"Why joining an exclusive golf club isn’t as unrealistic as you might think "

Golf.com’s Paul Sullivan looks at the various options for national and international memberships and even as costs go up there are still reasonable options out there.

Yet not all national membership are five figures to join. A cheaper way in is to get the junior rate by joining before you’re 40. A decade ago, Young locked up his membership at Kinlock [sic] Golf Club, a top-rated course in Virginia, for $1,000. And when it first opened, Chechessee Creek Club, a Coore-Crenshaw design in South Carolina, offered national junior memberships for $5,000.

The greatest deal may be an international membership. One at Melbourne’s Kingston Heath, ranked 22 in the world by GOLF, will costs you $1,500 a year, and that outlay gets you member access to other top courses around the world, including Walton Heath in England; Portmarnock in Ireland; the Philadelphia Cricket Club; and Nine Bridges in South Korea.

Of course, however cheap a national membership is, you still need the extra income to get and stay there.

There is that!

Quadrilateral: Major(s) News & Notes, December 30th, 2021

“Auld Tom + G.M.T, Frozen out Golfers” by Thomas Hodge, 1884 (Thomas Hodge: The Golf Artist of St Andrews)

The major news just keeps on coming, including a year-in-review roundup, the heartwarming holiday news of the PGA And Trump settling, 2021's toughest holes, '22's gambling advertising rush, and wrapping up The Quad's first season with a special thank you to readers and the health care workers who aided my mom.

Thanks as always for subscribing and reading. Happy New Year!

State Of The Game 118: Is The Sandbelt Invitational The Future Of Golf?

A special Sandbelt Invitational post-op analysis with co-founder Mike Clayton offers an in-depth look at the event that offered mostly young Australians the chance to play tournament conditions at some of the planet’s best.

Plus, we touched on Tiger’s return, the latest Saudi and PGA Tour moves and what we’re looking forward to in 2022.

The Apple option.

The Google option.

NGF: "2021 total rounds will exceed last year’s"

While the final numbers will not be in until January, the NGF’s Joe Beditz says that despite small declines in recent months, rounds of golf will finish up 4-5% in 2021.

He offered this thinking on the rise despite a return to the office for some.

So how do we explain rounds being up over last year? A few thoughts:

1. Lots of golfers continue to have more schedule flexibility than prior to the pandemic, and so afternoon tee sheets are still being filled

2. While the weather this year hasn’t been quite as ‘golf friendly’ as last year, it wasn’t too bad

3. We’ve hung on to many of the new and returning golfers (public and private) from last year

But the main reason rounds are going to finish up: March and April crushed it relative to the previous year. Because half of all courses were closed during those months in 2020, and others had restrictions on play, this year’s comparable rounds were bound to be way, way higher … and they were.

Today In Growing The Game: LIV Golf Investments All In on GTG

Just a fantastic blend of point missing and obtuseness on display here as both quotes about the Saudi Golf League’s latest hires hide behind “grow the game”. In the first sentence!

Guess they didn’t read my GTG variant warning.

For Immediate Point Missing:

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. and NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LIV Golf Investments announced today that it has appointed Monica Fee and Lily Kenny as Senior Vice President, Global Head of Partnerships and Head of Strategy, respectively. The addition of Fee and Kenny bolsters the number of women serving in leadership positions within the company as both will transition into their new roles with LIV Golf Investments immediately, reporting into Chief Commercial Officer, Sean Bratches.

"I am very pleased to welcome Monica and Lily to LIV Golf Investments to help lead our company's ambitious plans to expand our global corporate presence and grow the game of golf around the world," said Sean Bratches, Chief Commercial Officer of LIV Golf Investments. "This is an exciting time for all of us as we grow our team, and the appointment of Monica and Lily is the latest show of force of how we are strengthening the commercial arm of the business."

Grow it all! And hey, they even can go to restaurants when they visit Saudi Arabia so they’ve got that going for them.

Fee previously served as a Property Sales Agent at CAA Sports, representing many of the world's top sports properties for naming rights opportunities and global sponsorship. In 2017, Fee was recognized by Adweek as one of "The Most Powerful Women in Sports." In her new role as Senior Vice President, Global Head of Partnerships, Fee will be tasked with identifying key partners that share LIV Golf Investments' vision for establishing groundbreaking platforms to grow the sport of golf across the world.

"I look forward to bringing my creativity and sponsorship expertise to the LIV Golf Investments team, helping to grow the game and link leading brands to a new global sports property," said Fee. "It is an honor to join Sean's team and be part of something truly groundbreaking in the world of sport."

Want to grow the game? Take all those millions you’re going to pay pros and put them into affordable par-3 courses, public golf and starter programs.

