NGF: "Overall involvement in the game is actually up"

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With the addition of Topgolf and other off-course experiences added to their overall counts, the National Golf Foundation's annual study of golf participation reveals a few interesting things.

First, the bad news:

While the latest research indicates a modest 1.2% decline in on-course participation – dipping to 23.8 million (age 6+ who played at least once) in 2016 from 24.1 million in 2015, commitment to the sport in many respects is more evident than ever before.

Now the positives...starting with the committed.

The number of committed golfers – a group that accounts for approximately 95% of all rounds-played and overall spending – rose for the first time in five years, from 19.5 million to 20.1 million.

An 11% increase in "off-course participation" was largely attributable to Topgolf's inclusion in counts...

Driven primarily by the popularity and growth of Topgolf, a non-traditional form of golf entertainment, there were an estimated 20 million off-course participants in 2016. Of those, 8.2 million didn’t play on a golf course.

And the next dreaded but, the conversion factor...

The number of people who say they are “very interested” in taking up golf has doubled over the past five years, growing at an annual rate of nearly 15%. In addition to the 12.8 million non-golfers who said they’re very interested in playing golf, there are another 27.8 million who responded they’re “somewhat interested” in taking up the game. That increase has driven growth in the number of beginning golfers, with those who played on a golf course for the first time jumping to 2.5 million in 2016 from 1.5 million in 2011.

Topgolf is doing its part, with free lessons April 24th as part of National Golf Day. Eric Matuszewski reports in a Forbes roundup of business stories, including the new Seamus golf shoes and other notes.

It's the economy, stupid:

Recent increases in interest (latent demand) and beginning golfers appear to be correlated with increases in consumer confidence, spending and other favorable economic indicators. Just as these measures trended downward along with golf during and following the recession, they are now increasing as interest in traditional green-grass golf builds, and participation in non-traditional golf activity, such as Topgolf, rises.

This is a big number:

Golf’s overall reach remains extensive, and steady. An estimated 95 million people (or one out of every three Americans age 6+) played, watched or read about golf in 2016, the same number as in 2015.

And the big conclusion, which probably has been written, oh, annually...

The game’s challenge remains the same: getting more of those who express interest to actually give golf a try, and converting more beginners into committed participants. The encouraging sign for the industry is that the committed participant group now appears to be stabilized, while the number of players picking up a club at off-course facilities continues to build.

Market Watch: "How much longer can golf survive?"

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It's been a while since we've had a golf-is-dead piece to consider and as much as it pains me to say it, this one from Jason Notte at Market Watch scores a few points. Thanks to reader Blake for sending and sharing some thoughts on how, unfortunately this resonates with him as a 30-year-old golfer.

Looking at The Masters and other recent data Notte notes the many issues golf faces are related to demographics and a change in what people want to watch.

In 2014, Nielsen noted that 63% of the PGA’s television audience was over the age of 55. Some 87% of that audience was white, while only 12% was younger than 35. By comparison, only 25% of the National Basketball Association’s audience is 55 or older, 47% is younger than 35, and 57% is nonwhite.

The LPGA’s key demographic isn’t all that different from that of its male counterparts. Both the PGA and LPGA have a viewership that’s about 63% male. Roughly 64% of the LPGA’s audience is 30 or older, and 84% is white.

Golf’s core audience is literally dying, and it’s affecting golf far beyond its television broadcasts.

This conclusion will sting for many of us, and while an exaggeration, serves as a good wake-up call to keep up the current dialogue about livening up the game and how it is presented on television.

There is no second coming of Tiger Woods. There is no burgeoning generation of children longing to play a four-hour game filled with nitpicky, self-policing rules. There is no city in the U.S. willing to trade density and tax ratables for divots and rough. If golf has little to offer this country but televised shots of manicured greens and galleries and living rooms of cranky, aging diehards, then it should prepare to take a seat beside horse racing among U.S. sports antiques.

My main quibble with these types of stories and all other stories: golf has been around for centuries and will continue to be because it's a sound, interesting and unusual sport that can be enjoyed by all age groups.

The current cycle we are in is certainly not a positive one given that millennials, obsessed with their phones or other activities that do not extend their stay by more than ninety minutes, are the center of the business world's attention. So even though the folks with the buying power haven't cooled to the sport, the young but small audience is given too much weight in evaluating the viability of golf as a pastime.

