Golf: The Game of Empire

Abstract

In the academic literature on sports, cricket holds the distinguished title of “Game of the Empire.” The sport’s enduring presence across the former British imperial territories stands as a living testament to the role cricket played at the heart of this imperial project. However, I want to propose a different reading of the term empire and its associated sport. If we broaden our understanding and treat the concept of empire not only as a British historical project but also as a recurring modern formation, defined by a myriad of ways to exercise power and control beyond national borders, then cricket’s claim to the title becomes far less firm. Within this expanded understanding of empire, a stronger candidate emerges in golf. The latter followed the same early path as cricket but transcended the borders of the British Empire, becoming closely associated with US elites and the army for most of the twentieth century. In the twenty-first century, golf has become the game par excellence of global corporations and financial institutions. In this article, I contend that the title “Game of the Empire” should still be given to cricket, but the far-reaching and expansive title “ the Game of Empire” is reserved only for golf.