About the book, from the publisher:
An inclusive narrative of golf's history and popularity in the United StatesVisit the Google book search page for Golf in America, and learn more about the book at the publisher's website.
In 1888, native Scotsman and iron magnate John Reid and a fellow countryman played an informal game of golf in Reid's cow pasture in Yonkers, New York. Only months later they founded the St. Andrews Golf Club, the first modern golf club in the United States. Ever since, Americans from all walks of life have been teeing off and enjoying the addictive Scottish sport on public and private courses across the country. In this concise social history of golf in the United States from the 1880s to the present, George B. Kirsch tracks the surprising growth of golf as a popular, mainstream sport, in contrast to the stereotype of golf as a pastime enjoyed only by the rich elite.
While golf retains a strong association with upper-class, male-dominated, socially exclusive country clubs, it has also boasted a dedicated following among Americans from different social classes, ethnic backgrounds, races, and genders. In addition to classic heroes such as Francis Ouiment, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, and Ben Hogan, the annals of golf's early history also include African American players--John Shippen Jr., Ted Rhodes, and Charlie Sifford--as well as both white and black female players such as Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias, Louise Suggs, Betsy Rawls, Ann Gregory, and former tennis champ Althea Gibson.
Golf in America tells the stories of these champions and many others, including celebrities Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and President Dwight Eisenhower, who further increased the sport's visibility and widespread appeal via television. The book also chronicles the challenges of two world wars and the Great Depression, during which country clubs reduced fees and relaxed admission restrictions to maintain memberships, and many golfers of modest means patronized municipal courses. Kirsch highlights the history of public golf courses in the United States, from Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx to Boston's Franklin Park, Chicago's Jackson Park, and other municipal and semiprivate courses that have gone relatively unnoticed in the sport's history.
Examining golf's recent history, Golf in America looks at the impact of television and the rivalry between Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, both of whom in 1996 were impressed by an upstart named Eldrick "Tiger" Woods. Illustrated with nearly two dozen photographs, this book shows that golf in America has always reflected a democratic spirit, evolving into a sport that now rivals baseball for the honor of being acclaimed "America's national pastime."
George B. Kirsch is professor of history at Manhattan College. He is the author of Baseball and Cricket: The Creation of American Team Sports, 1838-72; Baseball in Blue and Gray: the National Pastime During the Civil War; and several other books.
Read "The Recession and Golf" by George B. Kirsch.
The Page 99 Test: Golf in America.
--Marshal Zeringue
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