When One of the hazards of golf first appeared in print, it was instantly recognized as a witty commentary on the social rituals of the early twentieth century. Created by Charles Dana Gibson, the celebrated American illustrator behind the iconic "Gibson Girl," this work is one of several that satirize the growing popularity of golf among the upper classes. Gibson’s golf cartoons were so popular that they were frequently reproduced in magazines like Life and Collier’s, cementing his reputation as a sharp observer of modern leisure.

The precise date and medium of this particular drawing remain uncertain, but its humor and style place it firmly within Gibson’s prolific period between the 1890s and 1910s. In this scene, Gibson captures the exact moment when a golfer’s swing is interrupted by an unexpected obstacle: a group of elegantly dressed women, likely "Gibson Girls," who have wandered onto the course. The golfer’s startled expression and awkward posture, club frozen mid-air, contrast with the women’s serene composure, their elaborate hats and flowing dresses rendered in Gibson’s trademark pen-and-ink line. The visual joke hinges on the collision of two worlds—sport and society—each with its own rules and hazards.

Unlike the more earnest sporting scenes of Winslow Homer or the Impressionists’ outdoor gatherings, Gibson’s work uses gentle mockery to highlight the absurdities of fashionable life. The original drawing’s whereabouts are unknown, as is often the case with Gibson’s magazine illustrations, which were widely circulated and sometimes lost or dispersed after publication. Many of his works were later collected in albums or anthologies, ensuring their survival in print if not always in the original form. One of the hazards of golf stands as a testament to Gibson’s influence on American visual culture, bridging the worlds of fine art and mass media.

Today, it is most often encountered as a reproduction, a reminder of both the artist’s wit and the social world he so deftly skewered.