Vital Signs, september 19, 2014

     For many of the Powers That Be in golf, residential development is the lover they simply can’t live without. A case in point: Tim Finchem, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, who likes to see golf courses -- in particular, the tour’s Tournament Players Club courses -- snuggle up with McMansions. In his recent “state of the tour” address, Finchem suggested that the golf business would be better off if it could once again cozy up with the likes of Toll Brothers and Lennar. “It would be great to have the housing industry back and vibrant, creating new neighborhoods and new communities that choose golf, as they did for decades,” Finchem declared, apparently forgetting that the marriage of convenience between golf and housing is ultimately a fatal attraction. What residential developers produce, typically, are courses that are too long, too expensive, ridiculously routed, and no fun to play. Is that the bed Finchem wants golf to sleep in? Jeez, with an attitude like that, you’d think he sits on the board of KB Homes or something.

     Jack Nicklaus’ design firm may not employ as many associates as it once did, but the price of a Nicklaus “signature” layout remains the industry’s gold standard. Nicklaus’ design fee “can be upward of $2 million,” says Sports Illustrated, an amount that proves good times have indeed returned to the top of the golf market. The magazine also reports that Nicklaus’ apparel business, a joint venture with Perry Ellis, generates more than $250 million in annual sales, and that Nicklaus’ wines, which are produced with Terlato Wines International, have sold roughly 10,000 cases annually since 2010. When one considers the revenues that the Nicklaus empire generates from licensing fees, it’s easy to understand why Forbes estimates Nicklaus’ personal net worth to be more than $250 million.

     If you’re like most people in the golf business, you’ve grown weary of watching the parade of mostly ineffective grow-the-game strategies that have marched down your street in recent years. Another one is headed your way, however, and it comes with a twist: It doesn’t intend to associate itself with or rely on assistance from any of golf’s institutional powers. “We can leave our dependency on growing the game to the governing bodies, or we can get involved and personally make a difference,” says Mike Orloff, the Australian who created Grow the Game Central. Orloff’s idea is to effect change from the bottom up by encouraging golfers, golf facilities, and golf-related businesses to participate actively in promoting the sport and supporting its growth. Grow the Game Central is most likely doomed to failure, of course, but it’s about time that the grass roots took matters into its own hands. After all, it’s become abundantly clear that the handsomely paid people at places like the United States Golf Association, the World Golf Foundation, and the National Golf Foundation don’t know how to fix what ails us.