Spatial analysis of golf facility development in the United States 1931-1970

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: Sport is a part of American culture that has been given little attention by geographers. Although geographers have recently made inroads into the realm of sports research, there remains a great need for continued research. The primary purpose of this study is to analyze spatial variations in golfing facility development in the United States for the period 1931-1970. A secondary purpose involves a description of certain of the effect that golf has on the landscape. The central hypotheses of this paper are; (1) that regional variations exist in the availability of golfing facilities, and (2) that these variations are related to certain identifiable characteristics of the regions.

Findings and Conclusions: Spatial variations were found to exist in the development of golfing facilities throughout the United States. Two deficit facility regions (the Deep South and the highly urbanized and industrialized states of the North and Northeast), and three regions with more golfing facilities than their populations would warrant (the Plains States, the resort area of the East and Southeast, and the resort area of the West and Southwest) were found to exist. Differences in the establishment of and the emphasis placed upon facility development were found to be associated with certain identifiable variables, but no single variable or combination of variables proved to be a satisfactory explanation of facility development at the national level. Functional relationships were surmised to exist between golfing facility development and population density, urbanization, and percent of population change. No significant relationships were found to exist between golfing facility development and such variables as: percent of the population employed in the professional work category and climate.