Inside the Community

Chapter 3 elaborates on the analysis of class, demonstrating how a multitude of mundane and ordinary actions reproduced class inequalities. First, it reflects on the connection between everyday language and the reproduction of social hierarchies inside clubs. Then follows a discussion of how perceptions of honor, honesty, intelligence, and civility informed a narrative that separates golf from popular sports, associating the latter with negative traits. This account allows club members to claim a form of athletic exceptionalism for golf, justifying exclusionary practices on arguments beyond wealth. The second part of the chapter explores the internal class divisions within the golf community, including an internal struggle between old-timers and newer club members. The former insisted on the importance of non-monetary forms of capital to determine the boundaries of the community, whereas the latter put more weight on financial assets to determine the limits of the group.