Significant Developments.

The Depression caused many country clubs to close, but New Deal programs such as the WPA saw to the building of nearly two hundred public golf courses. Enthusiasm for the sport dwindled a little, as smaller crowds came out to see the major tournaments. Still, golfing got better. Equipment — both golf clubs and golf balls — improved. The move from hickory shafts to steel ones provided longer drives. Golfer Gene Sarazen invented the sand wedge in his Florida garage in 1930. More-meticulous attention was paid to groundskeeping and landscaping. Built for Bobby Jones, the Augusta National, one of the most challenging golf courses in the world, opened in Augusta, Georgia, in 1934 and became the home of the Masters Tournament. The new event would be limited to sixtyfive or so of the very best golfers in the world. The miniature-golf craze would die out...