Golf has been slow to keep its facilities up-to-date and this generation, which has high standards when it comes to food, beverage and experience, is understandably not enthused by golf's experience. There has been a shocking lack of imagination in offering promotions, incorporating technology or simply adjusting to basic societal shifts by golf facilities.

Golf's various tours and governing bodies are increasingly aware of these issues and making strides. Yet remain stubborn about addressing issues that will return the sport's ideal scale and pacing. Worse, there is often an air of desperation around initiatives that is noticed by those on the outside looking in.

And while golf on television has never been a young person's game or one that will attract mass audiences,  the right amount of broadcast modernization and incorporation of technology can at least keep viewers more engaged while serving players and sponsors better.

The question, however, remains: are all of these efforts just a bit too late?

Superintendent Headache Files: USGA Promoting Stimpmeters

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A few years ago a post here noted the USGA Stimpmeter offer at USGA.org and while it was surreal then, to see the organization pushing the $110 devices in emails to their members. Including "For The Good Of The Game" branding on the devices seems almost April Fools worthy.

Especially given how we know green speed is dangerous to turf health, pace of play and architectural character, all things we know because of USGA research and experience!

Some in the superintendent community, who will have to deal with members perhaps buying the devices, were not pleased. 

Texas Senate Votes To Transfer Lions Away Muny From UT

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Ralph K.M. Haurwitz of the Austin American-Statesman on news that the Texas state Senate voted 21-10 to transfer Lions Municipal Golf Course ownership from the University of Texas to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The bill now goes to the House.

This part made me chuckle given university plans for years to develop the course. What beacons of the community!

UT-Austin President Gregory L. Fenves offered in January to extend the city of Austin’s lease for Muny after it expires in May 2019 — provided that the city is willing to pony up lease payments that are closer to market value. Fenves testified before a Senate panel that the market value would be around $6 million a year, about 12 times the current rate paid by the city, which has operated the course for decades.

The Save Muny folks are understandably pleased:

Big Oak Buzzing About Golf's Inability To Stem The Tide Of Embarrassing Rules Imbroglios

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I file this Golfweek.com on informal samplling of big-wigs at Augusta National who are tired of all the talk centering on golf's inability to get this whole replay, rules, scorecard phone-in ruling nonsense figured out.  the Masters should not be distracted by such nonsense (or worse, if the forecast holds, issues arising here).

It's time for an emergency meeting of the Five Families. These wars need to happen once every ten years or so.

Leave the guns and the cannolis outside the meeting and get this figured out!

The piece.

For some context on what the greats are saying, here is Beth Ann Nichols on what Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson had to say about the situation.

Roundup: Polls And Promo Codes

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I've been putting you all to work and really appreciate the feedback. For your efforts, I hope you've been able to enjoy the 20% off offer from Criquet, who surprised us on ShackHouse with a nice offer.

Or from Athlete's Collective, who are giving site readers a great deal (promo code: SHACK) on their Conway 1/4 zips in heather grey and a very Masters-friendly heather green. At $34 a piece they're a bargain, but for $60 in the 2-pack bundle, a true steal.

I believe we have detected a theme in the recent polling: distance in the pro game is very much on your minds.

Regarding the variable distance ball concept I discussed here, 60% of you are very much in favor of its introduction as well as seeing it make a Masters appearance.

This is in line with your views after the WGC Match Play when distance was on many minds.

Finally, on match play's renaissance that I wrote about for Golfweek, I was floored to see so many wanting the PGA Championship to return to match play. A majority 39% of you wanted to see a return of the PGA Championship to match play, with traditional stroke play/knockout just edging a best ball match play.

Thanks as always for supporting the polls and the sponsors!

Video And Poll: The Variable Distance Ball

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In the coming months I'm going to start rolling out "Eye On Design" videos focusing on various design elements in golf that either interest me or need to be reconsidered. While it's not sexy to kick off with the "variable distance" ball topic, we might as well try to wrap our heads around what I anticipate will be a lively debate centered around golf course design.

To set this complicated topic up, here are my thoughts presented in digital video form. I flesh a few more thoughts out to (hopefully) better inform your votes...

 

For us technophobic, distance RIPer's, things have come a long way over the last decade. Just look at your reaction to the WGC Dell Match Play last week where we saw epic driving distances on fairways playing at a nice, normal firmness.

A consensus of serious golfers see that distance increases for elite players have altered the brilliance and safety of our best-designed courses. This combination of improved technology, blatant outsmarting by manufacturers and a host of other elements like Trackman and instruction, have forced the governing bodies to defend expensive and offensive alterations to works of art.

