The sun has barely found its spot in the 7-A.M. morning sky, but many of the city’s urbanites are already dressed in their crisp polos, pressed chinos, and luxury shades, ready to pick up a club and some business cards as they converge at one of the many posh, freshly trimmed grassy golf courses spread out across Jakarta. Once the busy office hours are over, it’s the indoor courts’ turn to be populated by stylish youngsters donning Alos and New Balances, exchanging their iPads for a racket and a ball, ready to alleviate some stress with a game of either tennis or padel.

It’s a common scene nowadays, following the post-pandemic boom of “social sports” that treat fitness as more than a mere workout. Granted, these types of sports where people come together and just have a good time doing it isn’t a novel concept; the popularity of soccer and futsal in Indonesia predates the uptick of these recreational athletics. It can even be argued that Indonesia’s affinity for badminton ushers that of the aforementioned racketed sports, with medals secured in global championships as prestigious as the Olympics pinpointing it in the country’s popular culture.

But with golf, tennis, and padel, there’s an air of chicness to it, with how it weaves itself into the fabrics of an average cosmopolitan sophisticate’s daily lifestyle.

It’s no longer just a ball game; the greater score is the camaraderie, the conversations over coffee afterwards, or in golf’s case, shaking gloved hands on million-dollar business deals. All this makes these sports something worth capturing for the day’s Instagram story update—something aspirational, even, as a status symbol. It manifests physically in clubs and courts that function as more than just grounds for matches, such as Common Grounds Terra in Menteng that’s a coffee shop-tennis court hybrid, or the lavish clubhouses that become the facade for a sprawling golf course.

The latter, lately, has been garnering discourse among social media users in regard to golf courses making up the majority of Jakarta’s urban green areas. It started with a post on X criticizing padel, by which a response comparing it to golf sparked the subsequent conversation on the app. 

“On Google Maps, most [parks and open spaces] are golf courses,” one user tweeted.

“It’s such a pity, a huge chunk of green on the map of Jakarta is mostly golf courses,” echoed another.

While some may argue that green spaces are green spaces nonetheless, especially amidst a densely populated concrete jungle, golf courses are set up to only benefit the wealthy. The sport has long been associated with the elite due to its costly nature that turns away a big chunk of the population that may not be able to spare millions of Rupiahs just to pick it up. How not, when running the facilities incurs huge fees, from caddies and equipment to the obligatory Ralph Laurens to fit in with the clubhouse regulars? Some say that’s exclusivity; for others, it’s another unattainable wealth indicator. And it’s enforced upon the city’s green spaces.

Golf courses commercialize the few open areas Jakarta has, a blatant demonstration of capitalism that denies the lower class access to these spaces.

While those like Urban Forest Cipete and family-friendly public commons (RPTRA) exist, the city still lacks lush, vibrant parks à la Central Park in New York City—another concrete jungle famously known for having multiple open-access urban parks throughout its five boroughs.

To top it all off, the sport’s interrelation with the rich makes it a prime tool for gentrification; not just in Jakarta, but also in major cities of other third-world countries like Manila and Rio. It’s even a problem in Black-majority U.S. cities like Austin, Denver, Atlanta, and even Los Angeles. And as PIK 2 prepares to open a brand new 27-hole golf course on its reclaimed island, complete with two housing complexes that would undoubtedly appeal only to the privileged few, more conversations surrounding Jakarta’s space efficiency are abuzz.

This golf-course invasion speaks volumes of the class divide marring citywide infrastructures globally. There’s nothing wrong with picking up a club or a racket that costs as much as (or more than) a laborer’s wage, but should the wealthy really have their cake and eat it too?