We love to stereotype golf and golfers. Elitist, pringle-jumpered, check-trousered misogynists who pay exorbitant fees to knock a ball around a course. But according to a UK survey the game is becoming more popular with working and middle class males with fewer higher class types from the AB1 social group than ever before.

The survey found that regular participation by men between 1992 and 1998 has increased from 12 per cent to 14 per cent but the number of AB1 males playing the game over the same period fell from 19 per cent to 16 per cent. However, those on low and middle incomes playing the game increased by 12 per cent.

While the number of people joining clubs has risen from 436,000 to 720,000 since 1985, the numbers playing on council run courses and those who play but do not belong to any golf club has risen to about 1.5 million.

Fact of the matter is that despite the antediluvian policies of some clubs, most golf clubs are moving towards the vast family market where younger people are being attracted by a package of leisure facilities.

The appeal of youthful icons such as Tiger Woods, antiestablishment figures such as John Daly and young fashionable golfplaying celebrities such as Chris Evans and model Cindy Crawford have also combined to change the image of the game.

What might just depress the traditionalists is the `new breed's' sense of etiquette. The survey also showed that clothing standards might be dropping as younger players make do with common leisure wear while older golfers continue to dip into the more expensive specialist brands.