Golf is played by twenty million mature American men whose wives think they are out having fun.

Bishop’s line is a wry, mid‑century style jab at golf as a ritualized escape for adult men—less “fun” than a socially sanctioned way to be away from home for hours. The humor depends on the gap between perception and reality: wives imagine carefree recreation, while the players experience frustration, obsession, and self-imposed pressure. By specifying “mature American men” and an enormous number, the quote also satirizes golf as a mass cultural habit tied to masculinity, leisure, and status. The punchline implies that golf’s true appeal is not pleasure but permission: it legitimizes time spent pursuing an exacting, often maddening challenge.