Aerial Golf

Aerial Golf

This 1934 photo from the Library of Congress purports to show a new “craze for the idle rich” — aerial golf. Here’s the caption — and the rules.

New craze for idle-rich … aerial golf. With not enough hazards in an ordinary game of golf, and not enough adventure in flying, some genius has invented aerial golf. The rules are quite simple. There are nine holes, each one an airport near Washington. The play flies to the first airport, tee #1 and from a minimum height of 500 feet, drops the ball, attached to a parachute, to the nearest pit or hole, indicated by a red flag at the airport. He then lands his plane, finds his ball and proceeds as in every game of golf, to hit the ball into the hole with his golf clubs. This done, he tunes up his plane and flies to the next airport or tee #2 and repeats. Every player is required to carry a score-keeper. Photo shows three girls, prominent in Washington Society absorbed in a game of aerial golf.

It is pretty obvious that this didn’t catch on — and why.

It would have been perfect if this game was played at the Aviation Country Club of Detroit.