I feel more g word drops coming…

Kenny joins LIV Golf Investments from Amazon where she played an integral role in the company's rapidly growing entertainment space over the last five years, most recently leading the international expansion strategy and the launch of Amazon's ad supported video service, IMDb TV, in the United Kingdom. In her new role as Head of Strategy, Kenny will be responsible for advising on strategic decisions across the commercial operations within LIV Golf Investments.

"The game of golf has immense potential for growth, and I am eager to leverage my expertise and tap into the game's true potential," said Kenny. "It is an exciting time to join the LIV Golf Investments leadership team as we work to push boundaries and deliver a new experience to professional golfers and fans alike."

It’s true potential. How did we all miss it after several hundred centuries?

Cookie Jar On Bushfoot Golf Club

Sigh…I drove by this one in 2019 going between Portrush and Giant’s Causeway without stopping. Maybe in 2025! Bushfoot sure looks like a model 9-holer for the community as well as a nice spot for a morning or late nine if you should be so lucky to play Royal Portrush. And hit the Causeway too.

From the Cookie Jar golf team:

R&A: "Record Numbers Now Playing Golf Worldwide"

North Berwick

The game has grown! And America barely added to the increase of 5.5 million or so people who identify as golfer.

For Immediate Release:

14 December 2021, St Andrews, Scotland: New research figures revealed by The R&A and Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS) show golf has enjoyed a significant increase in popularity worldwide since 2016 with over five-and-a-half million additional golfers taking up the sport.

The number of total golfers globally has increased from 61 million to 66.6 million in a five-year growth period, surpassing the previous high mark of 61.6 million set in 2012. The measure includes club members and non-member independent golfers playing nine or 18 holes and users of driving ranges in markets where course availability is limited.

The new figure reflects a positive trend in golf in which participation levels are now rising worldwide after a period of decline. This was recently highlighted in the 2021 European Golf Participation Report, which highlighted that over 10.6 million golfers now enjoy playing full-length courses on the continent – a healthy increase from the 7.9 million last monitored in 2016.

Phil Anderton, Chief Development Officer at The R&A, said, “Golf is enjoying a real boom in popularity at the moment and we are seeing substantial increases in participation in many parts of the world, particularly in the last two years when the sport could be played safely outdoors during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The new figures are very encouraging but we need to work together as a sport to make the most of this opportunity by retaining those people who have returned to golf or tried it for the first time. We can achieve this by offering a variety of attractive and flexible options that encourage golfers to play more regularly and enjoy its many health and wellbeing benefits with family and friends.”

Options! Now we’re talking.

Check out these numbers…

SMS collected participation data reported by national federations in different regions around the world, using nationally representative studies and expert estimates to calculate the global number of total golfers.

Regions experiencing the largest rises include Asia (20.9 million to 23.3 million); Europe (7.9 million to 10.6 million – driven largely by Great Britain and Ireland 3.6 million to 5.7 million); and North America (29.9 million to 30.6 million).

The research figures indicate the growth trend began before Covid-19 and then accelerated during the pandemic as the popularity of golf grew due to golfers being able to socially distance in a safe outdoor setting and stay active to boost their physical and mental health.

Physical health for sure. Not sold on the mental part.

In Great Britain, the number of adults playing a nine or 18-hole course began to gradually increase before the onset of Covid-19, rising from 2.5 million in 2017 to 2.8 million in 2018, then to 3 million in 2019, before surging to 5.2 million in 2020.

Following the easing of lockdown restrictions, The R&A sought to carry out additional research into this rise in demand and how different types of golfers were engaging with the sport.

The Post Covid Opportunity Research, along with findings from Bayfirth Research, details experiences of golfers during the pandemic, motivations for playing and long-term plans for the future. Among new golfers, 98% of those interviewed identified they are enjoying playing golf and 95% see themselves playing golf for many years to come.

The research also outlined recommendations clubs can take to retain new players, including feeling welcome and valued; a friendly culture and relaxed atmosphere;

You don’t say!

participation options based on ability and experience; good customer service; having an efficient booking system; the quality and maintenance of the course; and, importantly, playing in an encouraging environment.

Nice, schmice. What about all-you-can-eat comfort stations? Bigger, lighter, more expensive drivers?

The National Links Trust Holiday Auction 2021

The auction of some tremendous golf opportunities for a great cause ends December 19th. Multiple major championship venues, classics, cool items and even a tour of Zac Blair’s project in South Carolina are among the 62 items available.

"Rio favela seeks to improve kids’ lives through golf"

After the relentless attention the Associated Press’ Stephen Wade gave the Olympic golf course project in Rio—none of it positive—it’s nice to see the same news organization covering a golf-related game grower in Rio who has created the “City of Golf” training ground.

From Diarlei Rodrigues' and Mauricio Savarese’s story about Marcelo Modesto.

