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Saint Peter’s University

The Modernization of Golf

Stanley Garrant

Honors Thesis

Dr. Joseph Gilkey

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​Introduction

Over the past two decades golf has changed more than it ever has in its 600-year history.

The two biggest influences of this change are Tiger Woods and Topgolf. Twenty-five years ago, if someone who did not play golf was asked to describe the sport they would say it was a game for people with a lot of money and even more time. Back then, they may have been right. For many years golf was a dying sport too old to keep up with the new fast paced lifestyle that younger generations have adopted. The big challenge in golf was to make it more exciting to watch on TV and make it more interesting to a younger generation who thought it was an old, boring sport. The sport of golf to its core is a slow, methodical thought-out game. Every shot takes thought and planning, and not to mention it can take hours to walk around the course without even hitting a shot. Without the younger generation, the game can not grow, and golf simply cannot wait until people get old for them to start playing and watching golf.

When Tiger Woods made his PGA Tour Debut in 1996, he saved golf. Tiger

Woods was a young star who captivated the media’s attention because of his domination throughout his amateur golf career. Tiger is also of mixed race. His father was predominantly

African American and his mother is Thai. His immense talent and the fact that he looked different than everyone else in golf caused a media storm. The next year in 1997, Tiger won his first major championship, breaking the scoring and age record at the Master’s and setting the

Garrant 3 stage for his immaculate career. Tiger has gone on to become arguably the greatest golfer that has ever lived.

His effect on golf can be seen in television ratings, purse size, crowd size, participation in golf, college golf, strength and conditioning and many other facets of the game. Topgolf, a golf entertainment company is having a similar effect on golf. Topgolf has taken golf and turned it into an easy game that can be enjoyed by all, no matter what skill level they are. Topgolf serves golfers food and drinks as they hit golf balls to targets and play different game modes. Starting in

2000, the company has really exploded over the past decade. Today, Topgolf has 58 locations around the world and it has had a large impact on the golf industry. Off-course golf activities have seen a large increase and Topgolf helps bring the game to all different demographics.

Tiger changed the game and showed people that being an athlete first and foremost is what makes a professional golfer great. He pushed all his peers to get better, causing innovations in strength and conditioning as well as in golf equipment while also captivating audiences all over the world and bringing professional golf to the forefront of the sports world and facilitating its growth. Topgolf changed the way that people perceived golf. Intertwining cutting edge technology, entertainment and golf while making it fun is what separated Topgolf from its competitors. Topgolf helped bring golf to a new audience that never really had much interest in the game. Topgolf’s ability to reach a younger and more diverse audience is great for the advancement of golf. The game is in a great spot, and over the next decade will absolutely see continued growth.

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​History

Origins of Golf

Golf originated from a game played on the eastern coast of Scotland. This game was played on sand dunes as players would try to hit a small rock over the s dunes and around tracks

th carved into the sand. The game became extremely popular during the 15 ​ century, so much so ​ that the Scottish parliament banned the sport in 1457 because Scottish men were skipping military training to go play . The ban only lasted 45 years, and in 1502 King James IV gave the game the royal seal of approval and became the world’s first “golfing” monarch. During the 16th ​ century the game expanded across Europe when King Charles I brought it to England, and Mary

Queen of Scots brought it to France1. The game had evolved from one played with sticks and pebbles on dunes to a game played on courses made of fescue, clubs made of hickory and balls made of leather stuffed with feathers.

The game of golf didn’t officially become a sport until the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith formed the first club in 1744. The club also hosted an annual competition with silverware as prizes. The Old Course at Saint Andrews is considered to be the oldest golf course in the world.

Today it is known as the home of golf. The course was established in 1552 but in 1764 it was redesigned to an 18-hole golf course which is standard for golf today.

Originally the old course had 22 holes, but in 1764 William St. Clair of Rosslyn and the

Captain and Gentleman Golfers decided that the first and last four holes of the course were not

1https://www.igfgolf.org/about-golf/history/

Garrant 5 long enough. They combined these holes and turned it into the world’s first 18-hole golf course, which is still the standard today. In 1863, Tom Morris separated the first and seventeenth greens of the golf course, creating the course layout that we still see today at Saint Andrew’s2.

How Golf is Played

The game of golf in concept is very simple, but being good at the game takes incredible dedication and practice. Golf is very strategic, and unlike other sports where being the strongest, fastest, and most skilled player almost always guarantees victory, golf relies more on strategy and mental fortitude. The reason that golf is so strategic is because each golf course is different.

Almost all other sports have regulation size fields, which golf lacks. A course can be whatever the designer chooses it to be.

