Golf has experienced significant growth only three times since the second half of the 20th century. The first boom came during the 1950s, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower took up the game. Somewhat related to Ike, and certainly related to the emergence of televised golf, another spike coincided with the emergence of Arnold Palmer in the 1960s.
The last and possibly greatest uptick came in 1997, after Tiger Woods won his first major in jaw-dropping, historic fashion less than eight months after turning professional. Tiger took the game by storm, single-handedly changing its face and image as the first person of color to dominate the sport. Tiger’s run of dominance lifted all boats and brought a surge in players and profits that, despite some subsequent ebbs and flows, still resonates strongly.
Golf’s stewards were cautiously optimistic about Tigermania upon arrival. Many had seen booms and busts in other participatory sports, notably tennis, and sought to sustain the latest surge in popularity. To that end, in 2000 the leadership of the game’s governing bodies launched an organization called Golf 20/20 to serve as an incubator for new initiatives that would grow the sport through the year 2020.
The main objectives of Golf 20/20 were to increase interest and participation. That second objective, also called player development, is roughly defined as bringing in new players and retaining current ones. This is absolutely essential to golf’s health, and each year Golf 20/20 held conferences to identify what was working and what wasn’t.
As we approach the end of 2020, a tumultuous year that has also seen one of the largest jumps in rounds played on record, it’s the perfect time to consider the programs that emerged from the Golf 20/20 initiative, measure their success and predict what will work going forward.
I went to my first Golf 20/20 in 2004, the fifth edition. At the time, I was the director of marketing and communications for the company that ran Washington, D.C.’s three public golf courses. We were asked to be a part of the discussion because our courses stood for the mission of growing the game. Even though I didn’t know a soul there, I was welcomed into the 20/20 group – a defining moment in my burgeoning love of golf.
These conferences produced some of the most successful player development efforts. The first and arguably most successful: the effort to reach out to women, who were poorly represented in golf’s demographics. In fact, at many private clubs around the country, women were still not welcome as players or as individual members. Yet statistics showed that in the majority of American households, women controlled the budget and the calendar. To reach out to this huge potential source of growth, in 2004 the industry launched Women’s Golf Week. The program generated an enthusiasm that spawned other such initiatives. It didn’t hurt to have Annika Sorenstam in her prime as arguably the second-best player on the planet after Tiger.
Another big success: The First Tee. Now known simply as First Tee, the program began in 1997 as a partnership among the LPGA, the Masters Tournament, the PGA of America, the PGA TOUR, and the USGA to make golf affordable and accessible for all kids. The organization is an unequivocable triumph, having reached 15 million kids since its founding and currently present at 1,200 green-grass facilities nationwide, as well as at more than 10,000 elementary schools that offer golf as part of their physical education curriculum.
The effort to polish golf’s reputation among state and federal lawmakers has received few headlines but achieved major results. Somehow golf had ended up in the persona non grata file for disaster relief alongside brothels, liquor stores and gun shops. That wake-up call prompted the industry to hire representation to demonstrate to lawmakers golf’s popularity and financial impact. There is now an annual National Golf Day, where the industry participates in a sophisticated and effective lobbying effort that has changed the way Washington views and treats the sport.
While these and other efforts helped buoy the numbers, statistics still showed that the industry has been on a slow but steady decline since its 2000 peak. Factors both inside and outside golf’s control contributed; for example, according to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), the struggling U.S. economy was responsible for much of the 12 percent decline in the number of golfers from 2000 to 2012. Another headwind: the closing of many upscale daily-fee courses, a glut of which had been built to take advantage of the housing bubble and the Tiger Effect.
Entering 2020, all signs pointed to a typical year of either a marginal gain or loss of the 24-27 million golfers in America. Then came COVID-19. Desperate for a way to safely exercise and socialize, golf emerged as an ideal solution, needing only a few tweaks to become compliant with the new necessities of safety and social distancing.
The NGF recently reported rounds up 25 percent year over year, an especially stunning statistic given that millions of rounds were lost at the onset of the pandemic in March and April. New golfers appeared in droves and existing players with newly flexible work schedules made their way onto tee sheets at an eye-popping rate. The latest report from Golf Datatech revealed that August rounds were up 20.6 percent year over year, which translates to an increase of roughly 10 million rounds. That came on the heels of a 13.9 percent increase in June and a 19.7 percent increase in July, which equated to 27 million more rounds played over that three-month period than in 2019.
The irony of benefitting from a pandemic is what it is, as Tiger might say. The challenge is to figure out ways to keep those golf newbies onboard after the pandemic subsides.
So I decided to revisit my notes from old Golf 20/20 conferences to see if there might be some useful, relevant inspiration for retaining players now
Golf is Always Healthy
While this may be news to some, insiders have long been aware that health and wellness are among the game’s key benefits. President Teddy Roosevelt called golf a “perfect pastime” and many studies have concluded that avid golfers enjoy longer, healthier, happier lives. These benefits should be emphasized by the industry post-pandemic, as people focus on maintaining a balanced health regimen.
Go Beyond Tiger
While player development initiatives have been created and implemented for women, children, veterans and other demographics, the main impetus for Black people to pay attention to golf remains Tiger Woods. A well-conceived campaign directed at courting people of color would almost certainly yield a significant number of dedicated avid golfers. Small-scale efforts exist; it’s time to supersize them.
Alternate Rules
Despite their recent simplification, the Rules remain fairly complex to novices. For beginners, the emphasis should be on creating a fun experience that makes them want to come back. Instead of playing by strict rules, create alternate rules such as tee it up from anywhere, limit the number of shots per hole, and automatic drops from penalty areas. Alternate rules will let newcomers grow in experience and aptitude without slowing down their appreciation of the game… or the group behind them.
Alternate Courses
A round of 18 holes can take more than 4 hours to play, a chunk of time rarely available to parents or appealing to millennials. Courses built or set up to play fewer holes will provide a satisfying experience while reducing the time and expense required to play.
Hit Them Where They Live
Golf runs its player development promos during Tour events – to an audience that’s already sold. We should stop preaching to the choir and instead place compelling content on non-golf channels. Ads placed in NFL games, popular broadcast programming and other high-traffic areas will reach the new and potential convert, reinforcing the idea that golf will meet you where you are.
New Faces
Reviewing the list of leaders that attended the Golf 20/20 conferences, it was striking to note that about 70 percent still fill the game’s top positions. Golf’s leadership is not only static, it remains quite homogenous in terms of race and gender. To its credit, the game has recognized this issue, and efforts are afoot to diversify the C-suites of the game’s governing bodies and big companies. This effort must be accelerated, with an emphasis on bringing people whose talent currently exceeds their ability or experience with the game.
Golf is unlikely to ever experience precipitous decline that befell tennis. But if the sport is going to thrive long term, it must embrace all people, regardless of their background. At its core, golf is a fun and compelling way to spend time, for a lifetime. Hopefully, the game’s current stewards will find stimuli other than the pandemic to sustain the gains made in 2020.
Become a member today and let’s leave a positive impact on the game we love.