A caddie for four decades, the 54-year-old Modesto has opened a golf training center in the most violent area of the favela. Without public or private funding, from just a sheer passion for the sport, Modesto has attracted 100 kids to the ground in hope of starting some on the path to becoming professionals, or doing something to get off the favela streets.

The City of God golf training ground is part of a program that hopes to develop children from one of Brazil’s most violent favelas into budding golfers who are invited to use the course from the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.

Their introduction to golf is rudimentary, at best.

The City of God training ground is only 1,600 square feet (150 square meters), which is less than the size of your average putting green. A community center once filled the site. Interested kids, who are mostly Black, play with donated clubs and balls. Instead of holes, they hit buckets. As a warmup, they swing wooden sticks around their backs.

And no matter how intense practice gets, they remain alert for any sound of gunshots.

Major(s) News & Notes December 9th, 2021

This week’s edition looks at how USGA Presidency history was made this week, twice.

Plus, year-end OWGR adds 10 to The Masters, Pine Needles may see Annika, a Congressional Blue short film to whet your appetite for upcoming majors, another jargon-filled doozy of a press release and some Reads.

If you’re not signed up for free or as a paid subscriber, you can do so here.

Latest "Grow The Game" Variant Threatens The Reputation Of Golf's Leading Pros

Comments this week from Justin Rose and Collin Morikawa offer a reminder that the terrible virus known as “grow the game” has failed to go away.

My Quadrilateral plea to be vigilant plus speculation on grow the game’s origins.

**After filing this latest newsletter, I saw Mark Cannizzaro’s lengthy NY Post story on the Bahamas buzz over the new league. Naturally, it included this:

One high-profile player, who has been approached by representatives for a potential “league,’’ told The Post this week that he’s “concerned for the game’’ if an all-out legal brawl ensues between the PGA Tour and what it would consider another organization infringing on its empire.

“This should all be about growing the game,’’ the player said.

Barf.

"Green-reading changes for 2022 a step back for the game?"

John Wood makes many terrific points in his case that green reading books have advanced the game. Namely, that of all the things, we have this?

Infinitesimal improvements and differences that cannot be exclusively correlated to greens books. An improved knowledge base, Aimpoint, better coaching with drills and devices, better agronomy (read: smoother greens) have all contributed. Plus, in the last three years, players have been allowed to tap down spike marks, something that’s never been OK in the game’s history. For a statistical comparison, in 1996, Tour average for driving distance was 265.9 yards. Last year? 296.2. Hmm. If players have the power to, in effect, bifurcate the rules, which is what is happening, can they enact other Local Rules? Can they as a Tour decide the ball is going too far and the driver heads are too forgiving? Doubtful, because there’s a lot of money coming from those equipment companies … not a lot coming from Mark Long, maker of the greens books.

No argument on distance or picking lower hanging fruit. But besides all of the reasons they look bad to spectators and add more nonsense all around, they have also introduced another cost to an aspiring “player”. On top of rangefinders and now some form of launch monitor access, not to mention other costs to play, the pressure to buy green reading books or fall behind is not progress. Especially when statistics say they are not even significantly helping golfers make more putts.

Greens books are an advancement in the game, like forgiving drivers and balls that go forever, don’t curve and spin around the greens; like launch monitors, like distance/slope measuring devices. Why is the line drawn here? Why go backwards here? Say it’s agreeable and everyone shares the same feeling about their elimination. Why not announce the ban and give it a year like they did with the anchored putter? Players had a year to work on a new method they felt confident with when the rule was enacted. There is an entire generation on Tour that has never played a tournament without a greens book. Why not give everyone a year to adapt instead of a couple months?

Because people have read greens without them for a few centuries, for starters.

Also, anything that adds time and cost is not an advancement. And because no one ever took up the game or plays it because of green reading books.

As a bonus, they’re also creating precedent for more bifurcation. Wins all the way around!

Blue Hill Country Club Retaliates Against Golf Writer And Member

Veteran New England golf writer and publisher Tom Gorman was banned from Massachusetts’ Blue Hill Country Club where he was a member. It appears a fairly innocuous story in August covering a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling against Blue Hill for violating the “Tips Act” was the problem.

What’s most troubling: Gorman wrote about the decision and considered potential ramifications for all courses in the region. The club lost but apparently took issue with this:

The SJC decision could have wide-ranging ramifications on other private clubs, hotels and spas in Massachusetts that have engaged in the practice of clipping their help of hard-earned income, as Blue Hill CC has done. Also, of note, Holtzman said all the defendants are personally liable even though most no longer work at the club.

