Participation: U.S. Sees Beginner Boom, UK And Ireland Still See Strong Numbers

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The National Golf Foundation’s Joe Beditz reports the biggest beginner boom since the start of the century in his latest report.

Over the past two years, the number of beginning golfers in the U.S. is higher than it was back when Woods was at his most dominant. Almost 30% higher. In 2021, a record 3.2 million Americans played golf on a course for the first time. This after 3 million newcomers picked up golf in 2020 as the pandemic unfolded and people sought out safe, outdoor activities that could provide a sense of normalcy with friends and family.

Like the “Tiger Effect,” there’s no question the “Covid Effect” has been a force in its own right in terms of fostering golf engagement. But other factors have helped boost golf trials, too, among them the increased interest created by golf entertainment venues and other off-course forms of the game, and a more favorable public outlook on golf in general. It’s now been six straight years that the number of on-course beginners has exceeded the 2.4 million newcomers Tiger helped introduce to the game in both 1999 and 2000.

Meanwhile in the UK the R&A released these numbers:

Two new participation reports show that 5.3 million on-course adult golfers – the second-highest number since monitoring began over 30 years ago – enjoyed playing on full length courses (9 or 18 holes) in Great Britain and Ireland in 2021. This includes a marginal increase in Ireland and a slight reduction in Great Britain.

Golf enjoyed a significant boom during the pandemic due to its ability to be played safely and proven benefits in boosting mental and physical health. The latest data shows that participation in golf is still well above the rates in the years prior to Covid-19.

In Great Britain, the number of on-course adults began to gradually increase before Covid-19, rising from 2.5 million in 2017 to 3 million in 2019, before surging to a peak of 5.2 million in 2020. The latest figures show that 4.8 million golfers played in 2021.

With less restrictions on play in 2021, the new figures also reveal that avid golfers more than doubled, there was an increase in female golfers and the use of driving ranges and Par-3 courses remained high.

And the key highlights from the 2021 Great Britain Golf Participation Report:

  • At 4.8 million, total adult golfers on a full-length course (9 or 18 hole) remains considerably above the 3 million in 2019 pre-pandemic level, albeit down from 5.2 million in 2020

  • Female golfer full course users increased to 34% of golfers (1.4 million to 1.6 million)

  • Avid golfers (who played more than 52 times) more than doubled from 149,000 to 339,000

  • Over 3.5 million people used a driving range – the second highest figure of the last 20 years

  • Par-3 course users rose from 27,000 to 41,000, similar to the figures between 2012-2016

  • The average age of golfers was 41, the same as in 2020

  • 15% of the population tried or started golf again in any on or off-course format because of the pandemic (in 2020 or 202

And the Ireland Golf Participation Report:

  • Total adult golfers on a full-length course (9 or 18 hole) marginally increased from 540,000 to 543,000

  • Female golfer full course users increased to 21% of golfers (70,000 to 111,000)

  • Core golfers (regular golfers who played 12-51 times and avid golfers who played more than 52 times) rose from 161,000 to 201,000

  • 18% of the population tried or started golf again in any on or off-course format because of the pandemic (in 2020 or 2021), rising to 29% of those aged 15-24

Masters News & Notes, March 31st, 2022

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"After fatal West Texas crash, University of the Southwest community turns to faith"

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Anthony Olivieri travels to Hobbs, New Mexico and explains how the University of the Southwest community is turning to faith in the face of unimaginable grief. Carve out a few minutes to read this and remember the innocent lives lost.

Inside the ropes at Rockwind Community Links is another memorial. Just outside the pro shop and next to a covered outdoor patio, there are golf balls with messages of prayer and bouquets of flowers with cards attached addressed to both the school and the course.

USW's golf teams were at Rockwind every day, working on their games. Golf pro Ben Kirkes knew every player who died. Two players on the roster who didn't make the trip to the tournament in Midland worked at the course. Kirkes had trouble putting it all into words. Everyone grieves differently.

During his time as a resident on the dorms staff, Joshua Garcia-Matta oversaw Jackson Zinn and Karisa Raines and Travis Garcia. He affectionately referred to Tiago Sousa as TT. He said Laci Stone was bright and funny and humble.

"Words don't describe the pain and the loss everyone is experiencing as a whole," said Garcia-Matta, who also is on the cheer team. "All those people on that bus, I knew personally."

ANWA Set To Go, Rankin Saying Goodbye To Majors And Tiger's Day Trip

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Ten Years Later, Bubba's Shot Still Resonates Like Few Others

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We talk so often about the continued sight of Masters patrons gravitating to the spot where Bubba Watson's rope-hook wedge sealed the 2012 Masters.

