How did the golf course become the boardroom?

If there was one thing that improved during the pandemic, it was the number of people out on the green. Over the last 5 years, the number of players worldwide has ballooned by 5M--bringing the total number to 66M. The appeal of course was that it was outdoors. But also the cache.

While the Dutch had a similar game as early as the 1100s, most agree that the modern 18 hole game was invented in Scotland in the Middle Ages. The popularity was confined there until the 19th c. when bettered rail lines meant a tourist boom to the area. It spread from there.

Games of 'kolf' and 'golf' were recorded in the earliest days of the colonies. By 1910, the U.S. had 267 clubs. Starting in the 1920s and spreading in the 80s, many housing developments were built around golf courses. They now number over 11k.

With so many courses, how did the game become synonymous with just 'businessmen?' In its earliest iteration, golf was rowdy and played by all economic classes. But in the 1800s, the gentry and business classes started making clubs in the countryside to relax, making it exclusive.

When wealthy businessmen are clustered together, they do deals. Carnegie and Rockefeller loved to golf. Many publications of their era published stories and photos about their sporting pursuit, creating a self perpetuating perception as a 'tycoon's' game, not for regular folk.

A secondary theory, besides just the exclusivity and expense, is that the introduction of handicapping (adjusting a score according to the players' skill level) made it interesting. The worse player could conceivably beat a better player if he had a particularly good showing.

This practice might mean that the client could win against a pro trying to solicit his business without being obvious by playing poorly intentionally. The handicapping rule, introduced in 1898, leveled the playing field, making the game particularly 'gentlemanly'.

And it proves out. 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs regularly golf. But it has a diversity problem. Only 25% of golfers are women. Only 3% are black. This second statistic largely due to restrictive clauses in the PGA and at country clubs keeping minorities out through the 60s.

But much like tennis, people are working to open up golf to a wider audience. Many conversations are happening for how to not only reduce obvious barriers like cost of course time and equipment but also reduce psychological barriers like feeling uncomfortable in a 'white space.'

The great game has both come a long way and stayed true to its roots in the last century. It's a great way to network. Or if your business deal went sour, an hour whacking the hell out of a few hundred balls at a driving range is a great way to let out some frustration.