“This Supreme Judicial Court decision is important confirmation that Massachusetts law provides clear protection against workers having their tips taken from them,” said Holtzman in a telephone interview August 24. “This is a reaffirmation of the fundamental principle that workers are entitled to the proceeds from all service charges on events they’ve worked, including the frontline workers who’ve been continuing to deliver service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“It’s gratifying that this victory means these workers will now receive not only their back wages and tips, but also the mandatory treble damages designed to deter future violations. It is also an important reminder of the broad scope of the Tips Act protecting workers at hotels, spas, hair and nail salons, restaurants, catering halls and country clubs – anyone in an occupation in which employees customarily receive tips.”

Even though the club was found guilty, Gorman’s story was apparently too much for Concert Golf Partners, the owners of Blue Hill. As Gorman writes in this account of his membership termination, “hostile opinion” in the above story was the rationale for ending his membership.

In a 20-minute call on Friday Nov. 19 Mr. Straub informed me that I am not welcome back to Blue Hill CC for the 2022 season and that my $10,000 initiation is non-refundable.

“We have received 37 complaints from members of Blue Hill that are not happy with the way you presented the club in recent published articles,” said Straub, from his Concert Golf corporate office in Lake Mary, Florida. “Concert Golf has many options in deciding what’s best for the club. Based on the feedback of members and other criteria we made a decision that you are not welcome there and that we will not renew your membership for next year.”

So, I asked, “Is this retaliation?”

“We believe that your published article in August on the Massachusetts SJC decision against Blue Hill contained some inaccurate content, and reflected more as a hostile opinion piece,” added Straub. “That type of journalism should not be coming from a member. You can use your media platform to do whatever you want and I’ve already been informed you plan to make this issue public. That is not the way Concert Golf does business. We handle these matters confidentially for the benefit of both parties.”

It’s hard not to wonder if poor reading comprehension skills were an issue for General Manager Jason Adams, whose letter to Gorman is a hot mess of mistakes:

The actions of the club should not go unnoticed here. To lose the case in the state’s highest court over skimming tip money is a stain on Concert Golf Partners.

McIlroy On The Environment, Sustainability...

I know what you cynics are thinking, this is the guy who unfairly blasted the governing bodies for spending money to research distance and the corresponding issues related to chasing overall golf course yardage.

So he has some consistencies to mop up when waxing on about sustainability all while reluctantly supporting bifurcation driven in part by cutting down on resource waste.

Here is Rory McIlroy, speaking at the DP World Championship about the guilt of flying private.

Q. The big talking point of the month has been environmentalism with COP26 and that sort of thing. You're somebody with a massive global footprint. You travel in private jets. You play a game that some people argue is not the most environmentally friendly. I've never heard you speak on that subject. What's your take?

RORY MCILROY: It's funny you say that. So two years ago, after I won in China, I flew back home privately, and it was just me on the plane. And I just got this massive sense of guilt come over me just because this can't be good and all that sort of stuff.

So we ended up reaching out to the GEO Foundation who do a lot of great sustainability things in golf, and that was the only sort of organization that we knew of that I guess could help us go in the right direction.

The GEO Foundation is an R&A partners so…

What I was trying to do is make all my travel -- I wouldn't self-profess to be an eco warrior, but I'm someone that doesn't want to damage the environment anyway, so how can I make my travel around the world neutral, how can I neutralise what I do.

And they came up with a few different ways that I can do that. So on top of what I pay to fly private, I pay quite a bit more on top of that to make sure I'm carbon neutral by the end of the year.

Hey maybe the PGA Tour will do the same with its fleet!

So it's something that I have a conscience about and I take it seriously, especially when you see some of these weather events that are happening. And I live in a part of the world where hurricanes are very prevalent and becoming more and more prevalent as the years go on. I think we can all play our part in some way or another.

Just how so many Floridians think!

Wait, there’s a follow up?

Q. How much of a talking point do you think it is amongst your peers, the other players? Is something that's going to gain momentum?

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I think -- yeah. As you said, we play on big pieces of land that take up a lot of water and a lot of other things that could maybe be put to better use some could argue.

I think they’re studying that!

But at the end of the day, we decide to be professional golfers and hit a ball around a course. And I guess that's sort of the extent of it.

But as I said, we all can do our part. I certainly don't think it's something that I've talked to many of the players about really, but just from my conscience and my mind, I know that I'm at least -- when I do travel and I travel privately that I'm not doing it to the detriment of the world that we live in.

Next on the agenda: the size of the places you fly all over the world to play.

Podcast: Talking State Of The Game Issues With Keith Stewart

I always enjoy chatting with PGA pro Keith Stewart, whose show airs on ESPN 920 a.m. in New Jersey and is full of smart questions from the host, who is moonlighting from his work as an instructor.

I hope you enjoy the chat as we try to make sense of the various moving pieces in golf, from the Saudis to amateur status ramifications to whether pandemic bounce is sustainable.

Here is the Apple podcasts link.

And the Google option.