Way back in 1963, Sports Illustrated reported on an unexpected trend: golf, the sport invented centuries prior in Scotland — was becoming hugely popular in Asia. While the article notes the game’s rising popularity in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, “nowhere has the arrival been such a smash hit as in Japan.” The article notes that in the last five years, “the number of golf courses in Japan has jumped from 70 to more than 300 — a rate of four new golf courses a month.” The inevitable end result? Mario was going to golf, and it would mark the official start of a hugely important spinoff series of sports games.
