|
|
||||||||||||||
American golf had its birth in the Gilded Age (1870s-1890s), and by the close of the 19th century the United States had more golf courses than Britain. This start is inextricably intertwined with the dominant Tycoons of the day, and this in turn entangles the foundation of golf in America with the expansion of their railroads and their associated Grand Hotels in exclusive resort locations. From 1900 to the advent of WWII, golf in America added sinew and muscle on this underlying frame to make the Resort golf experience truly spectacular and widely accessible outside the echelons of elite society. Along with the industrialization of Great Britain (mid-1800s) and the United States (post-Civil War), the wealth of the nations spread downward to greater segments of society, and transportation and travel became more accessible to more people, specifically those at the top of the work force as owners and managers and service professionals. This transformation elevated the automobile over the train, and the less lavish hotel and recreational experience for the Grand Hotels of the turn of the century. With the advent of two world wars separated by the Great Depression, the heyday came to its end, leaving post-WWII as the era of the working class family vacation by car to motel while Hollywood celebrities took the former role of Royalty in the European and American spas, including the Casitas of the California desert at La Quinta and in Arizona.
Nonetheless, the traditions of the game of golf in America persisted, with deep roots in the days of the Robber Barons. This enduring legacy has been that the popularization of golf in America is indelibly stamped with the watermark of excellence set by these fabulous early Resorts.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
