augusta national Archives • GolfStinks

The Dilemma of The Masters

April 8, 2015 | By Greg D'Andrea | 2 Comments

Augusta National is known for both it's beauty and discrimination. — Augusta National is known for both its beauty and discrimination.

For the past few days, people that don’t even play golf – that don’t even know how to hold a club – are coming up to me and saying things like, “Hey, it’s Masters week…aren’t you excited?” This is proof The Masters has transcended sports – it’s the closest thing golf has to the Super Bowl or Final Four, where even non-sports fans are vaguely aware of its existence.

But as the saying goes: “With great power comes great responsibility.” And I’m not so sure this tournament is putting golf’s best foot forward. While there’s good in The Masters, there’s also a dark side.

For starters, The Masters is, in fact, the best marketing tool the industry has to kick-off the golf season. Think about it: Just as the ground is thawing in the northern part of the world, here comes the most popular tournament of the year to help get the proverbial golf juices flowing.

In addition, the event is held at one of the most beautiful golf clubs in the world – Augusta National. When the tournament is held in early April, Georgia is already in the full bloom of spring – with magnolias and azaleas adding magnificent highlights to a lush, emerald-green grass backdrop (and if spring is late, they’ll just get the spray paint out…).

Of course, Augusta National is also the poster child for every single negative golf stereotype…like, ever. It didn’t allow African Americans until the 1990’s. It didn’t allow women until 2012 (and when finally doing so, it pulled off what can be called one of the biggest public relations stunts in golf by naming Condoleeza Rice as a member…who is both black and a woman).

And if having a membership of predominately white men doesn’t personify the golf stereotype enough, the invitation-only club features names that reek of money…Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to name just two. So the equation would look something like this: White + Rich + Men = Augusta. And if Augusta = Golf (as many would agree), then Golf = White + Rich + Men.

Thus, The Masters is a catch-22 for the golf industry. On the one hand, it’s the kick-start the game desperately needs at the beginning of each season. Yet on the other hand, the legendary course has a history in stark contrast to how the golf industry wants to grow – in particular to minorities and women.

Yet The Masters influences golfers all over the world. After all, Augusta National is easy on the eyes and beautiflul in both appearance and layout. Mere images of Amen Corner fill your head with blissful daydreams – of navigating those cushy fairways – every step so magical you’re truly concerned that soft spikes aren’t soft enough.

Oh what we golfers wouldn’t give to experience this oasis of a course that offers such contrast to our local munis. Why can’t your club look like this? Well, it can – you just wouldn’t be able to afford it anymore.

This is a cruel coincidence of The Masters – the notion that all of which inspires us each spring is very rarely (if ever) accessable to the average golfer. In fact, Augusta National has set such high grooming standards for itself that it must resort to camouflaging its blemishes just to maintain appearances.

All this has led to the “Augusta Effect” – the notion that golfers have come to expect impossibly high standards of their local course from what they see on their HDTV each spring. This, in turn, has ultimately led to higher greens fees throughout the game.

While still struggling to overcome recent economic woes, golfers and the golf industry alike are left trying to live up to expectations they can no longer afford. A catch-22 indeed. There’s a gigantic rift between what made golf what it is today and where it needs to go for tomorrow.

Despite this however, The Masters has ultimately bled into the American mainstream. It, for better or worse, has helped put golf on the map for the general public. For this, it will forever be synonymous with both the start of the golf season and the beauty this game has to offer.

It’s just too bad the host course has such an unsavory past.

POLL: Is The Masters Your Favorite Major?

March 26, 2014 | By Greg D'Andrea | Leave a Comment

The Masters (by Torrey Wiley via Flickr)

With The Masters fast approaching, I thought it might be a good idea to see what your favorite major tournament is during the season. There’s always a lot of buzz around The Masters, but I figured that was due to it coinciding with the start of the new golf season too.

But recently via Twitter, one of our followers has called The Masters the March Madness of golf. Is this true? Sure, it attracts a lot of attention but some of that has to do with the course itself (Augusta National) and not necessarily the tournament.

It also has a great field of players – but don’t all the majors? And it’s at the start of the year…not the end – so it’s not a true reflection of which players have had the best year.

Still, The Masters has a certain appeal to it – be it that it kicks off the new golf season; or that it attracts a field of top players; or the fact that it’s played at a legendary golf course. Heck, I’ve written rather scathing remarks about Augusta in the past, but I still find myself watching The Masters on TV more than the others.

So, is The Masters your favorite of all the majors? Take the poll below and let us know.

