So here we go again. I apologise if this topic has been covered recently but once again it raises its ugly head in the letter pages of the media. Mr Graham Talbot of Saffron Wallden writes while questioning racism in golf that amongst other things the following makes golf elitist.
""It is elitism that stops more ethnic minorities from taking up and succeeding at golf"" I take it he has not noticed the growth of the game amongst the indigenous populations of the East.
Golf can be expensive it can cost as much as £20 for a round ! Of course it can but it can also be inexpensive. Try municipal golf. By the way what’s the cost of a ticket to a premier league football match these days?
""Golf equipment and clothing costs hundreds of pounds"" Yes! Have you tried e-bay or your local junk shop. ( the issue that may put some off ) is that they want to start golf more on looks and swank rather than skill, substance, fun, pleasure, camaraderie etc . You don’t need 14 clubs to start playing golf.
My first round of golf cost three pence in old money. I walked a good way to the course and back with my two clubs and less than salubrious bag. Total value 35p in today’s money. My balls and tees were recovered ( honestly ) from the rough and tee boxes of the course. I hade a great time shooting 143. Which determined me to come back the next day and try to shoot 142.
""Golf is time consuming taking as much as half a day"" And a visit to the football on a Saturday isn’t ?
""Typically retirees, executives and managers are best able to arrange a days golf during the week"" Not then the shift workers, nurses, police, postmen and all the others who operate in today’s 24/7 world.
I’ve save the best for last. """"They have dress codes, rules and etiquette demands""" Don’t know whether to laugh or cry. So we who cherish all that is good about golf should abandon our standards ( whatever the dress code may be at each club ) and let the troglodytes in.
Mr Talbot goes on to say…
""These factors can deter or preclude anyone at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale from enjoying golf. White people and ethnic minorities alike. Ethnic minorities in the UK ( all of whom must be black then? ) and other developed countries often struggle to climb the socioeconomic scale and it is in addressing this issue that the question of racism in golf can be fairly raised.""
Mr Talbot. The people you refer to above do not play golf because of some mystical elitism dreamt up periodically by someone with a chip on their shoulder, like what you seem to have. The reasons are many, but of one thing I’m sure. Many of those “poor†( lets call them what they are ) you refer to will take considerable exception to your suggestion that with poverty comes a lack of decency and respect and as a result the etiquette and rules of golf will deter them. There are many wealthy/socioeconomic “elite†out there who’s golf etiquette and application of the rules needs a good kick up the arse.
Yes, certain golf “clubs†are exclusive both in cost and behaviour and why not. Does a man not have the right to choose who he associates with and how that association is conducted. Or like much of life today do we drag everything down to it’s lowest common denominator. And ask yourself would that be good for golf ?
""It is elitism that stops more ethnic minorities from taking up and succeeding at golf"" I take it he has not noticed the growth of the game amongst the indigenous populations of the East.
Golf can be expensive it can cost as much as £20 for a round ! Of course it can but it can also be inexpensive. Try municipal golf. By the way what’s the cost of a ticket to a premier league football match these days?
""Golf equipment and clothing costs hundreds of pounds"" Yes! Have you tried e-bay or your local junk shop. ( the issue that may put some off ) is that they want to start golf more on looks and swank rather than skill, substance, fun, pleasure, camaraderie etc . You don’t need 14 clubs to start playing golf.
My first round of golf cost three pence in old money. I walked a good way to the course and back with my two clubs and less than salubrious bag. Total value 35p in today’s money. My balls and tees were recovered ( honestly ) from the rough and tee boxes of the course. I hade a great time shooting 143. Which determined me to come back the next day and try to shoot 142.
""Golf is time consuming taking as much as half a day"" And a visit to the football on a Saturday isn’t ?
""Typically retirees, executives and managers are best able to arrange a days golf during the week"" Not then the shift workers, nurses, police, postmen and all the others who operate in today’s 24/7 world.
I’ve save the best for last. """"They have dress codes, rules and etiquette demands""" Don’t know whether to laugh or cry. So we who cherish all that is good about golf should abandon our standards ( whatever the dress code may be at each club ) and let the troglodytes in.
Mr Talbot goes on to say…
""These factors can deter or preclude anyone at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale from enjoying golf. White people and ethnic minorities alike. Ethnic minorities in the UK ( all of whom must be black then? ) and other developed countries often struggle to climb the socioeconomic scale and it is in addressing this issue that the question of racism in golf can be fairly raised.""
Mr Talbot. The people you refer to above do not play golf because of some mystical elitism dreamt up periodically by someone with a chip on their shoulder, like what you seem to have. The reasons are many, but of one thing I’m sure. Many of those “poor†( lets call them what they are ) you refer to will take considerable exception to your suggestion that with poverty comes a lack of decency and respect and as a result the etiquette and rules of golf will deter them. There are many wealthy/socioeconomic “elite†out there who’s golf etiquette and application of the rules needs a good kick up the arse.
Yes, certain golf “clubs†are exclusive both in cost and behaviour and why not. Does a man not have the right to choose who he associates with and how that association is conducted. Or like much of life today do we drag everything down to it’s lowest common denominator. And ask yourself would that be good for golf ?