And so I decided to break down the shot, incorporate terrific insights from Watson’s new book with Don Yeager, and filed this lengthy Quadrilateral item that finishes with links to YouTube options.

R&A's Celebration Of Light Kicks Off Countdown To The 150th Open

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The Open/Twitter

Martin Dempster reports on the dramatic light and fireworks show that light up the St Andrews sky Saturday night:

The state-of-the-art production was narrated by actor and lifelong golf fan Gerard Butler. It charted the remarkable journey of golf since The Open began in 1860, celebrating renowned Champion Golfers and unforgettable performances from many of the sport’s greatest names.

Some Tweets and the full show on YouTube…

Auction: The Tiger Slam Irons Can Be Yours

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But you better be ready to fork over eight figures given the starting bid of $25,000 already has things nearing $600k with two weeks to go.

Golden Age Auctions has a lengthy history of the irons and various affidavit’s certifying their authenticity.

It’s quite a story:

In the 12 years since they first surfaced in the collector market in our 2010 auction, the Tiger Slam irons have been displayed privately in a Houston office complex - appreciated only by the occasional visitor with a passing interest in golf. Over the past several years, we have repeatedly pleaded with Brock to let us showcase them to the world. Yes, the collector market has matured a lot since the dark days of 2010. But it was never about the money, even though these clubs will likely reset the record books. Instead, it was about timing. When was the collector market finally ready to appreciate the value of the very best golf collectibles, and ready to appropriately appreciate Tiger Woods and his position in history. 

After winning the 2001 Masters Tournament, Tiger held all 4 Major Championship titles at the same time - what we now call the Tiger Slam. 7 weeks later, at the Buick Classic at Westchester Country Club in New York, Titleist Director of Player Promotions Rick Nelson and Titleist VP of Player Promotions Steve Mata delivered to Tiger Woods the new set of irons and wedges that Titleist made for him. Tiger decided to put the new clubs into play that week, so Nelson brought Tiger's old clubs to the Titleist Tour Van to verify the specs of the new clubs would match his current gamers. Tiger then put those new clubs into play for the first time during the Wednesday Pro-Am that week. And the old clubs? The ones just used to complete the greatest feat on a golf course since Bobby Jones' Grand Slam in 1930? Tiger gave the clubs to Nelson and Mata, and Mata brought them home with him. It was widely known at Titleist, within Tiger's camp, and within the industry that Mata owned the Tiger Slam irons before he infamously put them up for auction in 2010. 

PGA Tour Has Not Responded To PGL's Substantial Offer Letter

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We learned from the Fire Pit Collective that Rory McIlroy brought the Premier Golf League’s latest concept to the PGA Tour Policy Board, including substantial free money for players.

Bob Harig reports that the PGA Tour has not responded to the letter and proposal more than a month after the letter went out.

There was no direct response to PGL other than through player-director Kevin Kisner, who told the Fire Pit Collective that an independent company studied the proposal and “the results were presented to us: not feasible.’’

The PGL outlined its plan in a Feb. 14 letter to the PGA Tour Policy Board that was shared with numerous players. According to the plan, it would generate significant equity value for all voting PGA Tour members, as well as those on the DP World Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.

Applications Now Accepted For The Liv Golf Invitational In London

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Application invitations have been sent to prospective Liv Golf Invitational contestants for the initial stop in London. As tends to happen with email, the link and password has been forwarded around and found its way to an inbox of mine.

Unless you meet the criteria, you cannot apply. But in the interest of making sure all worthy candidates have their fair shot at the $25 million purse, I’ll share the criteria below with carefully crafted insights in between. (Note the nice double dollar sign choice for the password.)

LIV GOLF INVITATIONAL LONDON

WHEN: 3-day, 54-hole tournament taking place June 9-11, Thursday through Saturday. This ensures anyone competing in the U.S. Open the following week has the ability to travel back to the States on Sunday.



No chartered jet to Logan?

WHERE: Centurion Club, 35 minutes north of Central London



FIELD: 48 players across 12 teams (4 players per team)



PRIZE PURSE: $25MM Prize Purse with $20MM distributed based on individual performance (1st $4MM - 48th $120K) and $5MM distributed across the top 3 teams and paid out evenly to each team member (1st $3MM, 2nd $1.5MM, 3rd $500K)



THE DRAFT: A draft will take place on Tuesday, June 7 to roster the 12 teams, with LIV appointed Team Captains selecting their 3 open team positions in snake draft format



LIV appointed Team Captains should be fun.

