50 Across society as a whole, the game of golf does not have the most inclusive reputation. Though golf began as a game played by all social classes in the Scottish towns in which it was born, it evolved into a pastime largely for the wealthy, because clubs and balls were expensive. The invention of the cheap gutty ball in the mid-nineteenth century made golf more financially accessible, and sparked the first boom in the game, but by this time, the divide between gentlemen amateurs and swarthy professionals already existed, and the image of golf as a game popular among an elite was set. Things are very different now, but if you stop a random person on a random street and ask them what they think about golf, it is very probable that its supposed exclusivity will be quickly on their lips. To this day, the most famous golf clubs tend to be among the most exclusive. To golf’s credit though, the game has a history of the rich supporting the poor. And one of the classic examples of that is currently taking place in South Central Los Angeles with the reconstruction of the nine-hole Maggie Hathaway Golf Course. South Central is famous – some would say notorious – as the home of hip-hop crew NWA. The area became majority African-American by the middle of the twentieth century, and black people trying to move into selfdecreed ‘white’ areas were persecuted, creating de facto segregation. From the 1970s onwards, the decline of manufacturing industry in the area and the loss of service sector jobs caused influx of cheaper, mostly Hispanic, workers, sent the economy of South Central into decline, crime and poverty to increase, and a culture dominated by street gangs, and the associated drugs trade, to emerge. Now renamed South Los Angeles, extensive regeneration and community engagement projects dramatically lowered the crime rate in the area, ON SITE A force for good MAGGIE HATHAWAY GOLF COURSE, LOS ANGELES, USA The reconstruction of the nine-hole Maggie Hathaway course in Los Angeles is the golf industry at its best, says Adam Lawrence.
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