Golf: Royal and Ancient Back Golf at Beijing Olympics

The image of golf as a game for old buffers and the middle classes could change radically if a move to have the game accepted as an Olympic sport is successful.

The signs are that golf will be introduced for the 2008 Games in Beijing. The rapid rise in golf's popularity in the Far East is the driving force behind the Olympic move. Accepting golfers into the Olympic family is now one of the International Olympic Committee's principal objectives, according to Peter Dawson, chief executive of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club, the game's global administrators outside North America.

He said: 'They very much want to get golf in, as it is the only global game not presently included.'

'For a number of years the IOC have had applications on their table from lots of sports but of all those, the two rumoured to be the most likely to be included have been golf and rugby,' said Craig Reedie, chairman of the British Olympic Association and a member of the IOC. 'It seems that golf is the more likely. It is the last truly great worldwide sport that is not on the programme. I think its inclusion would be as meritorious as tennis as long as the top players were eligible.

'It would work wonders particularly for women's golf because it would create a truly global event for them and help the profile of the sport.'

The sports most likely to be dropped to make way for golf are modern pentathlon, softball or baseball. Golf's inclusion is due to be discussed by the IOC's ruling executive board at a meeting later this year, but a final decision cannot be taken until a meeting of the full membership in Singapore next July.

If golf is in, the decision would have massive benefits for the game as Asia and, particularly, the Far East are the most fertile seedbeds for growth. Already there are close to 200 golf clubs in China, with an estimated 500,000 players. Even this figure places China fifteenth on golf's 'most popular' list of countries. If golf takes off at the Olympics, China could become the world's number one golfing nation. Whether they would want the game administered in Scotland by the 250-year-old R&A remains to be seen.

'Olympic participation in Beijing would produce, more than anything else, a significant effect on Asia,' said Dawson. 'There would be a proper appreciation of the game and the game's values.'

There are problems to be solved before any Olympic advance is made. Drug testing remains a complicated area for professional golf, with tournaments spread over almost every continent and no one body in sole charge of all events. And there is the question of which players would respond to an Olympic invitation. Tiger Woods has expressed an interest in playing but Nick Faldo has already said, 'I think it would be great if it was part of an amateur schedule, under-25s or something like that, because you are playing for a medal.'