The end of the nineteenth century and the first four decades of the twentieth century saw many changes that influenced the sporting and cultural lifestyle of Britain. This thesis investigates how and why golf tourism developed on the South Coast of England during this time. It also provides an account of the drivers, influences and motivations behind the development of golf tourism as a particular form of holiday, before demonstrating the transformational effects of golf tourism on the South Coast resorts. Furthermore, this thesis explains how the region accelerated the fashion for this particular form of holiday and broader engagement with the sport. There are several isolated articles from a national perspective by Durie, Huggins, Martínez and Vamplew, but until now, no significant study dedicated explicitly to the history of golf tourism on the South Coast exists.
The primary sources for this thesis were the archives held in golf clubs and local authorities. Visits to museums, libraries, record offices and private collections were also undertaken to collect the research material. Extensive use of newspaper archives on-line and those held in local history centres provided further significantprimary sources for this thesis. Quantitative evidence was a secondary element of the research and was limited to calculating the number of visiting golfers participating in the 1930s Bournemouth Open Golf Tournaments.
The thesis focuses on six specific but often inter-related themes, rather than following a strictly chronological narrative which may have weakened it by enforcing a single timeline running through the research. The scope and context for the thesis are addressed in Chapters One and Two. Chapter Three reflects on the critical contributions made by the enablers, most specifically on how the railways and other transport providers together with hotels, encouraged the golfing holiday. Two aspects of promoting golf tourism are reviewed in Chapter Four, including the role played by marketing and a discussion of how the media reported on golf tourism. Chapter Five focuses on the role of the private members’ golf clubs and their contribution to broader participation. Chapters Six and Seven discuss the aims and motivations for corporations to invest in municipal golf courses and, subsequently, the hosting of Golf Weeks. The nature of passive spectatorship is reviewed in Chapter Eight, which examines the visitor experience at The Open Championships and other major golfing events held in Kent.
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The thesis concludes that golf tourism between 1880 and 1939 on the South Coast was a significant social phenomenon. Its core characteristics are based on the argument that the region benefited from its proximity to a large, affluent market of active golfers living in London and the Home Counties, and was aided by an excellent transport system. To meet this demand, the South Coast towns profited from generous and far-sighted individuals and corporations who provided land and capital to develop golf links and local tourism infrastructure. Marketing and the media heavily influenced this expansion as it progressed from simple text-based advertisements to the use of eye-catching imagery before, more recently, radio began to be used. Finally, it is contended that by the end of the period of this examination, golf tourism had started to break down the prevailing cultural barriers making golf more accessible, both physically and socially.