New Waves of Golf Participants

 

What drives golf participation in the masses?  The last explosion was led by Tiger Woods.  People thought Tiger was cool and it was awesome to dress like him, play his equipment, hit it far like him, and kick ass.   But that group receded as Tiger faded from his previous level of prominence.  As demand dropped, the accompanying high greens fees at upscale public courses went down, and the problem of unavailable tee times subsided.

A new wave is forming led by folks who have discovered golf as a safe socially distanced game you can play outside.  It satisfies the need to meet face to face brought on by COVID-19 restrictions.  I’ve played with several of these newbies and understood their rational for starting.  I’ve also overheard many conversations of players at my practice facilities to confirm the trend.  Once COVID recedes, will these players abandon the game?  They might when confronted with the high cost, time commitment, and long attention span that is required for success.

There’s another wave that’s already formed and is characterized by the player who patronizes Top Golf.  Calloway just purchased Top Golf and the club maker went all in because the latter is an entry point to new customers.  Here’s a fascinating article on the merger as described by the two CEOs of TopGolf and Calloway.  Their target customers are people who enjoy eating, drinking, congregating, playing video games, and love music – in no particular order.  50% of Top Golf customers are new to the game (haven’t played one round in the last year.)  Forgive me for profiling, but these are your young foursomes with a 12-pack of beer and a blue tooth speaker blaring loud music that have already invaded many golf courses.  In addition, Calloway already owns the TopTracer range technology which is about tracking every shot struck at every facility where it’s installed and networking the data world-wide.  This is a godsend to customers that love video-gaming with people anonymously over the internet.  They just staged a 7,000-participant virtual tournament.  This is the kind of customer Calloway wants to pull into the game and onto our courses.  Is this wise?  What will it do to the game?

Thomas Jefferson once said, “In matters of style, go with the flow.  In matters of principle, stand like a rock.”  I am a golf traditionalist and believe we should welcome the first wave of COVID refugees to the golf courses.  Not sure about the second group.  Of course, I want to grow the game but still love that the golf course is a place to go unplug for a while.  What do you think?

Play well!

Is Top Golf Practice??

Top Golf Facility – photo from morethanthecurve.com

Would you classify an evening pounding balls and drinking beer at Top Golf practice?  For some, any activity with club in hand is practice.  I have never been to a Top Golf.  Sounds like fun but that’s not practice.

Guys in my Myrtle Beach travel group have gone to the PGA Superstore on a rainy day to hit balls in the bays with the new drivers, and putt on the indoor green.  Nope, not practice either.  We used to stay at The Legends in Myrtle Beach.  When we found out our room cards worked in the driving range dispenser, we’d play 36 holes, eat dinner, and then go to the range for practice until the lights turned off at 10:00 p.m.  THAT was loads of fun and we did help each other root out our swing faults for the day, but that took a lot of energy.  I’d call it practice.

Indoor putting green at PGA Superstore – photo by prnewswire.com

I generally practice alone, but on occasion join up with friends.  Both types are valuable.  The last couple times at my club was with friends and the light banter was great, as we worked through long game, short game, and putting.  Sometimes these sessions can evolve into a contest on the range or putting green.  A couple weeks ago it turned into a swing film session.  But the key is the personal interaction.  It’s especially important to socialize at a time when folks can over-isolate themselves.  If you don’t have four hours for a golf game, try half the time at the practice facility.  It works great.

Regardless of how I practice, I enter notes in a spreadsheet on what I worked on, and grade the session.  After the last few with friends, the grades weren’t that high.  Clearly, I do my best work alone.  Today, I went early and alone to the local muni to work on short game and had a great session.  If you time it right, there are drills and games you can play that aren’t possible with friends or at a more crowded facility.  My real work gets done alone.

Tomorrow afternoon, I’m back at my club with friends after playing some tennis in the morning.  This tennis-golf routine on the same day is a great cross training aid.  I call it a “Nicklaus” because Jack often spoke of playing tennis.  I also tend to go easier on myself with the golf practice after tennis.

So, what’s your opinion, is Top Golf practice?  How do you practice best, alone or with friends?

Play well!