This tradition also goes down to a round of golf with friends, where there's no money on the line at all. Also, while golf started out as a game for the wealthy, there are quite a few teachers, etc who golf now too. Finally, a membership to the local country club could be someone's big monthly splurge; instead of lots of cable channels, etc, they just have a golf membership so they can go do something they enjoy without worrying about it. Golfing simply isn't as hoity-toity as it used to be.