The modern game of golf is played with 14 clubs. A regulation round of golf is 18 holes and the goal of the game is to get your golf ball into the hole in as few strokes as possible. A stroke is every time you hit your ball with the club. In golf there is a concept called “par”, and it is the number of shots that it should take to get your ball in the hole. On a regulation golf course there are three potential pars, and it mostly depends on the length of the hole. A par 3 is the shortest, a par 4 is medium length, and a par 5 is the longest. If you hit the ball in the hole in one stroke below par, it is called a “birdie”, and if you hit the ball in the hole one stroke above par, it is called a “bogey”. Generally, on a golf course there are around four par 3s, four par 5s, and ten par 4s, though this does vary from course to course. The par for the course generally ranges from

73-70, though there are courses that have varying pars for the course.

2 https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-History-of-Golf/ ​

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Modern Golf

There are many reasons that the game of golf has a hard time attracting younger people.

One of the biggest factors is time. Many young people with a job, a family, or school do not have a free 4 hours of daylight to spend on the golf course. Slow play has been an issue in golf for decades. Today, the world is faster-paced than ever before, and it shows no sign of slowing down. A slow deliberate game like golf must change in order to keep up with the pace of society.

In 2013, the United States Golf Association (USGA) launched a campaign with the slogan “While We’re Young”. The goal of this campaign was to fix the problem of slow golf. A common misconception is that golfers watch the professionals who have meticulous routines and try to determine every factor that may affect their ball before each shot and try to copy them when they go out and play. This is not true. The USGA has determined four key factors to slow play: player behavior, course design, course setup and player/group management3.

As golf has evolved and equipment has improved, people have also started scoring better. Professionals were making some of the most difficult courses in the world look like child’s play. Many courses had been built long ago and the golf course designers did not foresee these changes to the game so there were no safeguards against players averaging over 300 yards a drive. They could just hit the ball past all the obstacles and hit their next shot right next to the hole and tap in their putt for an easy birdie. Golf course designers saw this and started making

3 https://www.golfdigest.com/story/usga-introduces-while-were-young-initiative ​

Garrant 7 courses more difficult. When courses are more difficult, it takes longer to play, especially for the average golfer.

Player and group management is also a big factor in speed of play. It is important to make sure that golfers know the rules of golf before playing and to be conscientious of the other golfers on the course. Groups should not be larger than four people and should always keep up with the pace of play. Still, the rules cannot be imposed on golfers constantly because that will drive them away. Golf is known as a gentlemen’s game. It is the responsibility of the golfers as well as the employees of the golf course to make sure everything runs smoothly.

A Friendlier, Easier Game to Play

Golf is the number-one rated outdoor sport in the United States. For a while golf was a dying sport, but according to the National Golf Foundation there has been an increase in on-course participation for the first time in 14 years. In 2018, there were 33.5 million Americans who played golf. These 33.5 million golfers were comprised of 24.2 million on-course golfers and another 9.3 million golfers who played exclusively in off-course golf activities like driving ranges and simulators.

The number of beginning golfers is also on the rise. 2.6 million first-time on-course golfers started playing in 2018 alone. This was a record for beginning golfers. Prior to this, the record was 2.4 million, set in 2000, the year Tiger Woods was in his prime. Latent demand is high for the game of golf. 14.7 people who did not play the game on a course in 2018 claimed ​ ​

Garrant 8 that they were “very interested” in playing on a golf course in the coming year. There were another 33.5 million Americans who said they were “somewhat likely” to play golf on a golf course in 2019. The number of potential golfers increased 15% over the course of 2 years, and this is largely due to the rise in popularity of off-course golf activities4.

Activities such as Topgolf and indoor golf simulators have gained in popularity and are drawing people from all different backgrounds to golf. With so many different types of people discovering the game of golf, the game is growing greatly. It should help attract people to the golf course as they acquire a greater interest in the game. This is the best time in golf's history to play golf on-course. Golf is more accessible than ever, with 75% of golf facilities open to the public.

​Equipment

Leaders in the Golf Equipment Industry

Golf is played by 60 million people in over 130 countries and six continents. In 2018, the global golf equipment market size was valued at 6.5 billion with a Compound Annual Growth

Rate (CAGR) of 2.2 percent5. After the introduction of golf in the Olympics, there has been a rise in the number of golfers, especially in Asia. More young golfers are starting to play and with this rise in junior golf, more box sets of clubs are being purchased. This has helped to drive the golf equipment industry forward.

4 https://www.ngf.org/golf-industry-research/ ​ 5 https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/golf-equipment-market ​

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The rise in the economy over the past decade has helped facilitate the boom in the golf equipment industry. In 2008 when the economy crashed, people could not afford to buy new golf clubs or go out to the course and play golf in general. The recent rise of income in middle-class households and the rise of female golfers has led to a significant rise of sales in the golf equipment industry.

