As I was out shopping for golf spikes a few weeks ago, my mind (quite naturally) fixated on one name: Johannes Gutenberg.
Let me explain.
You see, a trip to the golf store is never simple for someone with wide feet — especially when that person is on the hunt for the elusive black Nike spikes that will fit him, both in style and comfort. Inevitably, some poor employee will swing by and try in vain to find me what I’m looking for; when this happens, I’ll invariably start thinking about how it is that people can make their living selling golf equipment.
Zooming out further, I’ll start considering how an entire industry has cropped up around what is — at its most basic elements — an elaborate obstacle course. There’s plenty of money to be made in golf — not only for those on the PGA Tour, but also for those caddying, teaching lessons, managing the grounds or working the pro shop. It’s impressive, but it’s also confounding.
As far as I know, golf started out not much different than lawn games like croquet did. It was a high-class form of entertainment that rewarded those most skilled at hitting a ball around a course and into certain access points quickly.
Golf wasn’t an occupation back then. In fact, there were few occupations in Scotland of the Middle Ages — or anywhere else, for that matter. Society was mostly agrarian, with families working the land to provide for their own while under the reign of a king or queen. Communities were segregated, and ideas did not have the technology to spread to the masses quickly; both of these factors helped keep the system in place.
Enter Mr. Gutenberg.
By bringing the printing press to the Western world, Gutenberg allowed society to spread ideas both quickly and widely — all through the power of the written word. Enlightenment soon swept across Europe, followed by industrialization and the dawn of capitalism. Eventually, governments replaced monarchies, Europeans founded new nations in the Americas and an industrialized, free market began to redefine the world.
So what does this have to do with golf?
Well, as the world changed following Gutenberg’s innovation, golf changed with it. The game gradually transformed from a marginalized leisure activity in a collection of hilly fiefdoms to a global phenomenon that’s enjoyed by a wider variety of people.
Golf has also found its way into the heart of the capitalist commercial world. People are much more likely to play golf on business than, say, baseball. This fact (along with the exclusive allure of the country club) has helped make the golf course a staple of the landscape in America and countless other nations. It’s also led to the growth of that lucrative golf industry I come in contact with when I need golf spikes, or to take a couple dozen hacks at the range.
So thank you, Mr. Gutenberg. Without your printing press, the world would be a far different place. And without as much golf in it, I dare say it would be a sad place too.