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Will This Brutal Winter Delay Golf Season?

February 17, 2014 | By Chris Chirico | Leave a Comment

Living in CT all my life, I’m just used to the snow. Be it three inches or three feet. When you’re a New Englander, you accept that you’re going to have this kind of weather, so you don’t complain when it happens. You just accept that your garage or tool shed will include either a snow-shovel, snow-blower or both. You accept that you will need to carry a snow-brush and ice scraper in your car. But what you don’t expect is to have to replace these things due to overuse in one season! So coming off another winter storm, a storm which covered the snow from the last storm which was already covering the snow from two storms ago, you begin to wonder…when exactly is golf season going to begin this year?

I know it’s a bit early still – I normally don’t play my first round of golf until April at the earliest. But here we are in mid-February. We’ve had six snowstorms in the past six weeks and talk of a seventh this week. So when exactly are the courses going to be ready to play? I mean, if the famous Eisenhower Tree at Augusta National has been lost to ice damage, and that’s down south, what kind of damage are we going to be looking at here in CT?

If old Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction is correct, then we’ll still be seeing snow well into March. Heck, wasn’t it just last year when we were still getting snow in April? So who knows what to expect?! All I know is, for one reason or another, my golf season gets started later and later every year. I was hoping to put an end to that trend this season, but with no end in sight to the winter combined with the groundhogs input, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether or not that will actually happen.

So what to do? Wait it out until the conditions are optimal? This would be preferred. Or do I head out to the course and play on a wet, muddy, sloppy course where my ball is going to get plugged after every iron shot and a divot as deep as the abyss will be left after each stroke? I hate playing when the course is like this. Not to mention, it does too much damage when the course probably has enough problems already. Maybe I’ll just take an early golf trip until conditions here are better suited for a round? Now that sounds like a plan…if finances allow.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Black Girls Can Golf

July 10, 2013 | By Greg D'Andrea | 1 Comment

We all know the USGA wants to grow the game of golf – especially when that growth includes women and minorities. But as I’ve mentioned before, that’s going to be a hard sell as long as venues like Augusta National (which are steeped in a history of racism, sexism and exclusivity) continue to be poster children for the game.

In essence, the stereotype of golf is it’s a white man’s game (Gentleman Only Ladies Forbidden). And that stereotype is pretty much a reality out on the links. We recently posted about the number of women that play golf – the statistic said 25% but that seemed awfully high to us (we figured more like 10% based on the frequency of seeing a female out on the course).

Why aren’t more women playing? Could part of it be this “gentleman only” aspect to the game? Now consider the number of African-American females who play golf. We’re talking about a very low statistic indeed. So low, in fact, that Tiffany Mack Fitzgerald decided to do something about it.

Ms. Fitzgerald was in the corporate world for a decade and noticed “how many [business] opportunities were available to people who played golf.” She also noticed how very few golfers were black females. It was with this in mind that she founded BlackGirlsGolf.net, with the goal being to grow the game of golf to include more women and minorities.

But she also recognized that golf is its own worst enemy when it comes to keeping these women golfing for a lifetime. After all, the game is rather exclusive and unquestionably male dominated – which is a big turn-off for many women. And the fact that most golfers (in the U.S. anyway) are white males may not be the biggest draw for those who are neither white nor male.

Golf has been late to evolve. The exclusivity that once attracted people to the sport, is now one of the things that keeps new golfers from participating. It wasn’t until 1990 that Augusta National invited African-American’s into their club and it would take another 22 years before America’s most prestigious course would allow women. It’s time to shake things up. – Black Girls Golf website

Instead, what Ms. Fitzgerald wanted to create was a “low pressure” and “inviting environment” to introduce the game of golf to women – and more specifically, to black women. To this end, Ms. Fitzgerald began with her website and blog – where she was able to communicate her ethos. More recently, she’s partnered with a golf pro to provide group golf clinics in the Atlanta, Georgia area. These clinics have been so successful at retaining new golfers, she is now looking to expand outside Atlanta to grow the game to women and minorities across the United States.

“Some of these women were so new to the game, they didn’t even know which end of the club to hold,” said Ms. Fitzgerald in a recent phone interview. “But they were able to learn about this game in an inviting environment that made them want to keep playing.”

Unlike recent efforts from the powers that be in the golf industry, here is a grassroots organization that is not only introducing new people to the game, but also making them golfers for life. This is ultimately what the USGA needs to grow the game…but you couldn’t tell based on the so-called initiatives they have currently in place.