No other sport pats itself on the back more than golf for upholding its traditions and integrity. Yet no the other sport has sold its soul to protect a relationship between participation and the equipment professionals play. A relationship, which I might add, will continue even after a bifurcation of the rules.

Fast forward 22 years and the amazing synergy of athleticism, fitting, instruction and technology has produced super-human driving distances for decent golfers on up to the best. No other sport on the planet has tolerated such a dramatic change in short time, so should we see 10% taken off the modern driving distance average of an elite golfer--at certain courses and events--the sky will not fall. The players who use such a ball would restore the strategy and intrigue of most golf courses built before 1995. (That was the year, not coincidentally, when things started to change.)

Several solutions that do not fundamentally alter the sport have been offered endlessly. They've also been resisted even as the game has not grown during a technology boom that has seen golfers offered the best made and engineered equipment in the game's history. Solutions such as reducing the size of the driver head for professionals and tournament-specific golf balls have not been welcomed or even tried.

The growing sense that a first step solution is on the way arrived when the USGA’s Mike Davis suggested at the recent Innovation Symposium that a “variable distance” ball could be an alternative for select courses and select social situations.

From Mike Stachura’s Golf World report, quoting Davis:

“We don’t foresee any need to do a mandatory rollback of distance. We just don’t see it. But that’s different than saying if somebody comes to us and says I want an experience that doesn’t take as long or use as much land, can we allow for equipment to do that?”

As we know, the proposed rules of golf re-write emphasizes speeding up the game and everyone knows adding new back tees has never helped on this front. For the first time, elite golfers are suggesting they see the correlation between distance and new tees, but are also tired of walking back to such tees on golf courses where the flow of the round is fundamentally altered. 

Beyond the pace and silliness of it all, all indications suggest the USGA and R&A have also developed ways for the handicap system to address a variable distance ball that could be used in select circumstances.

Perhaps it's a club championship and is employed in lieu of extra rough or greens Stimping 13 feet. Or it's an invitational tournament played from tees other than the back. Or maybe there are golf courses experiencing pace of safety issues that will require golfers use such a ball?

On the social side, I expect the case to be made for golfers of different levels playing the same tees thanks to the variable distance ball,  Since Davis’s remarks, I have been surprised how many golfers have told me this would make their Saturday foursomes a more cohesive affair, with everyone playing the same tees and the short hitters not frightened by getting fewer shots from a scratch golfer using a shorter flying ball.

Most of all, such a ball on certain courses would return certain skills (hitting a long iron approach?) and end decades of pretending golf does not have an integrity problem.

I point all of this out because Davis’s remarks were no accident. Whether anyone likes it or not, this ball is coming. The variable ball will not be forced, just another way to play the game. The British ball did not break the sport and neither will this option. Because that's all it is, an option. Given that The Masters arrives next week featuring long fairway grain mown toward the tee to prevent roll, I believe the variable distance ball will again be on the minds of all watching.

With that in mind, your votes, please!

Question 1:

Is golf ready to add a variable distance ball?
 
pollcode.com free polls

Question 2:

Should The Masters adopt a variable distance ball instead of adding more length to the course?
 
pollcode.com free polls

Q&A With Steve Timms, Houston Golf Association

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As the PGA Tour leaves Austin and the spotlight on the dire Lions Muny situation there--Adam Schupak at MorningRead.com filed a nice look at the place and the fight--we at least get to hear a happier story in Houston this week.

Rendering of renovated clubhouse at Gus Wortham ParkUnder the leadership of Steve Timms, President/CEO of the Houston Golf Association, the organization has turned the Shell Houston Open into a must-play tour stop for many pre-Masters. They are behind the effort to save Gus Wortham Park Golf Course, a potential model for other communities.

In year 16 as tournament director, I asked Steve to answer a few questions about how they structured the effort to save Wortham and also the upcoming end to Shell's run as sponsor. Timms also oversees the largest First Tee chapter in the U.S.

Given the importance of this topic in so many cities across the land, we all know how important it is to hear from those successfully tackling this vital issue for golf. Oh, and to see the project underway!

GS: Explain how the Houston Golf Association got into the management and renovation effort at Gus Wortham, and the role Shell Oil Company played?
 