The equipment industry is dominated by a few big players. This is because it requires huge investment in order to compete with the established companies in the industry. The leaders in the equipment industry are Callaway, SRI Sports, Acushnet Holding Corp, TaylorMade,

Wilson, and Mizuno. The golf equipment industry is divided into four different segments: clubs, balls, footwear, and gear. Golf clubs take up the most market share. In 2018, golf clubs accounted for 45% of sales. Golf gear has the biggest potential for growth with a CAGR of 3.5%

6. E-commerce has really helped to drive the golf equipment industry forward as well, and the availability of online discounts is projected to help drive sales in the future.

New Technology and Materials Used in Golf Equipment

Golf has come a long way from hickory-shafted clubs and balls made of feathers and bound with leather. Since the 2008 recession, the golf equipment industry has seen significant growth. This is due to the rebound of the economy and increased innovation by the world’s top golf equipment manufacturers. Customizable and assorted golf clubs are becoming more and more popular. Around 15% of golfers purchase 85% of the golf equipment, and the manufacturers are starting to recognize this. These 15% are serious golfers, for a casual golfer

6 https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/press-release/golf-equipment-market.html ​

Garrant 10 will typically purchase one set of clubs every decade. A serious golfer will purchase new clubs every 1-3 years7.

Today clubs are packed with technology, and every year there is a new club coming out that promises to help golfers hit the ball farther and straighter. Shafts and heads are made with high quality materials such as titanium, graphite, and tungsten, and manufacturers are coming up with different ways to produce clubs in order to maximize performance. Companies such as

Callaway are using Artificial Intelligence to manufacture drivers that push the legal limit, and

TaylorMade adds products such as “speed foam” Twist Face and an “Inertia Generator” to their drivers in order to maximize the performance of their clubs.

With the increase in technological advances in the golf club industry also comes an increase in price. In 2012 golfers were able to buy an entry-level driver for around 300 dollars, but today, it is upwards of 500 dollars8. Since club manufacturers are now tailoring their equipment to the better golfers the quality of clubs is rising. Therefore material cost as well as cost of labor have increased, leading to the rise in price. The new trend in the golf world is

“fitting”. Getting a fitting allows you to personalize your club so it fits your swing and performs as intended when used correctly. When golfers spend $500 dollars or more on a club, they want a club that will perform well. Customizable clubs used to be reserved exclusively for the pros, but now it is available to everyone.

7 https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/golf-equipment-market ​ 8 https://www.thengfq.com/2018/01/getting-a-grip-on-golfs-2-6-billion-equipment-industry/ ​

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Trackman/Simulators

The two inventions that made customizable clubs available to all types of golfers are indoor golf simulators and launch monitors. These devices allow club fitters to measure every aspect of your swing and how the ball reacts with the club. The measurements that these devices record include spin rates, ball speed, launch angle, smash factor, ball flight, dispersion, and many more. With this information club-fitters can fit you with clubs that will optimize the type of performance that you want. Whether a golfer wants a set of clubs that go further or clubs that give them more control, club-fitters can match golfers with the best set of clubs available for the individual golfer’s desires.

Trackman is most popular amongst the world’s top professional golfers because of the incredible accuracy it has when tracking the golf ball. Trackman uses the same radar technology that the military uses to track missiles. When a player hits a shot, Trackman measures 26 individual parameters. These parameters help club fitters and players understand the fundamental cause and effect relationships found in the golf swing. Trackman is able to do this due to their radar technology. It can measure the swing at 2000 frames per second - even the most high-end cameras do not have this ability9.

Equipment Sales in Asia

The market with the biggest room for growth is in Asia. Golf has a relatively short history in Asia. In the 1980’s, golf had a big boom in Japan and thousands of golf clubs started to pop up, most of them private. The growth of the Japanese economy led to golf becoming a very

9 https://stephensgolfweb.uschedule.com/About/Technology/TrackMan/Trackman-Overview ​

Garrant 12 elitist sport. Most of the courses that were built were private with giant deposits of up to

$400,000 to become a member. The etiquette and dress code on these courses were very strict; golfers had to wear blazers and long socks while playing.

Business negotiations fueled these private clubs. There was a tradition in Japan called seitai golfu, which means golf as informal business negotiations. Businessmen would bring their ​ clients to the course that the company owned or had a membership at and discussed business during their round of golf. In 1989 when the Japanese economy collapsed, so did the golf courses. Business felt it was not smart to spend that much money on golf, so they stopped the custom of seitai golfu. Since many golf clubs lost a significant portion of their memberships, ​ ​ they struggled to keep the courses open. Many clubs were unable to pay back the deposits that they promised to pay back at the end of the decade.

