Golf, when it started, and no 1 understands for positive when that was, was referred to as a gentlemen's sport. This was mostly simply because only gentlemen of the upper class in Europe could find the money for the time or even the money to play the sport. When the game was introduced into America it kept the connotation mainly because in the exact same reason, on the other hand I really feel like that is starting to change because of different things that have happened within the last 10 to 20 many years.

Initial let's take a look at what the game was like within the starting on this country. You had just a handful of gentlemen playing the sport, some for dollars and some for enjoyable. People that played it for dollars was mainly betting to the sport among on their own and perhaps with several other wealthy buddies searching on, they were known as professional golfers. Those that played the sport for enjoyable sometimes with every other along with other times with the expert golfers, had been known as armature golfers. The most notable 1 of these and also the most well-known, even to this day, was Bobby Jones. I believe we all know who he was. Irrespective of what their standing was most all of them had a position or profession they created nearly all of their living off of.

I was born in 1940 in Augusta, Georgia whereas the majority of you understand is where Bobby Jones designed and built the Augusta National golf program and began "The Masters" golf tournament. From your time I was about 13 years outdated till this day I've seen lots of people tournaments in person and these that I didn't attend I watched on Tv. I've met a lot of the golfers personally. I was a pharmacist and had a pharmacy near the Augusta National Golf Course. A great deal of the golfers along with other celebrities would arrive into my retailer to acquire things including prescriptions and OTC drugs in the evening and I would get to meet them and speak to them. These incorporated Jack Nicholas, Fuzzy Zoeller, Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer, and numerous other people. Most of these golfers I just mentioned produced an excellent living from golf and most likely did not need to have another occupation inside the off season. Nevertheless golfers like others I met including Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Sam Sneed and a wonderful many other people ordinarily had other income within the side to support their game of golf.

During individuals early years from the Masters a great deal of the golfers did make a great residing in the sport, nonetheless they had to be within the top couple of golfers within the nation just to obtain a decent income through the sport. Now let's take a look at the final 10 to 15 or numerous 20 years. The sport has graduated to the point exactly where the top few are generating in the millions and even most in the best 50 to 100 golfers on the PGA Tour are creating six figure incomes. With this particular kind of income they are truly professionals.

Nonetheless, some thing else has come along with this rise in winnings and I believe that this is certainly what has leads to the sport to turn into a sport as opposed to a "Gentlemen's Game". Via the media of Television and other communication signifies the players in the sport have turn out to be celebrities and as a result the Gentlemen's Sport is turning out to be a huge activity with a lot of dollars to be made in It and consequently people today from all walks of lifestyle is now playing golf and a lot in the youthful gamers are hoping to create it to the PGA Tour. The sport has turn into as huge as Pro Football, baseball, and basketball nonetheless, for that retail company it has grow to be bigger because of all the gear needed to play the sport. These days you see a great deal far more golf courses, a good deal a lot more golf shops (store front and on the net) than any in the other sports.

For these reasons I believe that Golf can be an "Average Joe's" game mainly because a good offer of men and women in the USA and around the world play it. Tiger Wood's current loved ones issues have place some bad light around the game and I hope that it'll quit at that. I really feel that the media has induced loads of the bad mild however just the amount of money involved within the sport also tends to bring out the worst in the media coverage. They often wish to inform the bad tales that abide by any sport. I Just hope that it will stop proper right here and we won't see any additional of this destructive protection from the activity. If this happens it will keep some air of the "Gentlemen's Game" despite the fact that a good deal additional that just gentlemen are playing it today.