ST: In 2014, Houston Golf Association (HGA) assumed operations of F.M. Law Park Golf Course, taking over maintenance and turning the public golf course into a dedicated The First Tee (TFT) Facility. That same year, we learned about a proposal to turn the historic Gus Wortham Park Golf Course into a botanic garden. As advocates and stewards of the game, we felt it was our duty to help save this golf course and restore it to its former glory.
 
Houston Golf Association, backed by the financial engine of the Shell Houston Open (and Shell Oil Company), was in a position to pursue a solution to manage and operate the courses, raising private funds as a nonprofit self supporting enterprise to maintain facility quality for years to come. Given our proven track record maintaining F.M. Law Park Golf Course, City Council unanimously approved a resolution that Gus Wortham would remain a public golf course operated by the HGA. As we approached our second fundraising milestone needed to initiate the construction start, Shell Oil Company stepped up to provide funds needed for the proposed community center.
 
The Gus Wortham Park property has much potentialGS: Is the non-profit model for this much-needed work something you see as repeatable in other cities with tired courses or is this unique to Houston?
 
ST: The original non-profit model was implemented in Baltimore in the late 80s. We feel that this model is applicable in other cities because it has six main benefits:
 
1) Lessens the financial burden on the government
2) Sets up a sustainable business model (long-term operating lease agreement in our case)
3) Allows for private fundraising to upgrade the facilities
4) Allows cash flow generated from the facilities to be reinvested back into the facilities (by design as a nonprofit)
5) Improves accessibility of affordable golf, and in our case, extends our youth programs (The First Tee of Greater Houston and HGA Junior Golf) into more underserved communities
6) Acts as economic development stimulus in the surrounding communities (in our case, Houston’s East End)
 
GS: Are you looking at ways to revitalize the other city courses?
 
ST: Yes. We have developed an overall master plan for four additional facilities that’s currently being evaluated. We are also proposing the establishment of a new The First Tee location on an old golf course property, Inwood Forest, whose land is owned by the City of Houston.
 
GS: What has been the most difficult aspect for your organization in getting this restoration/revitalization effort going?
 
ST: In January 2015, we signed the contract with the city and were required to raise $5M by the end of that year -- a time period that was challenging for fundraising. Now, with our fundraising needs met, we are experiencing the normal challenges of any organization involved in a major, multi-phase construction project. We are seeing great progress though and are excited about the project’s eventual completion later this year.
 
Construction underway at Gus Wortham ParkGS: From your perspective, what are some of the best ways to “grow the game” and attract new junior golfers?
 
ST: We think it’s important to attract young people and pique their interest in golf at an early age. Through The First Tee of Greater Houston, we reach almost 300,000 students in 455 schools throughout Houston. Access and affordability are also important in trying to foster interest. Public golf courses serve as a key expansion of our The First Tee program into underserved communities. These courses, when revitalized, can provide kids from every walk of life with a place to practice, grow their skills and move into competitive opportunities like our HGA Junior Golf program.
 
GS: Have you seen any impact from the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship in the Houston area?
 
ST: We are proud of our two The First Tee participants, Ariana Saenz and Bella Saenz. Ariana qualified for the Drive, Chip and Putt in 2015. Now her sister is following in her footsteps. Bella is headed to Augusta to participate in the 2017 competition. The fact that they are sisters has certainly generated a lot of buzz and excitement in our community.
 
GS: What is the hoped-for best case scenario for the Shell Houston Open going forward as it looks for a sponsor and the PGA Tour potentially juggles the schedule in a few years?
 
ST: As our 26-year partnership with Shell wraps up, we are continuing to work hard to secure a new title sponsor that will help us continue to do so much in our community. We have enjoyed success with our date before the Masters and hope to keep that date on the schedule, which is dictated by the PGA Tour. 

WGC's The Only Reason Arnold Palmer's Event Faces Hurdles

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I think we all hate dwelling on the future of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in the year following The King's passing. But Palmer was a businessman who loved and nurtured this event. So discussing its past, present and future would presumably resonate with him even as he would undoubtedly be uncomfortable taking attention away from the players.

Jeff Babineau did a super job for Golfweek.com summing up Wednesday's ceremony at Bay Hill to remember The King, but also reflected on how far this event has come and where it may go without Palmer.

I loved this anecdote:

The API, which moved to Bay Hill from nearby Rio Pinar (Florida Citrus Open) in 1979, has come quite a long way. The purse has been bumped to $8.7 million, and this week’s winner not only will leave $1.56 million richer, but will receive a three-year PGA Tour exemption, not the usual two a winner grabs.