Since 1996, golf in Japan has fallen over forty percent. Recently Japan has tried to change the image of golf and attract younger golfers by making golf courses available to all and loosening dress codes10. While Japan was not able to sustain their golf industry, the industry in the rest of Asia is growing and growing fast. Since the late 1990’s, golf in China has exploded and with the reintroduction of golf into the Olympics in 2016, China and the rest of Asia has seen even more growth of the game. Because of this boom in Asia, equipment manufacturers from Asia are starting to see success in America. Honma, XXIO, and Volvik are a few brands which are starting to break through into the American market. Professional golfers such as Justin

10 https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/press-release/golf-equipment-market.html ​

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Rose and Ernie Els have signed endorsement deals Honma and XXIO, and Volvik is even the golf ball sponsor for the World Long Drive Championship.

​PGA Tour/ Tiger Effect

Tiger Effect

With the introduction of Tiger Woods to the PGA Tour in the summer of 1996, professional golf was changed forever. Tiger had been a superstar since the age of three, and his golf career had been followed closely by the media ever since. He won every major event there is to win as an amateur, and as a 20-year-old undergrad at Stanford, he decided to turn professional. His endorsement deal was nothing like golf had ever seen. He signed a $40 million 5-year contract with Nike to wear their shoes and apparel and a $3.5 million dollar deal with Titleist to play their equipment11.

These figures were never seen before in golf. The largest deal previously was only $5 million. Nike's founder Phil Knight said Tiger Woods could do for golf what Michael Jordan had done for basketball, and he was correct in saying this. Today, Tiger has 15 majors and 82 total wins on the PGA tour. He has the most career earnings of any golfer ever, according to

Money.com. His career earnings are now $1.5 billion dollars12. Tiger Woods was the first athlete to become a billionaire, and has had some of the largest endorsement deals of any athlete in the world. This is an amazing feat especially in the world of golf. Not only did he make money for

11 https://www.golfdigest.com/story/what-golf-looked-like-before-tiger-woods-turned-pro-and-changed-the-ga me-forever 12 https://money.com/tiger-woods-net-worth-2019-golf-endorsements/ ​

Garrant 14 himself he increased the purse size of the PGA Tour immensely. At the height of his career in

2008 The PGA Tour handed out $292 Million compared to just $101 million in 199613. This type of money totally changed the face of golf. Golf’s previous superstar Jack Nicklaus had to decide between selling insurance and playing professional golf.

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Tiger drew the media into the golf with his amazing talent and great athleticism. As the media started to pay more attention to professional golf tournaments, the purses started to get larger. Above is a chart showing the highest earners on the PGA Tour from 1990 through 2018.

Tiger Woods played his first full PGA Tour season in 1997. As shown in the chart there was a huge jump in earnings between 1998 and 1999. Tiger Woods won 8 tournaments that year which

13 https://www.businessinsider.com/tiger-woods-era-doubled-pga-tour-prize-money-2014-12 ​ 14 https://www.pgatour.com/content/pgatour/stats/stat.101.y2018.html ​

Garrant 15 can account for the huge spike but the 10th highest earner David Toms still made 2 million dollars that year, which is equivalent to what the number 1 highest earner made just 2 years prior. In 2010 there was a very noticeable drop in earnings because no one dominated that year on tour. Tiger Woods was plagued by personal troubles and injuries that year and the TV ratings as well as earnings plummeted. In 2015 there was a huge spike in earnings and it was not because Tiger Woods dominated the Tour. 2015 was the year that young superstar Jordan Speith took the tour by storm and won 5 events including 2 majors. Speith won 12 million dollars that year eclipsing the previous record by over 1 million dollars. The 12 million dollars also does not include the 10 million dollars he was awarded for winning the Tour championship. This is a perfect example of how Tiger Woods has brought more money into golf. From 1999-2013 Tiger

Woods had 10 seasons with 5 or more wins and in any of those seasons he did not make as much money on the course as Jordan Speith did in 2015. Tiger Woods was again sidelined because of injuries for most of 2014 through 2017 allowing young stars like Jordan Speith to take control of the Tour during these years. Earnings on tour increased very minimally before Tigers emergence and almost immediately after his career began earnings skyrocketed.

Besides natural talent and hours upon hours of practice, many believe that Tiger’s fitness routine played a large role in his success. Tiger was not the first to emphasize fitness and weight training, (Gary Player was), but he was the first to make it popular. Along with the advanced technology and engineering put into golf clubs and the golf ball, golfers have more powerful swings and are much stronger. Stronger and more athletic golfers with better technology equates to more distance.

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Since 1996 the average driving distance on the PGA Tour has increased by 30 yards, which is an amazing number15. This boom in distance has caused courses to be redesigned and ​ ​ new courses to be built in order to challenge the professional golfers. For this reason, the scoring average has not changed much. Tiger’s biggest impact was his draw to junior golfers. Tiger

Woods inspired countless junior golfers to pick up the game of golf, and not just casually.

