USGA shuts down Golf Journal

[Dan Kelly]

Look at it this way, gentlemen:

The demise of Golf Journal creates an opening in the market -- an opportunity for someone to create a magazine with Golf Journal's merits (and more!), but without its demerits (many of them born of its being a house organ for the USGA -- not exactly a formula for dynamic journalism).

What are we left with, in terms of American golf monthlies? Golf Digest, GOLF Magazine, Links -- all hopelessly inadequate portrayals of the totality of golf. We can all agree on that, can't we? (If I'm missing something more satisfying, PLEASE tell me.)

All three of those magazines are stuffed so full of blow-in cards and "Special Advertising Sections" and stiff-papered inserts that I would find them damned near impossible to read if I wanted to read them -- which, most months, I don't. I page through all three of them, look at the pictures, read some captions, set them aside. I continue to subscribe to them because (a) they're cheap, (b) they sometimes have nice pictures of golf courses, and I'm a sucker for a nice picture, (c) they occasionally have an article I feel some need to read, (d) GM and GD are part of my daughter's magazine-subscription program at school, and (e) inertia. (When my daughter brings me her list of magazines, and I sign up once again for Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, this is the Moment of Inertia.   )
  
Who will step forward, sooner or later, to give us a monthly magazine worthy of this great game of ours? Who loves golf enough to risk losing millions in the process?

[ForkaB]

Dan

The answer is obviously "GCA Journal."  Monthly columns by JakaB, Gib, TommyN, MattW, etc  A regular "Duelling Doyens" point-counterpoint.  ScottB's AOTD.  Excerpts of the best of the issues of the day, Martha B, Competition Ball, best places to find women in Myrtle Beach, etc.  Paul Turner photo essays.  You get the picture, hopefully, since you are the editor......

You're in the business.  Could we do this for $4 million like the USGA?  I suspect less.  Could we get enough subscribers?  I suspect more than enough.

Thoughts?

[BCrosby]

Makes sense.

Set up a GCA Blog. Run it like a magazine with new articles/comments weekly. Low overhead, lots of available content, cheap contributors. In fact, you could handle content simply by taking the best and brightest posts from the previous week.

What you need is someone with the time and energy to edit the thing.

Bob

[THuckaby2]

I most definitely have the energy, and I can find the time.  Problem is I lack the skill.  But hey, give me a chance, I'll get better as I go along, I promise.  

All I ask is $100K out of that $4M budget.

Tom Huckaby
Wishful Editor

[Nick Jones]

Forrest Richardson

From your bio here I notice you were involved with The Hideout, a course featured extensively in Golf Journal in recent years. No wonder you like the magazine!  

All the features mentioned here that people enjoyed were from the 70s and 80s and possibly early 90s.  Again, who can name some notable articles from recent years???

P.S.  I liked the old covers without captions where the picture said everything that needed to be said.  The captions they have been using are stupid and insulting.

[George Pazin]

Dan

The answer is obviously "GCA Journal."  Monthly columns by JakaB, Gib, TommyN, MattW, etc  A regular "Duelling Doyens" point-counterpoint.  ScottB's AOTD.  Excerpts of the best of the issues of the day, Martha B, Competition Ball, best places to find women in Myrtle Beach, etc.  Paul Turner photo essays.  You get the picture, hopefully, since you are the editor......

You're in the business.  Could we do this for $4 million like the USGA?  I suspect less.  Could we get enough subscribers?  I suspect more than enough.

Thoughts?

Paul Daley & Neil Crafter are already doing this. Paul's doing it with books, Neil with a periodical. I haven't had a chance to get Neil's yet, though I hope to shortly, but I can say that Paul's effort is tremendous.

[Rick Shefchik]

I suspect at least one of the reasons for the demise of Golf Journal is the very web site we're looking at -- this site, and a dozen or more others that have taken an increasingly large amount of our time, time that might have once been spent reading an extra magazine (if we weren't out playing.)

Reading Rich's post, it occurred to me that we have almost all the makings of a magazine right here, and it needn't be a print mag. We've known for years in the newspaper business that we were losing readers to the internet, and destined to lose more. I think that's what's happening in the golf magazine business, too.

While I concur with Dan that a great golf magazine would be far superior to a few occasionally decent ones, I don't expect it to happen. The next great golf publication is likely to be found on the internet, rather than in your mailbox -- and this site has many of the elements.

[JakaB]

I pledge to continue to "give it away" for the good of the game...for I am afraid that the acceptance of money would prostitute my clarity of thought.

[JIm Sweeney]

JohnV- Check your e-mail. A notie went out to all committee members in the last day or two.

I, too, will miss GJ. Frankly, I always thought the championship recaps were boring. But I loved the feature articles on courses and especially the "Great Amateur" spots.

I have to believe the USGA did their homework on this- that is, answered the question, "is this the best way to communicate to our audience in the new millenium?" I would have voted to keep it, but nobody asked me.

Of course, none of this means that we won't see these same or similar articles in the new publications as outlined in the press release. At least I hope they have the features I liked.

[Steve Lang]

Regret the demise.  But haven't been a member in many years.

I assume there is a Communications Plan in USGA.  

I assume they figured out the popularity of the electronic medium.  

I assume they'll eventually realize that many folks are not plugged in, and when the server is down they have no content to offer and unless folks download everything and burn CDs or DVDs, they'll never have an archive.  Without the publication they'll never be able to go into the attic and browse nostalgic

[John_D._Bernhardt]

Rich I like where you guys are going. I am in too.