Greg, I have Gary Player on line one, should I send him to voice mail?

HELL NO! Put him through pronto!

PRO-AM: The pro-am will take place on Wednesday, June 8th



For that much money maybe players can buy pro-am spots and just choose to play a practice round?

COMMITTMENT: Participating in LIV Golf Invitational London does not require you to play in future events

This registration is only for our London event. As players have the option to enter and compete in one or all of our events, we will be sending out separate invitations to request an invite for each of our events in the coming months.

Entries for this event close at 11:59PM EDT Tuesday, May 10th. Invitations will be on a rolling basis with written notifications to the final field commencing Monday, May 23rd.

Taking it right to the bitter end.

LIV GOLF INVITATIONALS 2022 - EXEMPTION CRITERIA:

1) Asian Tour Players(3):


a) Leading 2 players from within the top-20 of the final 2021 Asian Tour Order of Merit Standings


b) Leading 1 player from within the top-10 of the Asian Tour Order of Merit at close of Entries



For now.

2) DP World Tour Players (3):


a) Leading 2 players from within the top-20 of the final 2021 European Tour Race to Dubai Standings


b) Leading 1 player from within the top-10 of the DP World Tour Rankings at close of Entries



Nice recognition of the branding transition.

3) PGA Tour Players (3):


a) Leading 2 players from within the top-30 of the final 2021 PGA Tour FedEx Cup Standings


b) Leading 1 player from within the top-10 of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup standings at close of Entries



Someone finally pays proper respect to the FedExCup!

4) Leading 2 players from within the top 15 of the final 2021/2022 standings of each of the PGA Tour of Australasia, Sunshine Tour and Japan Golf Tour (6)

Two spots each. Generous!



5) Leading 3 players from the Asian Tour International Series rankings at close of entries (3)



You go Asian Tour!

6) The two leading players from the International Series London not otherwise exempt (2)

But wasn’t that event replaced by the Liv London? I can’t keep up.



7) Leading 22 players from the OWGR at close of entries (22)

Whoa, but no minimum on the number. Bold.



8) Balance of field to be made up at the discretion of LIV Golf Commissioner and Championship Committee

Ah now we’re getting somewhere. Will Greg Norman go all Dick Cheney and decide he’s the best candidate to fill out the field?

2022 Masters App Is Live And Ready To Be Updated

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It’s back only sporting minor updates in the form of a new interactive Featured Group feed. Also, the Masters Radio is listed and may have been last year, too (if anyone recalls let me know). This would mean it’s not exclusive to SiriusXM and that you can get that broadcast via phone while driving or sitting on the beach.

Here is the link to update or download the 2022 edition.

The Masters also dropped this teaser video featuring a lot of former champions but Phil Mickelson and Angel Cabrera:

Quadriltateral: Major(s) News And Notes, March 24, 2022

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DeChambeau Says Hand Injury Happened Playing Table Tennis In Saudi Arabia

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And maybe some speed training.

Rex Hoggard’s report from Austin shares the admission of Bryson DeChambeau, who opens at 1:44 today in the WGC Dell Match Play against 49-year-old Richard Bland.

DeChambeau said he injured his hand playing table tennis at the Saudi International, but the ailment had been hurting him for some time.

“People are going to say it’s off of speed training and all that and, sure, some of the things have been a part of that, just abuse and working really, really hard,” he said. “But at the same time, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. I’ve learned so much about my body as time has gone on and learned how to manage things and how important rest is.”

DeChambeau, said he may eventually need to have surgery on his injured hand.

What’s the old saying? Nothing good happens in Saudi Arabia?

Meanwhile, this is just Bland’s third U.S. start ever and he needs a strong week to reach world top 50 status and a late Masters invite, reports Derek Lawrenson.

Monahan: "The system is working"

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The New York Times’ Bill Pennington looked at the youth movement on the PGA Tour and other than suggesting ratings are soaring (they’re definitely not), it’s an interesting read.

But this quote from Commissioner Jay Monahan about the emergence of all under-30-year-olds’s in the world top ten struck me as, well, odd.

“It’s a reflection of the system at work,” said Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner. “The athleticism, the youth, the preparedness, the system is working. You can talk about the top five, but you can extend it past the top five and into the top 30.”

We could also be in a transition period similar to the mid 90s where some top players finally hit a wall, grew older and a new guard stepped in. The system? I guess. But I get we have to go to the whip and play up the athleticism card for the ad agencies.