Your anecdotal evidence says a lot more about the kind of people you surround yourself with than anything else. 60% of people in the US are still living paycheck to paycheck; many don’t have the time or the money for even the cheaper entry fees, especially when you consider having to buy/rent clubs.
Plus… why would an organization like the NGF downplay the number of golfers when their goal is literally to research and promote golfing?
Well, firstly, there’s the artistry of it. Creativity can be very sexy; it’s a kind of intelligence, after all. Hence writing, cooking, painting, ect. also being on the list. Not to mention, wood is a beautiful medium overall… and it smells nice when freshley cut.
Secondly, it’s attractive to be good with your hands. Not just because of the obvious, but because it’s genuinely admirable. It’s a show of competence (or at least one kind of competence) and requires one to be hard-working, dedicated, passionate, and persevering. All pretty universally attractive traits.
A carpenter’s hands may be rough and scarred, but they’re rough and scarred because they’ve literally crafted furniture/boats/houses/whatever. That in itself is pretty attractive to me.
Personally, hand tools, because they require one to use more of their own power, if that makes sense. Plus, power tools are a little too dangerous for me to see them in a sexy context lol. Frankly, the tools themselves don’t really do much for me.
Edit: two words