Golf in the Gilded Age:
Robber Barons, Railroads, and Resort Hotels / 17

1. Birth of Golf in America	2. Gilded Age	3. Robber Barons	4. Tycoons and Patronage
5. Railroads & Resorts	6. Early Grand Hotels	7. Carolinas	8. Georgia
9. Jacksonville	10. St Augustine	11. St Aug. (pt 2)	12. Ormond Beach
13. Palm Beach	14. Boca Raton	15. Miami	16. Miami Beach
17. Coral Gables	18. Tampa / St Pete	19. Later Resort Golf	20. Gilded Age Legacy

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. The 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.