothesis as males and females have a tendency to use similar coping strategies if they appraise the same stressors within the same situation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Helen Briassoulis on the relationship of global and virtual media in opposing proposals for local development of golf resorts, one by Hugo Ceron-Ananya on the influence of business practice on the customs and local contexts of golf, and one by Chris Perkins regarding conflicts in standardization and golf guidelines.

The pre-1914 British golf club exhibited bonding social capital formation rather than bridging, seeking to exclude rather than include. Generally the course, but especially the clubhouse, were sites for males of similar social background to meet in a homosocial environment, one protected by cost and membership policies. Segmentation of clubs within the same geographical area allowed for further social differentiation between men from different occupational groups. Numerous golfing societies also brought men together with a common business interest. However, female and working-class players were accommodated without breaking down the male, middle-class dominance, by parent-club development of separate "ladies" sections and artisan clubs. Nevertheless, restrictions on when and where they could play served to segregate them from the full-fee paying male club members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Golf has a long history at the Supreme Court simply as an entertaining pastime for some of its members. Yet the Justices' interest in the sport can also be viewed as a reflection of the evolving work and culture of the institution and of the nation it serves. This article revisits a few early developments involving the first golfer on the Court (Justice James Wilson), the first golf enthusiast (the first Justice John Marshall Harlan), and the first golfing majority (October Term 1906). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several recent studies have shown practice-dependent structural alterations in humans. Cross-sectional studies of intensive practice of specific tasks suggest associated long-term structural adaptations. Playing golf at a high level of performance is one of the most demanding sporting activities. In this study, we report the relationship between a particular level of proficiency in playing golf (indicated by golf handicap level) and specific neuroanatomical features. Principal Findings: Using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of grey (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes and fractional anisotropy (FA) measures of the fibre tracts, we identified differences between skilled (professional golfers and golfers with an handicap from 1-14) and less-skilled golfers (golfers with an handicap from 15-36 and non-golfer). Larger GM volumes were found in skilled golfers in a fronto-parietal network including premotor and parietal areas. Skilled golfers revealed smaller WM volume and FA values in the vicinity of the corticospinal tract at the level of the internal and external capsule and in the parietal operculum. However, there was no structural difference within the skilled and less-skilled golfer group. Conclusion: There is no linear relationship between the anatomical findings and handicap level, amount of practice, and practice hours per year. There was however a strong difference between highly-practiced golfers (at least 800-3,000 hours) and those who have practised less or non-golfers without any golfing practise, thus indicating a step-wise structural and not a linear change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The golf course is a significant social and ecological space which contributes to both increasing social polarisation and environmental injustice. Golf illustrates the shift from race to class-based exclusion that has characterised South Africa since 1994, and the increasing conspicuous consumption that shift has involved. The paper first demonstrates how golf involves the exclusion of the majority of South Africans from crucial resources, and then how golf is promoting inclusion into a new power elite that is marked by the co-existence of political and economic power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an ethnographic analysis of the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) in the Philippines. The author explores how the tourism industry in and around the CSEZ has replicated colonial social structures and discourses to address the needs of globalization. The gendered and racialized representation of the Filipina body as a site of cheap labor is explored, especially with regard to the work of Filipina women as caddies and "umbrella girls" on the golf courses of the CSEZ. The Clark Museum and the golf and country club at the Mimosa Leisure Estate are presented as exhibitions of imperial power and modernity.