The Culture of Golf - Isn't it Just a Game?

By Laurence A. Hirsh

My purpose in developing this book is twofold. As a golf and club industry consultant I hope to help more clubs thrive economically by providing food for thought about how to make the game grow. As a lifelong and socially sensitive golfer, I hope to help the game grow while making it more inclusive and look more like society in general. Golf has been my avocation and my vocation for nearly 40 years. It's the greatest game there is and I feel like its culture is the game's own worst enemy.

"The Culture of Golf - Isn't it Just a Game?" is intended to provoke thought among golfers, golf leaders, course owners, club leaders and others about how the game can grow while preserving the game's best traditions and evolving beyond some of the others. I believe golf should be reaching a broader segment of the population, not be "elitist" and "aspirational". It's the game of a lifetime and its virtues can be shared more widely and benefit more people, all while making the game healthier.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098386894

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© 2021 Laurence A. Hirsh. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

ISBN (Print): 978-1-09838-688-7

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-09838-689-4

Table of Contents

About the Author

Foreword – Michael J. Hurdzan, PhD, ASGCA

Foreword – Bradley S. Klein

Introduction

Traditions

Evolution of Golf

Golf’s Role in Society

Golf’s Social Conscience

Obstacles

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – Symbols

Promoting the Game

Golf & the Environment

Social Progress in Golf

What Do Non-Golfers Think of Golf?

The Many Cultures of Golf

The Golf Course

Private Clubs

Daily-Fee & Municipal Golf

Daily-Fee Golf

Municipal Golf

Resort Golf

Differences

Golf IQ

Caddies, Carts & Getting Around the Course

The Golf Establishment

Fun

Golf as a Social Event

The Game for a Lifetime

The Golfing Life

Charity

Golf Lifestyle

Golf Attire

Golf Technology

Playing the Game

Rules of the Game

Rules of the Course

Learning and Improving

The Golf Professional

Golf as a Sport

The Addiction of Golf

Competition

Golfers of Impact

The Politics of Golf

Change

The Economics of Golf

Conclusion

About the Author

Laurence A. Hirsh, CRE, MAI, SGA is the president of Golf Property Analysts (GPA), a Philadelphia, PA Area real estate appraisal, consulting and brokerage firm specializing in the valuation, analysis and marketing of golf properties. GPA has been in practice since 1980. Hirsh has lectured on numerous occasions to a variety of golf and club industry groups, including the National Golf Course Owners Association, Urban Land Institute, Club Managers Association of America, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, American Society of Golf Course Architects, Golf Association of Philadelphia, Metropolitan Golf Association and others. He has also lectured to student groups at Penn State University, Harvard College, The University of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin and University of Florida. Hirsh has published numerous articles on a variety of golf and club related topics for The Appraisal Journal, Real Estate Issues, Journal of Property Tax Assessment & Administration and a variety of industry publications. GPA publishes Chip Shots, a monthly newsletter and Hirsh blogs at www.golfprop.com/blog .

Hirsh is the author of Golf Property Analysis & Valuation – A Modern Approach, the award winning, authoritative text on the analysis and valuation of golf properties published by the Appraisal Institute.

A member of the Appraisal Institute, Counselors of Real Estate and the Society of Golf Appraisers, Hirsh was a founder and the first president of the Society of Golf Appraisers. He is also a member of the National Golf Foundation, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, National Golf Course Owners Association and two American and one Scottish golf club.

The author has played golf since the age of 8, encouraged by his father, with whom he played regularly as a junior. He has played competitive golf for most of his life qualifying for numerous Pennsylvania Amateur Championships and other state level competitions. He has won club championships at two clubs.

Hirsh is a graduate of Penn State University, married and father of three children. He is a lifelong competitive golfer, and a licensed commercial pilot and certified flight instructor.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to acknowledge and thank the following individuals:

All my golfing friends, fellow members at the clubs I’ve been privileged to belong to, and my fellow competitors over the years, who’ve provided many of the experiences and memories from which this book was conceived; and put up with me all these years, especially Dr. Claude Nichols, III, with whom I’ve played golf for the past 58 years, and counting;

My wife, best friend and co-worker, Judy Hirsh for putting up with this project, others and me, in general for 34 years, and my wonderful kids, Max, Ali & Jack;

My sons, Max & Jack, with whom I’ve spent countless hours teaching the game, learning the game from and simply playing lots of golf. My daughter, Ali, for accompanying me to play once each year on Father’s Day weekend to share with me her special brand of humor and at least a few shots worthy of making sure I know the game’s not that hard;

My late father, Mort Hirsh left us many years ago but was able to share with me his love for golf and his appreciation, some of his skill and talent for writing, without which this book would never have happened. My late mother Joan Hirsh, who encouraged me to follow my own path which led me to focusing my livelihood on something I truly love;

Dr. Michael Hurdzan, Ph.D., renowned golf course architect, accomplished author and longtime friend, who reviewed my manuscript and made numerous contributory suggestions which resulted in significant edits by the author;

Bradley S. Klein, renowned golf writer, author, architecture critic and longtime friend, who reviewed my manuscript and made contributory suggestions which resulted in significant edits by the author;

Foreword

– Michael J. Hurdzan, PhD, ASGCA

Golfers seldom realize how rapidly the nature of the game is evolving, and it is not always in positive directions for the long-term. Sure, advertising makes us aware of game enhancing technological advances in equipment, the USGA and R & A advises on rules simplification and updates, and course managers apprize golfers on improvements in course maintenance and operations. However, these information sources have an agenda and present golfers with a world that they want them to see. But as someone who has spent over 60-years immersed in all phases of the industry and has witnessed lots of profound and sometimes wayward directions, I believe that a broader view is necessary for golf to stay healthy.

