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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.

Source: 2011 Golf Economy Report (golf2020.com)

Money circulates in, through and around the golf industry – that much you know. What you might not know is just how much money. What if I told you it was in the hundreds of…wait for it…BILLIONS.

According to the latest Golf Economy Report (commissioned for the 2011 calendar year and released in October 2012 by the World Golf Foundation and Golf 20/20), the golf industry has an indirect economic impact of $176.8 billion in the United States. And, if you extrapolate that out to include everyone’s salary who is affected by a golf-related transaction, the number is even more staggering: Nearly two trillion dollars.

Such robust numbers led the report’s authors to conclude that, “The game of golf is an industry in its own right, and contributes significantly to the U.S. economy.” But how does golf pump that much cash into the system on a annual basis – especially in light of recent economic woes? Well the report boils it down to seven ways.

1) Let’s begin with golf courses. There are nearly 16,000 facilities in the U.S. (some with multiple courses) that employ nearly a million people. But beyond wages, money is spent on several other things such as maintenance (gas, fertilizer and pesticides etc.) and food and beverage (the 19th hole) – in all, golf courses are collectively responsible for contributing more than $86 billion to the U.S. economy.

2) What about hospitality and tourism? This is an area that has actually seen a rise over the last decade. People are traveling to play golf and the money they spend in relation to that travel is substantial – nearly $65 billion is in some way, shape or form correlated to golf-related travel every year.

3) We all know the real estate market has suffered over the past half decade and golf real estate (residential golf-related construction) is no exception. But it’s still the third-biggest contributor, to the tune of nearly $11 billion.

4) The next category lumps the pro tours in with associations (both national and local) and player endorsements. When Tiger and Rory sign a lucrative deal with Nike, many people benefit. This bucket contributes $6.6 billion.

5) Need a new set of clubs? Although people haven’t been spending as much on golf supplies (including equipment and apparel) over the last few years, this space still accounts for $6.5 billion annually.

6) Another thing to suffer due to the recent recession has been new course openings. And while not as much capital has exchanged hands, investors are still investing – nearly $1.8 billion on new course developments in 2011.

7) The last thing on the list might surprise you, but believe it or not, the golf industry is a bit of a philanthropist. Be it a local charity tournament or other fund raising through various organizations within golf, the industry donates nearly $4 billion a year. Top that Bill Gates!

This all adds up to that $176.8 billion indirect economic impact I mentioned earlier – and this is just within the United States! There’s no doubt golf contributes much more on a global scale.

So the next time you’re walking alone down a quiet fairway, just remember – every ball you lose; every dollar of your greens fees; every soft spike you wear-down contributes in some small way to the economic juggernaut that is the golf industry.

The complete report can be found HERE.

The Dilemma of The Masters

7 Ways Golf Helps Drive the U.S. Economy

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