Every spring issue I duly report on the year-end numbers from Golf Canada’s annual general meeting. I pick and prod and inevitably come to the same conclusion: its margins are thinner than a Donald Trump combover. The years 2007 to 2011 were particularly painful as the organization went on a mad romp to up its membership numbers and lost a chest-grabbing $17.7 million. I’m not good at heavy math, but in 2018, if you divide membership numbers into those who actually play the game, the conclusion is ugly: Golf Canada connects directly with less than 1 per cent of the golfing public.
Okay, I know, leaning on stats is like Trump’s scorecard – open to interpretation. Golf Canada isn’t simply defined by numbers. It sets the rules of the game, runs the handicap system, partners with others and conducts much-needed industry surveys. Another mandate (perhaps its biggest) is to “grow the game,” which it does through programs like Future Links, Golf in Schools, Long-term Player Development, National Junior Development Centre, Canadian Junior Competitive Pathway, National Teams, and Team Canada’s Young Pros, among others.
The governing body’s penultimate professional tour stops (yes, GC is an events planner, too) feature Brooke Henderson as defending champ of the CP Women’s Open (August 19-25 at Magna Golf Club, in Aurora, Ont.), and this year’s RBC Canadian Open (June 3-9 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club), features Irish superstar, Rory McIlroy.
Golf Canada collects nearly $800,000 per year from Ottawa to fulfill its mandate as the game’s NSO (National Sports Organization). Still, I have a nagging problem. “Youth must be served” is accepted as gospel by the game’s stakeholders, but so was removing the pin before putting. Is all this youthful servitude really growing the game?
What if just once (say this year) an outlier (say me) shifted the focus, and asked why old geezers (me again) can’t be served, too?
I’m a baby boomer who grew up playing in the dead ball era of the game when persimmon woods ruled, and balls hit off-centre left a sizable smile. The association overseeing all this was the Royal Canadian Golf Association, a starchy, blue blazer crowd that reeked of exclusivity, and preached from a dust-covered rulebook. It viewed the grassroots players at the driving ranges and Par 3s of the world as a dog views a fire hydrant. I lost no sleep when the RCGA morphed into Golf Canada.
So why do 99 per cent of today’s players nod no when offered a GC membership? They don’t need a handicap. They could not care less about rule changes. Few have visited the Hall of Fame site on the grounds of Glen Abbey in Oakville. Did they notice when Wilf Homeniuk (Wilf who?) was inducted into the Hall last year?
I’m also convinced that youth (at the elite level, anyway) has already been overserved. They have another 60 or 70 years to dine out on everything that is being given to them. Scientists are even extending that by implanting stem cells into the brains of animals. It’s hoped this will extend our lifespans to that of a sea turtle or a California Redwood.
Baby boomers, who fed into the golf expansion from the 1970s into the early 2000s, have finally come to grips with the fact we are running out of fairway. So, Golf Canada has it all wrong. If golf is a cradle to the grave game, which it is, why not serve those heading to the exit door – before it’s too late?
In 2015, Statistics Canada reported that, for the first time in history, people 65+ exceeded children aged 15 and under. One in six Canadians — nearly 8 million – are now in their golden years. The numbers are multiplying out and should check in at 20.1 per cent of the population by 2024. The good news is that boomers reject the term “care” for “active lifestyle.” To borrow from a Yogi Berra maxim, even in the thinner air of old age, “life isn’t over ‘till it’s over”.
That’s good for the golf industry. We still have the hammer, with plenty of disposable income. We might come with an expiry date, but our money doesn’t. The goal is to extend the golfing “experience” – with or without stem cell therapy.
Who buys all those whacky wedges on the Golf Channel? Boomers! Who bought millions of that super-sized putter Jack Nicklaus wielded like a garden tool to win his immortal 6th green jacket in 1986? Boomers!
Golf Canada can serve up big platters of programs to the young, but old geezers like me are still filling up the tee times, and literally aching to play.
So, why this rant? Over the winter, I was asked to pen a feature on disabled golfers, and what the industry is doing to serve this tiny percentage of the population. I talked to disabled golf associations, and visited Todd Keirkstead, who teaches “adaptive golf” methods. I also Googled everything I could find on Soldier On, a program to introduce our vets into a game that will assist them with their physical and emotional rehabilitation.
There were stirring stories, and I came up with this conclusion: disability is a word that should be expunged from our vocabulary. Name any able-bodied person who could have accomplished what Terry Fox did during his Marathon of Hope in 1980? My golfing hero used to be Jack Nicklaus, until he gave evidence in 1997 against Casey Martin joining the PGA Tour because he needed to use a golf cart from a life-long disability. Nicklaus’s pronouncements were shameful and will forever sully his reputation. He’s doubled-down lately, by regularly partnering with the Commander in Cheat at their south Florida digs.
What I found in my search for the truth is that lots of people have different levels of ability, and so what if it dissipates with age? Berra was right. It’s my new golfing mantra.
So, what will golf do to create a retention strategy for the Grey Wave? A recent report says owners are not even close to building better facilities to accommodate an aging population. I know margins are tight, but remaking pro shops or dining rooms so scooters and wheelchairs have equal access, will pay off sooner rather than later. Ramps at clubs are expensive, but much needed. Pros should embrace teaching adaptive golf. Associations have to ease up further on the rules of play. If a player doesn’t have the energy or the physical tools to play 18 holes, give them the option of 9, or less. Golf is as much a social as physical pursuit. Allow friends to meet, swap stories, and wander out to the practice putting green. Food and beverage managers can even adjust their offerings – from burgers and fries to low fat fare for their aging customers. Less beer, more Ensure!
Yes, boomers helped grow the game. We’re eager to continue doing so.
