Here’s a headline that pretty much sums up the problem our business has with attracting young people: BRITNEY SPEARS TAKES UP GOLF, SCARES OFF GOLFERS.
The headline was written by a wag at the Arizona Republic, in the mistaken belief that he (or she) was doing the golf business a favor by making fun of a celebrity who’s learning to golf. The unfortunate truth is, Spears isn’t scaring off anybody on any golf course in the world. In fact, when she steps up to a tee, large crowds gather. And if the so-called leaders of the golf industry had any guts, they’d enlist her to attract a lot more.
The Republic’s story, like so many others about golf presented by the lamestream media, is really ugly and demoralizing.
For starters, it identifies Spears as the singer of a song called “Toxic,” and we all know that “toxic” things are bad things. The suggestion, I presume, is that Spears is toxic for golf.
Don’t think I’m making a mountain of a molehill. Spears has released something like seven albums. She’s sung dozens of songs that a newspaper writer could link to her. To cite just one example, a story in the Sun, where I believe the news of Spears’ interest in golf broke, linked her to “Oops!... I Did It Again.” What makes “Toxic” a more appropriate association?
The story says that golfers are “struggling to deal with Britney’s inability to play the game, as she regularly lets go of her club and cannot hit the ball.” News flash: This is typical of beginners.
Finally, the story repeats a comment from a golfer originally published by the Sun: “'It’s heads-up when she’s around. She’s hit a few golfers and managed to land balls in golf carts.” So did Gerald Ford, folks.
You know, I never in my life imagined I’d write so many words about Britney Spears, let alone so many in her defense. And I’m not done yet.
Justin Timberlake, the singer and actor, is so passionate about our game that he bought a golf course in Tennessee. Emily Blunt, the love interest in The Adjustment Bureau, has taken up golf. (“There’s something cool about whizzing around on a golf cart with ice-cold beers,” she says.) Adam Levine of Maroon 5, a “Haney Project” graduate, was recently spotted playing nine holes at a course in New Jersey.
These are young, popular, successful people who enjoy golf, and in recent years our industry has been desperately seeking to attract others just like them. But do you think we’ll see them – or any crowd-attracting, opinion-making young stars – in an advertising campaign for golf anytime soon?
The answer is no. Our tradition-bound business would rather let the press joke about young celebrities who play golf, especially when they don’t quite fit the mold that country-clubbers prefer. (See Cooper, Alice.) Our idea of reaching out to new markets is to trot out geezers and has-beens at celebrity tournaments, in the mistaken belief that they’ll make kids laugh and “grow the game.” (Note: I still love you, Bill Murray.)
It wouldn’t be so awful to see a television commercial featuring Spears mis-hitting a few balls, making some jokes about herself, and ending with a tag line that goes something like, “Join me. It’s fun!” I know she sometimes comes off as white-trashy, but jeez, she plays at Sherwood Country Club.
Like rats, we eat our young.
And in Other News . . .
. . . russia An important piece of golf history -- Moscow City Golf Club, the home of Russia’s first golf course -- will soon have a new owner. The club, which was built on a garbage dump in downtown Moscow, opened in 1988, as Moscow Golf Club. Its debut was weighty enough to lure some internationally known sports dignitaries, notably Mike Tyson and Pelé, to hit ceremonial balls on opening day. The club’s nine-hole course was designed by Sven Tumba, a Swede who took up golf -- first as a touring pro, later as an architect -- after he retired from a renowned career in ice hockey. Tumba died late last year, and his family, which co-owns the club with the city of Moscow, has been looking for a buyer. The search led it to Sberbank, an entity controlled by Bank of Russia, the nation’s central bank. I wish I could report that Moscow Golf Club’s opening sparked the glorious history of golf in Russia, but it wouldn’t be true. Over the past 14 years, developers have managed to open only 14 other golf properties in Russia.
. . . india Construction has begun on Gary Player’s first golf course in India. The track will be the second at DLF Golf & Country Club in suburban New Delhi, and it appears that Player has been required to weave some design magic. “I want you to tell you that the surface I was given to work with is as flat as this stage I am standing on,” the South Carolina-based architect said at a recent press function. The club is among the attractions at DLF City, India’s premier planned community, which is probably best known as the business center where General Electric, Nestle, PepsiCo, British Airways, American Express, and other multinational giants have set up shop. The club’s first course, an Arnold Palmer-designed track, is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most challenging venues, and it’s hosted several noteworthy professional events, including the Johnnie Walker Classic and the Avantha Masters. Kushal Pal Singh, the community’s developer, expects to open the first nine holes of Player’s course next spring, the second nine in 2014.
Some information in the previous post originally appeared in the September 2009 and June 2010 issues of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
. . . brazil For the first time in weeks, we’ve received encouraging news from Rio de Janeiro: The golf events of the 31st Olympiad may take place as scheduled, because a judge has rejected a petition that would have prevented contracts from being signed and construction from taking place. The petition was filed by Elmway Participacoes, which has laid a claim to the property where the games’ Gil Hanse-designed course will be built. The judge’s decision doesn’t serve as a ruling on the legal dispute over the land, but it will allow the city and the Olympic organizers to resume business as usual. Naturally, however, Elmway Participacoes will appeal.
. . . wild card click This week, we got another reason to sing the blues.
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