Rather, the golf industry needs organizations like this to grow along with it. From the Black Girls Golf website:

It has been our experience that when women have a positive introduction to golf they are more likely to become ‘golfers’. Women who are brand new to the sport tend to make golf clothing and equipment purchases within three to six months of their introduction to the game.

As Ms. Fitzgerald seeks partners to help grow her organization, she is extremely wise to point out the benefits to the industry as a whole should she become successful in her efforts. After all, we all know golf’s core demographics are white men ages 25-64. To which she quips:

When African-American women show up on a golf course we get a lot of attention. Guess who is looking at us….White men, between the ages of 25 and 64.

For more information or to connect with the Black Girls Golf organization, please see:
Website – http://www.blackgirlsgolf.net
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/BlackGirlsGolf.Net
Twitter – https://twitter.com/BlackGirlsGolf

Augusta National: The Good, Bad & Ugly

April 10, 2013 | By Greg D'Andrea | 3 Comments

"The — The Masters (by Torrey Wiley via Flickr | CC BY 2.0)

Augusta National Golf Club. The very name conjures up emotions deep within us. For some, those emotions might excite and inspire; while for others, they might sicken and disgust.

The Good
Augusta National is perhaps the epitome of golf courses. Despite not being in the birthplace of the game, the course is as symbolic as St. Andrews…perhaps more. We golfers daydream of walking its fairways; of turning Amen Corner; of being immersed in a golfer’s total paradise.

Of course, the club hosts The Masters every April – a tournament rich in history. Marking the start of the golf season for many, The Masters sends us images of Augusta in full spring bloom – lush green grass and floral (mainly magnolias and azaleas) bursting full of color. It’s no wonder there’s a huge marketing push surrounding the tournament – golfers of all levels yearn to go out and play after viewing just a few minutes of the action. Surely the golf industry as a whole benefits through the publicity of such an inspiringly beautiful course.

The Bad
Make no mistake, the course really is in pretty good shape. But Augusta groundskeepers are working with smoke and mirrors too. For example, the course spent half a million on an underground vacuum system that removes excess water. And according to a post here, Augusta National…

“…reportedly dyes ponds blue or black to hide algae bloom, spray paints grass to make it look more green in years when the newly planted ryegrass isn’t flourishing and even refrigerates, or warms, the azaleas so that they’ll be in perfect bloom for the second weekend in April. Rumors have it that this year [referring to 2012] Hollywood set designers have been brought in to Augusta to hide damage caused by the lawn chemical weed killer Imprelis that was found last year to kill trees as a side effect.”

Due to this addiction of perfect grooming (which apparently involves some degree of deception), we have something called the “Augusta Effect.” The notion that every course should strive to be as impeccably maintained as Augusta National – and anything less is less than perfect. This notion has led to other courses overseeding to keep greener longer; led to more pesticide use within the industry; and ultimately led to courses going belly-up – all in an effort to meet the expectations of average hacks everywhere, who have come to expect conditions like those they view on TV.

The Ugly
Unlike the cradle of golf in Scotland, Augusta is no Mecca – You will not find golfers on a pilgrimage to these links like they flock to St. Andrews. This is, of course, because we are not allowed to play there. Augusta National Golf Club, hallowed as it may be, also represents everything that is wrong with golf. It is the very root of negative golf stereotypes: closed-doored, sexist and filthy rich.

Sure, the club recently allowed its first female members, but that gesture made for good PR more than anything else. So the USGA and PGA Tour are faced with a conundrum: On the one hand, Augusta National helps stoke the golf economy every spring. But on the other hand, the club flies in the face of what the governing bodies of golf want to do – which is to grow the game beyond the average white male. They want to reach more women and minorities. They want to reach more inner-city youth. But should Augusta really be their poster child? That’s a tough sell.

For years I believed Augusta National Golf Club represented everything a golf course should be: Lush, beautiful and steeped in tradition – It really did make me want to go out and play. To be sure, seeing images of the course this week will inspire me once again. But over the years, I’ve come to realize the industry is using the Augusta legacy as a marketing tool – a facade, which exists mainly to excite the imagination.

Nowadays my inspiration doesn’t come from Augusta, but rather from the beginning of a new golf season – the excitement of getting out there and playing again after a long, cold winter and the thought of hanging out with good friends while enjoying the game we love. And, I guess, the possibility of finally hitting that elusive hole-in-one.

So my advice to you is to enjoy the tournament; the competition; the phenomenal golf. But take all the pomp and circumstance with a grain of salt. After all – most of us golf in the real world; not in fantasy land.