The most recent examples were a now deleted tweet from Hayden Clarkin, noting how much housing could be built on a course, and video of climate group Planet Over Profit protesting at New York's Sebonack Golf Club.

These opinions and active protest won’t stop anytime soon, nor will the frequent articles from anti-golf corners.

In many of these cases, golf is an easy target to push a message on lack of housing or open green space, with those pushing the message having little interest in actually hearing a counter point.

Despite that being the case, golf, and golfers, need to be better at sharing opposing views, educating on the benefits of golf and disproving out of date stereotypes, instead of how much of our community currently reacts.

Far too much of the response to the aforementioned video on social media was to suggest that if commenters were present, they would have taken physical action in the form of hitting a golf ball at the protestors.

In the case of that video and Clarkin’s tweet, the other instant reaction is to paint the issue of pro-golf vs anti-golf as a black and white political issue.

Instead, as The Fried Egg’s Garrett Morrison brilliantly pointed out in a Twitter thread (HERE), we should find ways to relate and work with these people against golf. And shout from the rooftops golf’s positives.

By way of example, Royal Melbourne Golf Club is home to numerous indigenous plant species that are found in few, if any, other places around the country that are carefully cared for and open for display during an annual walk and talk that is in no way about golf.

The number of golf clubs around Australia with active beehives on site are increasing, utilising the space and environmental conditions to support ecology. Hopefully more clubs look to engage the non-golfing segment of their community with ways to share land without impacting the golf, think walking tracks.

Then there is the actual playing of golf.

The regular refrain from anti-golf circles of “old white men” isn’t true of the game’s current demographic. The Australian Golf Strategy is helping to correct that misconception, while the simple act of showing non-golfers what a golfer is, and how diverse that term is, provides a powerful message.

"So next time the anti-golf brigade prepare their pitchforks, think of these examples and try to engage rather than rage. You never know how many flies you’ll catch with honey instead of vinegar."

Fellow columnist Rod Morri shared a video of Ayuna starting her journey as a disabled golfer on Twitter by tagging in Clover Moore and Nikki Gemmell, two ardent opponents to golf in the past.

By attempting to engage with the pair, Rod’s point that golfers are far from what many believe them to be is powerful, and impossible to argue isn’t a deserved pursuit for people like Ayuna.

Sure, as has been the case with Moore, who Rod has persistently offered the chance to debate golf and her want to limit Moore Park Golf Club’s footprint on a podcast, you may not get a response, but other golfers will see how to act. And perhaps other opponents will take an interest in at least learning before they launch into tired cliches.

Of course, renowned Aussie pro Sandy Jamieson is perhaps the best example of this with his inclusive approach to the game and how it is played and spreading the gospel of golf.

So next time the anti-golf brigade prepare their pitchforks (there were genuinely pitchforks at Sebonack), think of these examples and try to engage rather than rage. You never know how many flies you’ll catch with honey instead of vinegar.