Inspired by Tiger Woods' success during his prime, many kids took up golf. Many young stars on tour today credit Tiger as the one who inspired them to pursue professional golf as a child.

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15 https://www.pga.com/archive/how-driving-distance-has-changed-over-past-40-years-pga-tour ​ 16 https://www.pgatour.com/content/pgatour/stats/stat.101.y2018.html ​

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As shown in the chart above there has been a large increase in driving distance on the

PGA Tour over the past three decades. The reason for this boom in distance is because of an emphasis on strength and conditioning and better technology in golf equipment. Professional golfers before Tiger Woods had been proponents for strength and conditioning such as Greg

Norman and Gary Player but Tiger Woods was the first to make it mainstream. Professionals started to see the advantages in hitting longer drives when Tiger won the Masters by a record 12 strokes in 1997. The key to Tiger’s dominant victory was his driving; he averaged 323.1 yards off the tee leading the rest of the field by 25 yards. Golfer’s started to see the advantage of hitting the ball further so they started to train in order to compete with Tiger. That same year titanium drivers became popular and more players phased out their persimmon head drivers with new titanium ones. In 2001 there was a huge jump in average driving distance of about 6 yards this was because Titelist introduced the ProV1 that year which was a huge hit on tour and performed much better compared to a traditional wound ball. From 2002 to 2003 there was another huge jump in driving distance of about 7 yards. 1999-2002 was the peak of Tiger Woods career in terms of dominance during that stretch he won 7 of his 15 career major titles and there were debates on whether or not he was actually bad for the game. Sports Writer Bill Lyons wrote an article for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2000 titled “Woods Bad For Golf? There’s an unplayable lie.”. Courses started to add on yardage so that the longer hitters could not overpower the course and this process became known as “Tiger-Proofing”. The increase in distance during this short period was because of the dominance of Tiger Woods which pushed professionals to get better along with the leaps in the technology in golf equipment. After this short period of incredible growth there was a slump in distance because of lack of innovation in equipment as well a

Garrant 18 dropoff Tiger’s Performance. Since 2013 There has been a steady rise in average driving distance on Tour. Many of the very young junior golfers who were watching Tiger dominate have come on tour since 2013. According to PGA.Com since 2014 the winners on tour have an average height of 6 feet17. The Average man in America is 5’9 professional golfers are getting taller and more athletic because of Tiger Woods influence. Since 2013 there has also been an emphasis on more advanced technology in golf equipment allowing for accuracy combined with distance. The Combination of Tiger Woods dominance and better technology in golf equipment has driven the increase in distance for the past two decades.

The PGA Tour has many young superstars such as Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Justin

Thomas, Ricky Fowler and many more. Many of the stars were inspired by Tiger Woods and even credit Tiger with getting them interested in the game. It is clear that Tiger has contributed more to the game of golf than any other golfer in history. His contributions helped golf grow into the game it is today and he is not finished. Though his back continues to be an issue, he has a great chance of being the undisputed greatest golfer in history.

Professional Golf Viewership

At this point in time, golf is in a very good position. Over the past 3 years there has been a significant increase in golf’s social media influence. More viewers are tuning into live streams and many companies such as Amazon, ESPN, Fox, and AT&T have shown interest in a new

17 https://www.pga.com/archive/news/golf-buzz/pga-tour-most-productive-height-2013-2018 ​

Garrant 19 media rights deal which will increase fees and include a dedicated golf channel18. In 2018 NBC

Sports reported their highest viewership for the PGA Tour in 12 years.

Tiger Woods' return to the winner’s circle has a big impact on the increase in viewership.

In 2018 all four major championships had a large increase in viewership due to Tiger being in the hunt19. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan acknowledges Tiger Woods’ importance for the business of the PGA Tour. He is the driving force that brings all different types of demographics to golf. Though in the past he was the focus despite a few other golfers such as

Vijay Singh and Phil Mickleson, today he is supported by a cast of young talent. Stars such as

Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Rory Mcilroy, and Jordan Spieth have burst on the scene. The emergence of young talent brings a very promising future for the PGA Tour.

Tiger is reaching the end of his career, and when he retires from professional golf there is certainly going to be a major hole in the sport. Though the young stars individually are not yet a household name like Tiger, together they draw media attention and have many young golfers interested in the game again. The biggest challenge for golf has always been drawing in a younger audience. These young stars have the ability and influence to get kids and young adults interested in the game.

