The Resurgence of Golf in 2017
Like all of you, I love the game of golf. It’s been rather depressing to watch the industry and the sport I’ve adored for so many years spiral downwards since Tiger’s wife broke his cheek with a 9-iron. With Tiger’s body not allowing him to maintain his hard fought throne in our sport, the decline of people wanting to watch it on television sharply dropped. Tiger was polarizing is the same way that Michael Jordan was with the Chicago Bulls during his extraordinary title runs in the 1990s.
On a basic human level, all of us want to watch and cheer on people who excel at a level so far above the norm in any activity. Older golf fans had Arnie and Jack. We had Tiger; “had” being the operative word. With no one who could capture and maintain our interest, most of us found other things to do with our time other than watch golf.
Not so coincidently, the game itself also began to suffer with less and less people spending time at their clubs and courses. The simple fact is that more people play golf when there’s a “champion” we feel compelled to follow on the PGA Tour. And with no one dominating the game, we’ve been less and less compelled to pay attention.
On the heels of The Open last weekend, that may be about to change. Jordan Speith has shown all of us that he is poised to possibly take that next step and be the golfer our sport, and industry, so desperately needs. After giving back his three shot lead, Jordan composed himself and closed out the final holes at Royal Birkdale like the next champion we’ve been searching for since Tiger’s absence.
On a whim, I called a few of my superintendent buddies and asked how play has been since Jordan’s victory. Not surprisingly, every one conveyed that tee times were significantly up over last year during the same time period. This has always been the trend in our world. It will always be the trend in our industry.
With the PGA Championship coming up at Quail Hollow, all eyes in the golfing world will again be on Mr. Speith. His boyish good looks and youthful energy will capture our attention and demand our viewing of the last major tournament of the year. It will also, most assuredly, help fill up the golf courses throughout the country.
When we have someone to root for in our game, we want to be a part of it. Even though we will never achieve the same success as Jordan. It’s about the feeling of being a part of the “golf family” that he invokes in us that compels us to pick up our clubs and hit the ball.
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