This week’s event will celebrate the everyday fan who connected with the blue-collar likes of Palmer, with large public grandstands now sitting up close to seven of the course’s greens.

It’s a far cry from Year 1 at the then-named Bay Hill Citrus Classic in 1979, when the makeshift grandstand that sat behind the 18th green was borrowed from nearby Boone High School.

That little nugget is a perfect reminder that is was events like the Bay Hill Citrus Classic, the Western Open, the Los Angeles Open, the Houston Open, the Bob Hope and on and on we can go with 10-12 events that built and stabilized the PGA Tour.

And with too much regularity, the focus of these events revolves around their weaker-than-normal fields, their strange new dates or their difficulty in attracting a sponsor. Nearly all have been adversely effected by many factors, but it's the creation of World Golf Championship events that consistently tops all side-effects.

We all understand the globalization of golf and market forces, but when those forces so adversely impact even an event nurtured by a modern sports legend. it's time for all current players and executives to take a hard look at the tour's purpose. Because if this is, as they say, about playing opportunities and charitable dollars, it's these core founding events that deserve to be treated as kings.

Precious Millennials Files: SXSW's Golf Panel Edition

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The cool kids are gathering in Austin this week prior to next week's WGC Dell Match Play and in a tradition unlike any other, a golf panel was assembled Sunday because, well, someone probably paid for it.

Apparently South By Southwest turned to an automated copy writer or someone from Bruce Lee's artisanal, small-batch, craft scriptwriting team to describe this "Intermediate" gathering.

Remember, I just copy and paste...

Brands must evolve and sports brands are no exception. But sports traditions are sometimes the most sacred of customs and golf may be the most brutal of masters.

It's debatable whether that was an attempted play on words, but the judges'll give it to them. Go on...

Golf is attempting thrive in an era that is changing so rapidly that the way a sport is consumed might be radically different in just one season.

Hmmm...profound, though not entirely accurate until I get a PGA Tour Live press release touting some numbers. Any numbers.

But hey, it's a golf panel at the cool kids conference, so I get the hard sell mode. I'll stop interrupting...

Does a round count at a Topgolf range and is a fan of an irreverent smartphone video worth the same attention as an argyle-wearing TV-watcher?

Ok, I know I said I was done interrupting but seriously? An argyle association?

How can golf keep the attention of potential fans? This panel will explore these challenges, examining what a game that can be burdened with its tradition and but lives by its history needs to do to survive the attention span of a 20-year-old.

Eh-em, golf's history dates back at least 400 years so I'm guessing it'll survive the attention span of today's 20-year-old.

But hey you guys explore, we can't wait to study the transcript for deep, deep thoughts on how to survive the 20-year-old's attention span!

More Pros Embracing Variable Distance Golf Ball Idea

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A few years ago if GolfChannel.com's Will Gray had surveyed PGA Tour players about something like the USGA's variable distance ball suggestion, the good soldiers would have all demanded that people pay to see them hit it as far as possible.

Of course we know that (A) most people only pay money to see a handful of players and (B) most of those paying people couldn't tell the difference between a 290 yard drive a 325 yard one.

But good news, instead of reciting talking points of manufacturers, the idea of a golf balls to suit surfaces makes sense to players who have seen what the folks in tennis have done to better suit their implements to surfaces and athletes.

Charl Schwartzel views Davis’ idea as an added opportunity to help pace of play if new tees built well beyond the course’s original design no longer have to be used.

“Now you have to walk 150 yards back and then walk this way, so you’re walking 300 yards and you’re still at the same place,” Schwartzel said. “If you can make the balls and clubs go shorter, and you can play the old courses, then the game will be 3 ½ hours again. It’s simple. But you’ve got to walk so far, how are you going to play quick? It’s impossible to play quick.”

He keeps talking like that I might even forget he killed an elephant!

After Jamie Lovemark is quoted saying folks pay to see the long ball, Augusta National comes up (as it's known to do in these discussions).

“I think if the USGA or R&A try to do it, there might be a lot of players kicking and screaming,” he said. “Somehow when it happens at Augusta, there’s a slightly different respect level there. Not sure why, it’s just something special about Augusta.”

And even better was this:

“Something’s got to happen,” McDowell said. “We’re starting to lose the integrity of some of the most beautiful courses in the world. They’re becoming outdated, which is just a little scary, really.”