It's a different game on the continent than in Britain, see the inauguration of the Marienbad golf course (now Czech Republic) in 1905 by King Edward VII as a proper example.
Here in Germany, it has been limited to an elite of 70,000 (players related to members of the national golfing union) before 1980, eager to create (social and monetary) walls between them and "the croud". Then, Bernhard Langer, a former caddie from Augsburg, caused more interest by his double Masters win, and now they/we are 600,000 members, mush less exclusive. But still, union membership is indispensable to play the game.
The change has arrived (mostly), but some haven't accepted it yet. The prices show that.
And, it looks as if the game has passed it's vertex - the first golf courses are subject to closing now (first victim in my vincinity in 2015).