Larry Hirsh has done that in this book. He is a long time, trusted friend, and an extremely knowledgeable golf course consultant, who has also seen some disturbing changes, and now has selflessly given the time and effort to document the rest of the story of golf. Larry is an accomplished and widely traveled player, so he has seen a lot, but it is his passion and concern for what he has observed and experienced, and his willingness to write about it, that sets him apart.

The Culture of Golf – Isn’t It Just a Game? is a unique and comprehensive study, written in a way that is easy to understand and covers a huge range of issues that are intertwined. He offers explanation of the current state of the game and how it is evolving, as well as insights on what could be done to improve it. His focus is not equipment, rules or course conditions, but as the title states, it is on the culture of golf.

Social attitudes are powerful forces, and it seems outside special interest groups are always searching for another target of perceived injustice to culturally reform, to perhaps include golf. The best protection to preserve what we love about golf is to be prepared to make changes when justified but defend against unfounded or false accusations with real information. Granted it is a complex topic composed of many subcultures or points of view, but there is virtually no part of the sport that Larry overlooks in both a historical and future context. Even if you don’t fully agree with Larry’s views, at least you will be giving them some thought and seeing a bigger picture of golf, and that alone has merit. Being sensitive to golf related topics that may need improving is a major first step.

Golf has been evolving for over 600-years and so change is inevitable, but doesn’t have to be random, or be to a lower form of experience. By understanding the underlying causes of the observed decline attributable to contemporary social, economic, and environmental influences, golfers can change or mitigate those negative forces. Larry offers a strategy and suggestions for keeping golf healthy and growing, consistent with modern day stresses and family life. Perhaps 90% of solving any problem is clearly defining it and this book does that beautifully.

I agreed to write this foreword because as I read an early draft of the book, I found that I, too, had either experienced or observed many of the same things as Larry is writing about, but didn’t recognize the insidiousness of them. Larry, on the other hand, did and has chosen to articulate them. This book is a valuable read for anyone in the golf industry who cares about its future, as well as any golfer who really loves the democracy of the game. We all have an obligation to know the threats to the game and be prepared to defend it. Knowledge and perspective are powerful tools that each of us are qualified to use, if need be. I am honored to have a chance to give this ambitious and marvelous work my strong endorsement. I believe that time will show the wisdom and insight of this text.

Respectfully,

Michael J. Hurdzan, PhD, ASGCA Fellow

Golf Course Architect and Consultant

Foreword

– Bradley S. Klein

Long ago, Larry Hirsh learned that while golf is a great game it also makes for a very strange business. As demanding as it is physically to play golf well, succeeding at it financially takes a level of management skill and discipline that nobody teaches you and that is expensive to learn.

It helps his ability to make these kinds of arguments that Larry is an excellent golfer – bordering on scratch. There’s something weird about the industry that your pronouncements carry a more weight when you can boom drives, control the distance of your irons and threaten par or better each time out. But his ability to make a living as a golf property analyst and consultant has thrived primarily because Larry knows the ins and outs of accounting, appraisal, taxation and financial markets. He can look not only at the bottom line but also at all of the lines above that to see forensically how a golf course is doing and whether it’s on the right track.

It also helps that he can write clearly about such matters without getting sucked into the black hole of unreadable prose involving EBITDA, net operating income and depreciation. The trick in business is to be able to communicate complex issues clearly and to do so for people who sometimes are reluctant to hear the evaluation. If you’re not afraid to tell people the kinds of news they need to hear then you have no chance as an independent analyst. Larry’s skill, honed across the country with hundreds of clients – whether private clubs, daily-fee properties, municipalities or aspiring owners – is to provide an uncluttered evaluation and to tell you what the property is worth.

I’ve seen how he does it, and it’s not by playing the course but by knocking around the property with camera and notebook. He knows that you can tell a lot about course management by looking at the maintenance shed and bone yard of salvageable machinery out back. It means a walk-through of the kitchen or look at the quality of range balls. It means chatting up the ranger as well as the golf pro, sampling sandwiches at the half way house, and seeing if the bunkers are raked by hand or by a Sand Pro (or not at all). And he’s not averse for asking tough questions of folks, whether the manager, the beverage cart attendant or the town’s tax assessor.

In a trade used to gentility and praise, Larry has made a career by asking uncomfortable questions that get to the bottom of things. Along the way he has learned to communicate clearly to audiences not accustomed to dealing with such issues, including (especially) everyday golfers.

That’s why The Culture of Golf, is so welcome. These represent his collective wisdom, acquired through forty years of looking closely at golf courses. Their virtue resides in the fact that he never just looks at revenue numbers or course conditions but places everything in a larger cultural context. Whether it’s consumer spending, economic cycles, the politics of the regulatory climate or the demographics of who is playing and at what price, Larry’s understanding of golf is always placed within a framework that goes well beyond a mere ball and stick game. It embraces golf as a social activity, one that needs to make sense financially if it is to succeed as an engaging practice. Unlike most golfers and unlike many owners, he puts his ego aside and looks at golf objectively, always keeping in mind that owners and managers have the right to accept some kind of reasonable return on their efforts.

Golf might be a strange game. It does not, however, have to be a losing proposition. Read on to find out how.

Bradley S. Klein

veteran golf journalist, historian and consultant

2015 winner, American Society of Golf Course Architecture, Donald Ross Award for lifetime achievement.

Introduction

In 1986, I was privileged to play in the Pennsylvania Amateur at Merion and 2 weeks later the Pennsylvania Open at storied Oakmont. Since I was lucky enough (in an upset) to survive the 18-hole cut at Oakmont, I stuck around after the first round and had lunch with two golf association officials. They were discussing the " fiasco " of two weeks earlier at Merion, where several participants were required to purchase long pants in the pro shop due to a complaint about one competitor’s shorts not being of sufficient