The viewership for golf is lower than other major professional sports, but this does not mean that the PGA tour has a small impact. In fact, the PGA Tour’s audience is the most influential out of any major sport in the United States. The Tours audience has the highest

18 https://www.wsj.com/articles/golfs-pga-tour-looks-to-score-media-deal-as-suitors-circle-11567076401?mo d=searchresults&page=1&pos=9 19 https://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-channel-ties-most-watched-year-ever ​

Garrant 20 median income in comparison to the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Tour fans are 45% more likely to give back to charity and 43% more likely to belong to a charitable service or organization20. This makes advertising on the tour very appealing. By advertising on the tour, companies are able to reach more decision makers in companies.

Since 2007, the tour has seen a consistent rise in their social media influence. As golf continues to expand on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and

Twitter, it will give the tour a greater opportunity to market itself to younger viewers, and hopefully turn those viewers into golfers.

Equipment in Professional Golf

There have been many changes in golf over the two decades, but nothing has changed more than the equipment. Innovation in the golf equipment industry starts in professional golf.

Almost every professional golfer signs an equipment deal when they play on any of the major tour’s around the world. The world of professional golf is extremely competitive, and other than immense talent and skill, players need the best equipment.

In order to have the best equipment, players must get fit for every single club. Fittings make sure that every club is optimized for the best performance possible. Fitting has been in the professional golf world for a while, but because of the recent introduction of simulators and launch monitors, fitting has become even easier. The introduction of these technologies also made fitting more widely available. Fitting is now very mainstream, and most companies recommend that you get fit before buying their clubs.

20 https://www.pgatour.com/advertise/audience.html ​

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When professional golfers sign equipment deals, they become test subjects for many equipment manufacturers. Almost every major golf equipment brand has taken the approach of releasing their prototype equipment on tour a few months to a year before releasing it to the general public. Professional golfers then test and review these clubs, giving the manufacturers feedback on what they could improve and what works, etc. Some of the superstars have influence on the design of clubs, some even designing clubs themselves.

The influence that professional golfers have on consumers is huge. Tiger Woods can again be a great example. For most of his career, Tiger played with Nike golf clubs. When Tiger was unable to play due to a string of injuries, Nike stopped selling golf equipment and decided to focus on apparel. Nike’s golf equipment was never known for being the best performance-wise, and most tour players did not play Nike even though the best player in the world did. Many amateur players base their equipment decisions on what their favorite player uses or what most tour players use. Without Tiger Woods playing with Nike clubs on TV every weekend, sales weren’t up to par, and resultantly consumers were not gravitating towards Nike equipment. Nike eventually decided to cut their equipment and now they focus solely on apparel.

Professional golfers have a large influence on the golf equipment market. If you see many major brands advertising, you will see many slogans such as “number one driver used on tour” or “number one ball used on tour”. Companies know that consumers look to professional golfers to see what clubs to buy and will pay professional golfers millions of dollars in order to use them for advertising. In fact, Tiger Woods has made much more from his endorsement deals

Garrant 22 than from his on-course earnings. In 2018, Tiger Woods $42 million out of his $43.5 million total earnings were from endorsement deals alone21.

Training/Emphasis on Physical Performance

The biggest change in the world of professional golf has been the golfer itself. Many young stars on tour today have spectacular athleticism and can compete with most professional athletes in the gym. In an interview , professional golfer Jim Furyk talked about how in high school, he was embarrassed to play golf. He hid his clubs in the office during school so his friends wouldn’t see them and make fun of him22. Then, golf was a game for old men and kids who had little-to-no athletic skill. Today, golf is filled with athletes. There is a large emphasis on training, especially in the professional and college ranks. In order to keep up with the boom in distance, most players on tour spend many hours in the gym every week.

College golf programs have become much more intense over the years as well. Some of the longest hitters on tour are coming straight out of college. For example, in his second year on tour, Cameron Champ led the tour in driving distance. Before, golf was an obscure sport in college. Club golf teams were more common than actual golf teams and not many people played.

Today, college golfers train just as hard as any other sport.

College golfers spend more time practicing than any other sport because of the duration of practice and competitions. For a typical team, lift generally starts at 6am, followed by class, then lunch, and then it is straight to practice. Generally, practice runs from about two in the afternoon

21 https://money.com/tiger-woods-net-worth-2019-golf-endorsements ​ 22 https://money.com/tiger-woods-net-worth-2019-golf-endorsements/ ​

Garrant 23 until it gets dark out. In addition, players are expected to practice everyday, even if a sanctioned practice is not held. When it comes to competition, sometimes student-athletes are required to play 36 holes in one day. Players are required to walk the course, and must carry their own bag or use a pushcart.

A 36-hole day usually takes around 10 hours to complete, with around 8 miles of walking and carrying a bag or pushing a cart. According to the PGA, an average golfer on tour walks around 319 miles each season23. That is more movement per season than any other major sport.

In order to perform at a high level over the course of an entire season and remain consistent, golfers in college and on the professional level must be in good shape.

