In 1457, King James II banned golf in Scotland by an act of Parliament to force his male subjects to take up archery in case they were called to war. His grandson, James IV, lifted the ban 50 years later, and the centuries-old stick-and-ball game largely avoided politics and affairs of state ever since.

Now, as the PGA Tour and the rival Saudi-funded LIV Golf struggle to settle their legal issues and somehow reunite the sport, surprising political fissures are cracking their way across courses as issues and events ranging from 9/11 to MAGA trigger fan disputes in person or via social media.