[Phil_the_Author]

For me, I will regret it's passing but for a more general reason. Golf writing has become almost exclusively the domain of 'reporters' rather than authors. With one less venue to submit to, there are fewer chances that another Herbert Warren Wind will emerge.

Our society has become so enamored with meeting the immediate need. Fast food dinners, sound bites to fit into a 'headline news' program, quick change oil centers so hands needn't be dirtied and numerous other conveniences to give us more time only to rob us of it, have created a society that no longer cares for the beauty of the written word.

Magazines in all areas of interest have become nothing more than thematic marketting tools for advertisers rather than a place where opinions and ideas may be brought to the fore. Number of words and column space has become greater than content and intelligence.

On another thread I read of an article coming out in the March issue of GOLF Magazine. It appeared that Hunki Yun was going to rip into the sacred by showing how ten of the most revered courses in the world were actually the most overrated of all. The article turned out to contain LESS than twice as many words as there are to be found in THIS paragraph.

There is something very wrong when the writing that stirs debates has been reduced to such a slight thing. That topic cries out for proof, it shouts for the person who authored it to back up his shocking claims in a manner that might stimulate the readers to ponder what he asserts.

No, we are reduced to discussing what is essentially a page of sentences that state, "This course is over-rated" followed by, "snappy phrase", ending with, "I told you so."

Most journals, magazines, papers, etc..., are under the mistaken idea that they are giving their readership what they want to see. This is blatantly false. They are actually telling their readership what they want and need to see.

Keeping it simple stupid keeps the simple, stupid.

The Golf Journal's demise provides so many less chances for literature when we need it the most.

[JohnV]

Jim Sweeney,  When I got to work yesterday, I found out that others here had gotten the e-mail, but for some reason I didn't.  Don't know why, because I've gotten other e-mails from the USGA as a committee member.  Oh well, I hope they haven't lost me permanently.

[Scott_Burroughs]

For what it's worth, the GJ has been online (on the USGA's web site) for quite some time.  It's just that they had absolutely zero pics online that were in the hard copy.

[Dan Kelly]

Phil _the_Author --

Hear, hear!

One objection:

Herbert Warren Wind was a reporter. Period. He became what you call an "author" because he was such a good reporter -- and because Sports Illustrated and, especially, The New Yorker gave him the time, space and freedom-of-voice to develop his reportorial talents.

Even The New Yorker's articles are shorter nowadays. I wonder if Herbert Warren Wind would have become Herbert Warren Wind, today. I doubt it.

[Lou Duran]

Personally, I would like for the USGA to continue the Journal, though I have never found it to be a particularly good publication.  Give me anything written by Gib Papazian, and I would first pick that up at the expense of the Journal (and several of the popular golf mags for that matter).

A Papazian editorial piece, a Mucci-Paul point-counterpoint, a Ran monthly interview of golf architects, authors, developers, etc., a JohnV rules, handicaping, and institutional perspective section, alternating Shivas-Moriarty legal and political discussion of issues affecting golf, and an Andy Rooney type piece by JakaB could form the structure for a great print or electronic publication.  Add quartely travel sections by Tom Huckaby, the humor, wit, and story telling of Bob Huntley (as often as he feels like it), TMacs interesting, well-researched writings on the history of golf achitecture, Goodale's alternative analysis from the other side of the Pond, and submitals from the many fine contribution to gca.com, and we would have some great reading.  Round it off monthly with a Borroughs aerial and photography from so many folks here, amateur and professional, an occasional art/paintings section and we would have great circulation (maybe a couple of thousand?).  On second thought, I don't want to put up any of the $4MM, but perhaps we can find a benefactor out there.  I am inspired by the talent and passion of so many people on this site.  Unfortunately, much of the rest of the golf world doesn't understand us.

[jimhealey24]

As a Golf Writer and Author, I can tell you that finding publications for our ideas have been extremely difficult.  Brad K is correct that outlets for articles are becoming very difficult and that the need for advertising dollars is the only thing that keeps these mags going.  The demise of so many through the years is proof of that.  So when you complain about the resort ads and so on, remember that without that, ALL publications would probably cease operations.  Then there would be nothing to point our criticism toward.

But, GJ also provided good coverage of the amateur events and of amateurs.  With so little coverage of amateur golf overall, this was the one publication that gave them the recognition they deserved.  I'll be sad to see that go away.  The Carol Semple Thompson's and Ellen Port's deserve recognition for the great champions they are.  The younger players will get theirs when they turn pro!

JH

[DMoriarty]

Someone in touch with the USGA might want to inform the "Members Program" that the Golf Journal will be shut down.  Yesterday I received my annual 'please renew' letter from the USGA promising me that, as one of the many perks of membership, I will "continue to receive Golf Journal, the magazine you've come to rely on."

I hope they don't cut off the the US Open Golf Hat give-away.

[Forrest Richardson]

Nick -- You said, "From your bio here I notice you were involved with The Hideout, a course featured extensively in Golf Journal in recent years. No wonder you like the magazine!"

For the record, I "poured myself" into The Hideout, which is slightly right of scale from being "involved"!

Regarding the verrrrrry long series on The Hideout (12 issues, I believe), I look back at some of the nice series by Tillinghast and others and feel these were the best of articles on courses and architecture -- hopefully this series by Hal Phillips will endure as a record of the process in this era and be useful to others in the future. Yes, it is part why I am sad to see GJ go -- I believe there is no other publication with such commitment to doing the right thing in terms of reporting as most are "here today, gone tomorrow" in nature.