Business of Golf Circle...Err...Conference
Friday, January 28, 2005 at 12:16 PM Appearing before a tiny crowd (Fred Ridley: “You might want to do this a little later in the day next time, hopefully get a few more people here, but thanks to all of you who did come out”), some of golf’s big wigs got together at the PGA Show to discuss the state of the game.
Naturally, after they got done thanking one another and admiring their devotion to minorities, women and their fellow governing bodies, the panel turned to messier topics like technology. This allowed PGA Tour Commish Tim Finchem to plug ShotLink and state for the record that he’s relying on the USGA to get him out of this mess. The discussion gave USGA President Fred Ridley a chance to make a ridiculous statement in defense of the USGA.
Ridley: “We really haven't seen the types of increases in the past couple of years that we saw back in the 90s.” (1999 Tour avg.: 271 yards; 2004 Tour avg.: 287 yards)
But Ridley sees golf coming back. Corporate tent sales at Pinehurst look good: “I think we've seen corporate involvement, corporate spending starting to come back. I know in our environment that has certainly been evident at our championships. Certainly the U.S. Open we are going to have a terrific year this year at Pinehurst.”
These guys are good!