Love/Hate

This book offers a critical, interdisciplinary exploration of junior golf in twenty-first century America, positioning it as a rich site for examining broader questions about identity, access, culture, and power within youth sport.

Drawing from sport sociology, cultural studies, and sport management, the authors interrogate how structures of race, class, gender, and institutional governance shape participation in junior golf, while also attending to the lived experiences, aspirations, and pressures that define young athletes’ journeys. Beyond this primary focus, the book offers insight into how sport operates as a cultural and material force that reflects—and reproduces—deeply embedded social values. In capturing the contradictions of a sport steeped in tradition yet shaped by contemporary pressures, this book bridges empirical research and critical theory, inviting readers to rethink how we structure, value, and understand youth sport in an increasingly stratified and performance-driven world.