The background and pro and con arguments were written by ProCon.org staff based upon input from the following footnotes (directly referenced) and sources (used for general research and not directly referenced):
Footnotes:
St. Andrews Links, "A Brief History of the Links," StAndrews.org.uk (accessed May 23, 2012)
Associated Press, "Golf, Rugby Added for 2016 and 2020," ESPN.com, Oct. 9, 2009
Kurt Badenhausen, "Sports' First Billion-Dollar Man," Forbes, Sep. 9, 2009
Notable Names Database, "Associate Press Athlete of the Year (Female)," NNDB.com, 2012
"Sport," merriam-webster.com (accessed May 23, 2012)
"Sport," Dictionary.com (accessed May 23, 2012)
S.L. Kobridger, et al., "The Contribution of Golf to Daily Physical Activity Recommendations: How Many Steps Does It Take to Complete a Round of Golf?," Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Aug. 2006
Neil Wolkodoff, PhD, "An Exercise in Futility?," Colorado Avid Golfer, Apr. 2009
Bill Lubinger, "Inside the Life of a PGA Caddie," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Aug. 3, 2011
John Koshuta, "Calories Burned During Sports," Livestrong.com, Jan. 19, 2010
Brett Zarda, "Is Golf a Sport?," Popular Science, Jan. 2, 2009
AJ McHardy, "Muscle Activity During the Golf Swing," British Journal of Sports Medicine, June 6, 2005
Greg D. Wells, et al., "Physiological Correlates of Golf Performance," Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, May 2009
National Collegiate Athletic Association, "2011-12 NCAA Division I Manual," NCAAPublications.com, Aug. 1, 2011
International College Athletic Connection, "College Golf Scholarships," Icacsports.com (accessed Apr. 6, 2012)
"About Nike Golf," nike.com (accessed May 23, 2012)
Will Tidey, "Golf's Biggest Players: Who Are the Super Agents Running the Game?," CNN.com, June 16, 2011
Tom Yantz, "Tiger Woods Bench Presses 315 Pounds in Nike Photo Shoot," Connecticut Courant, Sep. 22, 2010
Jan Cabri, et al., "Golf-related Injuries: A Systematic Review," European Journal of Sport Science, Oct. 2009
"Golf Injuries," The Hughston Clinic website (accessed May 23, 2012)
"Golf Injuries," American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine website, 2008
Bob Harig, "Barron First Player to Violate Policy," ESPN.com, Nov. 3, 2009
Ray Stefani , "The Methodology of Officially Recognized International Sports Rating Systems," Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, Oct. 2011
Source needed golf on TV
"Game," merriam-webster.com (accessed May 23, 2012)
"Game," Dictionary.com (accessed May 23, 2012)
B. E. Ainsworth, W. L. Haskell, S. D. Hermann, et al., "2011 Compendium of Physical Activities: A Second Update of Codes and MET Values," Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, Aug. 2011 [Editor's Note: the number of calories burned as shown for non-golf sports were calculated for a 200-pound person, the same average weight used in Neil Wolkodoff's study to determine how many calories are burned playing golf.]
Amy Goldstein, "The National Spelling Bee's Moment," ESPN.com, June 2, 2011
"Ultimate Degree of Difficulty Grid," ESPN.com (accessed May 23, 2012)
Geoffroy Berthelot, et al., "Exponential Growth Combined with Exponential Decline Explains Lifetime Performance Evolution in Individual and Human Species," Age, June 2011
Larry Schwartz, "The Green Master," ESPN.com (accessed May 23, 2012)
Karen Crouse, "Woods to Return Next Week in Match-Play Event," NewYorkTimes.com, Feb. 19, 2009
"Sleeping Positions," livestrong.com (accessed May 23, 2012)
Keith T. Palmer, "Pain in the Forearm, Wrist and Hand," Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology, Feb. 2003
Mark Starr, "Tiger Woods: A Golfer Still, But on Whose Team?," Global Post, Dec. 11, 2009
Katie Kieffer, "Whiffed Up Olympic Politics," KatieKieffer.com, Feb. 15, 2010
Joe Steranka, "Golf: America's $76 Billion Economic Engine," Econclub.org, July 21, 2008
Gallup, "What Is Your Favorite Sport to Watch?," Gallup.com (accessed May 23, 2012)
National Golf Foundation, "Frequently Asked Questions," NGF.org (accessed May 23, 2012)
Malcolm Campbell, "Battles Lost But a Game Won the Illustrious History of Scottish Golf," Worldgolf.com, July 16, 1999
Paul Kelbie, "Chinese 'Invented Golf 1,000 Years Ago,'" The Independent, Jan. 12, 2006
National Library of Scotland, "Acts of Parliament Banning Golf," Digital.nls.uk, 2010
The Official Gateway to Scotland, "Making the Links," Scotland.org (accessed May 23, 2012)
US Golf Association (USGA), "Rules and Decisions," USGA.org (accessed May 23, 2012)
Joseph F. Beditz, PhD, "The Future of Private Golf Clubs in America," National Golf Foundation website, 2008
Tim Delaney and Tim Madigan, The Sociology of Sports: An Introduction, 2009
William J. Morgan, Ethics in Sport, 2007
Lincoln Allison, The Politics of Sport, 1986
Tim van Vrijaldenhoven, Reaching Beyond the Gold: The Impact of Global Events on Urban Development, 2007
Milton Wayne, PhD, "Golf's Shambolic History in the Olympics," HK Golfer, Oct. 2009
Bill Mallon, "Golf and the Olympic Games," LA84Foundation.org, Summer 1993
"Golf News," Eagleparbirdie.com, Apr. 17, 2008
EM Swift, "Is This an Olympic Sport?," Sports Illustrated website, June 6, 2005
Simon Turnbull, "Golf and Rugby Turn Back Clock in Re-entering the Olympics," The Independent, Oct. 10, 2009
International Olympic Committee, "Golf and Rugby to Join 2016 Olympic Programme," Olympic.org, Oct. 9, 2009
Gene Wojciechowski, "Something Smells Rank in this System," ESPN.com, May 10, 2012
Rolex, "Rankings," Rolexrankings.com, Sep. 2011
PGA Tour, "2012 Tournaments," PGATour.com (accessed May 23, 2012)
Mason Levinson, "Masters TV Ratings Fall 22% as Bubba Watson Wins in Playoff," Bloomberg News, Apr. 9, 2012
National Golf Foundation, "Frequently Asked Questions," NGF.org (accessed May 23, 2012)
Michael Fitzpatrick, "Golf's Decline in America: Work/Life Balance Is the True Culprit," Bleacherreport.com, Mar. 29, 2011
"Casey Martin," pgatour.com (accessed May 23, 2012)
Bill Stieg, "How Rory McIlroy Won the Honda Classic," Men's Health, Mar. 2012
PGA Tour, "About PGA Tour," PGATour.com (accessed May 23, 2012)
Karen Crouse, "Augusta National Adds First Two Female Members, New York Times, Aug. 20, 2012