Steve Lapper,
Can you be sure that your position on this issue isn't more of a reflection on your personal views of the USGA, rather than your views on how to best move in the right direction ?
Pat,
I can't be 1000% sure (and that's the sole reason I'm not sitting here clothed in a robe, hearing cases right now). Yet, I can be sure that the USGA (& PGA) has fallen woefully short of intelligently using it's massive resources to better the game for everyone, regardless of position in life. I do know that serving as one of the game's elite institutions demands responsibility for it's future. If any of these institutions can earn tens of millions every year by virtue of begging the public for contributions. charging $5 for a hot dog, or $40 for a branded Teddy Bear or other merchandise, then it can certainly afford to reach down to the underprivileged and find a way to assist. That's not personal, that's just a chain of responsibility that appears to have been severed & ignored for quite some time. Please don't try to convince me that coming into Pebble Beach, Pinehurst, Bethapge or Torrey Pines is enough. Have they ever gone to Split Rock, Rancho Park, or Jackson Park turned those tracks into jewels, all while subsidizing free public access for those unable to afford the fees? They can and should do more (side-by-side or behind local and state gov't mandates and initiatives works just fine)!
Bob Huntley,
While I rarely differ with your wisdom and philosophy on most topics, I can't find a way to believe that kids here will "find a way" so easily. Perhaps they can pick up a rake or shovel and imitate the game on a scruffy dirt lot, but the scarity of acceptable property and supervised, yet accessible space along with some equipment all conspire to make the game "out of reach" for most inner-city and even exurban youth. Sure, theose kids with a burning desire or love will find the sacrifice palatable, but they are an absolute minority in this country and the competition from other organized sports does little to incentivize them to continue such an individual pursuit (unless of course they are being pushed to use it a college "hook.")
Sean Arble,
There is an absolute need to "grow the game," if for no other reason than to raise the next generation's stewards of our beloved and hallowed grounds. Do you really think that there is enough budding interest to produce hundreds/thoudands of Jordan Walls spread wide enough to care enough not to plow over some Ross/Flynn/Tilly 2nd tier links off the beaten track?
The game is flat-to-dying on a statistical basis over here and is projected to shrink considerably once the steady wave of the retiring baby-boomers stops. In fact, the NGF is privately warning many of it's constituents to examine alternative activities in order to attract a new customer base. That hasn't had to happen since the 1940's (and only for period of WWII). Intitiatives do matter...just ask the Tiger Woods or First Tee foundations. There are tens of thousands of kids out there who's lives we might be able to influence if introduced to golf's values. Just doing this one or two more than not will go far to making a positive difference. With two tiny daughters under my care with an ugly world ahead, that goal is crucial.
All my ranting is really directed at ALL the institutions associated with guardianship of this game. ALL of them owe something to the pursuit of making the game more accessible and more available to anyone who has the interest. That, IMHO, is direct derivative of the honorable values and principles on which the game is founded and conducted. It is also a contribution that the game is capable of giving back to our oft-flawed society and social fabric. There, I'm done
