It’s fair to say that traditional 18-hole golf has struggled with the image of being an expensive hobby. Add together the cost of golf club membership, green fees, equipment , clothing and lessons, and it can be seen as a sport only the wealthy and socially elite can afford.
That perception is changing and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune – as this piece on the 10 best Amazon golf products under $50 helps demonstrate.
The game has also evolved over the last 20 years. Eighteen-hole golf might still be the backbone of the game, but there are now many more ways to play golf; different versions of the sport that are a lot more affordable.
There’s a feeling among many that ‘golf has become cool.’ Even before the Covid pandemic did golf a favor and ended up boosting participation levels with lots of new faces, the game had started to shrug off its elitist image. Golf has never been more accessible.
Phil Anderton
Phil joined The R&A in August 2020 as Chief Development Officer. He leads the Development activities of The R&A overseeing the golf development, philanthropy, and sustainability departments as well as its international offices. Phil has worked in commerce and the sports industry for more than 30 years across brand management, commercial and general management for companies such as Procter and Gamble and The Coca-Cola Company as well as founding and running his own consultancy businesses.
“We are very clear as part of our strategy that golf should be considered to be played across multiple formats,” Phil Anderton, Chief Development Officer at The R&A, tells Golf Monthly. “Outside of America, there are close to 20 million people who only play golf through what we call alternative formats.
“That can be chip and putt, adventure golf, driving ranges, all those types of formats – and these are typically less expensive for people to be able to participate in and play.”
Research carried out by The R&A supports a change in perception. The governing body’s ‘barometer’ is a robust survey undertaken four times per year across the major golfing nations representing approximately 75% of golf globally. It measures attitudes towards the game, and it shows that there has been “steady year-on-year” increases in agreement with statements such as ‘Is golf appealing?’ and towards statements expressing the physical, mental and social benefits of playing the sport.
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