Growth of Social Media in Professional Golf

From 2007 to 2015, the PGA Tour had slow steady growth on all their social media platforms. In 2015, however, the tour changed their course of action by beginning to help players share content on their own accounts. Over the course of 20 months, beginning in January of

2017, the top 50 players in the world increased their fan engagement on social media by 82%.

Over this same period, the PGA Tour had upwards of 200 million video views, which was a

157% increase and their audience grew by 10 million followers24.

23 https://www.pga.com/archive/news/golf-buzz/how-far-does-average-pro-golfer-walk-each-year ​ 24 https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikmatuszewski/2018/11/30/pga-tours-top-players-increase-social-media-e ngagement-by-82/#67283b6c2e79

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Following this success, the tour decided to adopt the athlete marketing platform

Opendorse. Opendorse helps players share social media posts that include videos and images.

Opendorse has helped players engage fans three times more than before. This has helped the tour flourish and it has also helped the players flourish, for they are able to build their own brand. The younger stars have done a really good job of doing this, and have been able to build their own brand aligning with major companies to sign huge deals. Social media is key to the Tour’s growth and they have done an outstanding job getting ahead of the curve. PGA Tour players had a 34 percent increase in followers and a 4.1 percent engagement rate in 2019. The NBA, NFL, and MLB were not able to achieve both figures25.

Topgolf

Topgolf’s Emergence into the Game of Golf

Twin brothers Steve and David Joliffe started Topgolf 20 years ago in the UK. In the late 1990s, microchip technology had become commercially available and the Joliffes decided to use it in a golf ball. The Joliffes wanted to fix the issues they saw in golf, which was the amount of time it takes to play and lackluster driving ranges. In 2000 the first Topgolf location was opened in

Watford, England, featuring a high-tech driving range which could track the flight of golf balls, provided different games to play, and also served food and drinks.

25 www.bu.edu/prlab/2018/10/22/the-impact-of-media-on-golf/. ​ ​

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At first golfers did not take kindly to Topgolf; many felt it was gimmicky and not what golf should be. Investors were hard to come by; the PGA Tour and golf equipment companies would not invest. This did not stop the brothers, and after three separate tries they were able to convince David Grogan to invest in Topgolf. Grogan then brought on three other investors,

David Main, Eric Wilkinson, and Tom Mendell, and they began Topgolf International. This venture was backed by WestRiver Group, and the first Topgolf location in the United States was launched in 2005 in Alexandria, Virginia. Alexandria was a prime location because of its proximity to Washington D.C. Topgolf was set for a successful launch in the US, but their first location was closed for its first four weeks and equipment damage caused an even bigger problem. They tried to open another location in Chicago, but again this one did not do very well.

In 2007, Topgolf opened one more location in Dallas, hoping to attract more golfers because of the warm climate. At first, they did not receive very many customers and it was looking like the beginning of the end. To try to save the company, they tried to change their marketing scheme and it eventually worked. People started to come in because they finally knew what Topgolf was and in 6 months the Dallas location had a two hour wait on its busiest days. In 2009, Topgolf

International acquired Topgolf UK, and in 2011, WestRiver took over complete control of

Topgolf. WestRiver then expanded the kitchens and hitting bays of their locations. In 2013 alone, 10 new Topgolf locations were opened, and by 2015 they had 28 locations, bringing in over 8 million customers. Today, the company has 54 locations across the US, three locations in the UK, and one in Australia. Topgolf has even inspired others to dive into the same market.

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Two more companies have opened in the past 5 years: FlyingTee and Driveshack have opened locations in the U.S.26

Topgolf Experience

Topgolf brought a totally new experience to golf. Though players are hitting a golf ball on a driving range, it is totally different than a traditional driving range. Every single ball used at

Topgolf has a microchip inside of it. The microchip allows the ball to be tracked after being hit, providing data on accuracy and distance. There are different targets which act as giant bullseye-like structures strategically placed throughout the range. There are 11 different game modes offered at Topgolf locations. All game modes involve hitting to the different targets on the range, but at different difficulty levels. There are even team game modes in which friends can compete against each other.

What really separates Topgolf from other traditional driving ranges is the entertainment value. All Topgolf locations have a full kitchen. Food and drinks are served to customers in the hitting bays and even if there is a long wait, you can sit at the bar and watch the variety of televisions available with some friends. Giant screens play whichever primetime game or tournament is on at that time, and TVs are also readily available at every hitting bay. Topgolf delivers a totally new dimension to golf, something that a traditional golf course cannot deliver in the same fashion.

In 2017, former Topgolf CEO Erik Anderson said “I’ve told people, golf is a 30-minute ​ game with a four-hour walk if you unbundle what you’re doing. A part of golf that’s so fun, in

26 https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/319674 ​

Garrant 27 addition to playing, is the social interaction you get with your friends. We’ve just put that together in a different form.”27 Playing with friends away from everyday worries is what brings most people to golf. The problem in today’s fast-paced world is that not everyone has 4 hours to give up during their day. Topgolf takes the most entertaining parts of golf and fits it into a shorter time frame.

