SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE GOLFING INDUSTRY

The game of Golf originated in the 15th century in Scotland. To many golfers, the Old Course at St Andrews, a links course dating to before 1574, is considered to be a site of pilgrimage. The game of golf has changed. Gone are the days of wooden clubs, stuffy professionals, and subdued golf claps. Today, golf is filled with technologically advanced equipment, raucous crowds, and professional players with loud personalities and even louder outfits. Over the last century, golf has emerged as one of the biggest and most widely played sports in the world. The rise of golf, both in America and around the world, has brought fame and riches to many, and today it could be argued that professional golf has never been more popular. Some of the greatest and most influential men to have played the game are: Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus, and in recent times, a once in a generation talent who transcends the game and brings in casual viewers like no one before him Tiger woods.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf#External_links)
The internet provides an abundance of resources on the topic of golf and the way in which professional golfers, golfing companies and organizations use social media and informational media platforms to enhance the game and their brand. Exploring websites and social media networks such as Wikipedia, Golf Digest, GolfWRX, YouTube and Twitter have evolved over time and give golfing enthusiasts an opportunity to enhance their golfing abilities as well as interact with their golfing heroes.
The informational website, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf, constructs clear descriptions of the fundamentals of Golf as well as the history, rules and regulations, equipment, stroke mechanics, scoring and popularity of the game. The website also provides a glossary of golf terminology. The Terminology section was interesting to read as there were many terms I have not heard or known about which I can now use while enjoying the game. I was also unaware that in 2008, Australia was ranked 5th in the number of golf courses by country worldwide, as shown on the table below.
Golf courses worldwide
Number of golf courses by country in 2008 Country Number of Courses % | USA 17,672 50% | UK 2,752 8% | Japan 2,442 7% | Canada 2,300 7% | Australia 1,500 4% | Germany 684 2% | France 559 2% | China 500 1% | Sweden 480 1% | South Africa 450 1% | Rest of the world 5,773 17% | Total 35,112 |

http://www.golfwrx.com/ is a golf website founded in 2005. Its mission is to cover the latest golf news as well as provide in-depth stories and reviews from both their editors as well as its members.
Every month hundreds of thousands of people trust GolfWRX for the best golf information. From expert editorial reviews, breaking tour and industry news, what to play, how to play and where to play, GolfWRX is the new “go to” destination online. The world’s largest and best online golf community on the net, GolfWRX surrounds consumers throughout the buying, learning and enrichment process from original photographic and video content, peer-to-peer advice and or camaraderie, technical how-to’s and more. As a result, GolfWRX has a partnership with the No. 1 golf publication in the world, Golf Digest Publications.
In delving into GolfWRX, I have found very useful instructional videos of professional players and teachers explaining and showing different theories about golf mechanics. Many videos are aimed at the average golfer in trying to better their swing to ultimately improve the player’s handicap while enjoying the game.
The website was also selected as it provides clear, up to date news of the latest tour statistics and scores from around the world. Blogs and forums are easily accessible with thousands of people getting involved.
The online social media networking service Twitter enables its users to send and read