Guest Column, by Bill Hobson
Michigan Golf Live and FORE Golfers Network
The “year unlike any other” is coming to a close – and while we all hope and pray for much healthier days ahead, 2020 has delivered some powerful, important, impressive lessons for the world of golf.
Even as I write these thoughts on a chilly late November day, there are countless PGA Professionals and Superintendents who are now – finally – preparing to hibernate after a season that defied dire predictions and temporary shutdowns and, instead, rocketed to record levels of play and profitability.
Reflecting back, I’m reminded of these five lessons golf taught us all during the year of Covid:
Golf is Creative – Don’t even try to pretend you saw things like pool noodles and wire ball-lifting contraptions becoming a standard part of your golf experience. These concepts were born out of necessity and a desire to protect you as much as possible. There were plastic card dividers quickly invented and installed in order to meet rapidly shifting compliance guidelines and the golf community deserves immense credit for a remarkable level of creativity that allowed courses to re-open and thrive.
Golf is Resilient – Let’s hop in the time machine and journey all the way back to the bleak days of March. Shutdowns were happening in every sector of life, including golf. The entire industry – and at $4 billion per year in Michigan, golf IS an important industry – was reeling from the prospects of possibly being put in mothballs. Now, fast forward to December. There are masked smiles on the faces of exhausted course owners, operators, PGA Professionals, and super-duper Supers following a year where tee times were frequently impossible to secure, equipment sales shattered records, and the demand for instruction kept many teaching tees occupied from sunrise to dusk. The hunger for our safe, socially distant sport reached levels only dreamed about until a pandemic came along and reminded everyone that there is no better place to be than on the course.
Golf is Adaptable – When the PGA Tour announced there would be no fans at the Rocket Mortgage Classic they worked hard to overcome that loss of ticket revenue and were still able to deliver over $2 million for charity while still somehow finding the resources to feed the daily caloric requirements of the 2020 Champion, Bryson DeChambeau.
On the amateur level, the Golf Association of Michigan continued its tradition of hosting a full calendar of tournaments for players of every skill level. They not only pulled it off but did so with excellence. On the wider spectrum of public golf, the challenges were magnified. From spacing out tee times to creating more outdoor dining space to running tournaments in new and improved ways, there is a huge tip of the cap in order for the obvious (and behind the scenes) adaptability shown across the board. Large gatherings, double shotgun charity outings, member/guest weekends – every aspect of the golf experience had to be examined and reshaped, revised, and rescheduled. Somehow, it happened, and it worked in ways that some concepts will continue into the future.
Golf is Zany – In a year when the desire for normalcy often delivered the exact opposite, we can take comfort in knowing that golf continued the time-honored tradition of often making no sense. Your buddy continued to get eye-popping, head-shaking bounces from the deep forest to within 5 feet of the hole. Your perfect range session once again delivered your highest score in years. Your best friend still manages to leave behind a minimum of 3 clubs per round, losing his range finder twice a summer. This awesome game has a level of insanity infused into it. Nothing, not even a virus, will ever change that.
Golf grew Younger – For those still searching for a silver lining in 2020, turn your eyes directly to the growth of Youth On Course – the tremendous program allowing kids to play for as little as $5 per round. In our state, the GAM helms the programs and participation has been off the charts. Not only are these kids our future teachers, engineers, first responders, pastors, and parents…they’re also the literal future of golf. Seeing so many kids getting out to play with mom and/or dad might be the biggest positive of all for 2020.