Topgolf has done a great job of attracting people who have never played golf before to their locations. In 2018, according to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), 9.3 million people participated in exclusively off-course activities. 4.1 of those 9.3 million people were between the ages of 18 and 34. Topgolf can attract younger people to golf, which traditional golf courses have an issue doing. “An NGF study on Alternative Golf Experiences in 2015 found that 52% of non-golfers who visited a Topgolf facility had an interest in playing golf on an actual course. By comparison, only about 15% of non-golfers in the general population said they’d like to try traditional golf.” Topgolf can grow the game immensely and the PGA Tour has taken notice. ​

Toptracer PGA Tour/Topgolf Swing Suite

Topgolf added a new feature to their driving ranges when they acquired Protracer. Protracer tracks the flight of the golf ball and displays it on video while also analyzing every shot.

Protracer was already being used on the PGA Tour to add to the broadcasts by helping people at home see the flight and distance of the ball. Topgolf renamed the technology Toptracer and then implemented it into some of their driving ranges. Aligning with the PGA Tour is a great move

27 https://www.thengfq.com/2017/04/how-topgolf-has-become-one-of-the-new-driving-forces-in-golf-participa tion/

Garrant 28 for Topgolf and the game of golf. Topgolf is advertised in every PGA Tour broadcast, bringing in more and more customers seeking to try the Toptracer technology.

Topgolf Swing Suite is available in over 50 different locations throughout the United

States ranging from bars to casinos. Topgolf Swing Suite technology simulates the Topgolf experience indoors. This technology is not operated by Topgolf, but rather leased out to those who want a golf simulator in their establishment.

Topgolf Lounge was just launched in 2019 and this venture of Topgolf entertainment brings the entire Topgolf experience indoors using Topgolf Swing Suite Technology28. The Aim of Topgolf lounge is to provide the food, drink, entertainment, and golf experience, but make it indoor and much smaller. Topgolf Ranges are massive structures which don’t fit well in densely populated areas. Topgolf Lounge allows Topgolf to be more easily available in cities and other areas in which Topgolf Ranges do not fit.

Simulators help the game of golf reach further. They allow the game to be played anytime of year in any climate with a more relaxed feel. Topgolf is starting to create a similar effect in golf that Tiger Woods did. Topgolf and others like it entering the market are giving a new modern feel to golf, which is even starting to transfer over to traditional courses trying to emulate the fun and relaxed feel. The entertainment company is drawing more eyes, corporate sponsors, and media to the game of golf.

28 https://frntofficesport.com/topgolf-lounge-golf/ ​

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Conclusion

Golf was on the decline and in serious threat of becoming a sport only enjoyed in

retirement communities. The ancient game needed a way to break through to younger

audiences; it needed something to captivate their attention. Over the course of the past

two decades, golf found its saving grace in Tiger Woods and Topgolf.

Tiger Woods’ career is not over yet, but his impact is seen and will continue to be

seen in every facet of the game. The first professional event that Tiger won was the Las

Vegas Invitational. His first place check was for $297,000. In his latest win at the ZOZO

Championship, his first-place check was for $1,755,000. The purses of all events have

increased significantly over the course of Tiger Woods’ career because of the attention he

brings to the game. This “Tiger Effect” can be seen from the rise in junior golf, larger

crowd sizes, more media coverage, higher television ratings, equipment innovations, golf

course design, strength and conditioning, and many more.

Since its introduction in 2000, Topgolf has been trying to change people’s

perspective on golf. Tiger Woods did a great job of bringing people to the traditional

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game, but there were still many reasons people didn’t want to try golf. A golf course can

be an intimidating place; there are a ton of rules that one must follow and even a dress

code at most courses. Playing 18 holes can take four hours or longer and many people

don’t have the time. Topgolf turned golf into an easy, relaxing game that anyone can

enjoy no matter what they wear or how much skill they have, and they can play in just an

hour. Topgolf brings golf to a demographic that is generally not interested in golf. This is

good for the game, and the steady rise in off-course activities especially in the last 5 years

shows the true, significant impact that Topgolf has had on golf, and will continue to do

so. The more people that put a golf club in their hand, the more likely the game is to have

continued growth.

Topgolf and Tiger Woods have helped expand the game of golf to a level of

popularity it has not seen before. Off-course activities are continuing to rise while

simultaneously helping to grow traditional golf. As Tiger rounds out his career and

Topgolf sees continued growth, the game of golf will continue to expand and evolve,

beating its previous stereotype as a dying, old man's sport.

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