Without Tiger Woods Golf Industry Explodes

Golf's billion-dollar economic impact is not dependent on Tiger Woods.

 

 

The World Golf Foundation released a report on the economic impact of the sport and found that the industry is significantly "bigger" than the motion picture and recording industry combined!

 

Charities have also benefitted from the game, to the tune of almost four billion dollars, more than any other sporting activity. Golfers are generous!

 

A press release in my email about the study, entitled "Golf 20/20", provided confirmation that golf has grown from sixty-two billion dollars in 2002 into a seventy-six billion dollar business, creating almost two million jobs in its development.

 

So, for all of the worriers (including Jack Nicklaus) who believe that the game of golf is dying, think again. Whether or not Tiger Woods ever plays again, or if cities like Tucson need to reassess the number of municipal golf courses it operates, the future is looking bright and game will go on.

 

Golf will have to change with the times, perhaps incorporating social media strategies and improving the value for the masses, but it is vibrant and more than just an enjoyable pastime, for many fans, players and businesses, it's a way of life!

 

Your thoughts?

 

Golf 20/20 Mission Statement: to galvanize the industry around strategic initiatives and grass roots activation to ensure the future vitality of the game of golf.

 

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Golf Horoscope for 2013

Even though the foremost astrologers utilize the aspects of the planets and stars at a given moment, the future still remains unpredictable. Utilizing the past as a barometer, Golf for Beginners makes several predictions on the future of the game and some of its players in 2013.

1. Tiger Woods will win two golf tournaments this year and one major event. Based upon his past performance in the majors, the current number-two money leader in the world will win the PGA Championship...it's about time to collect another Wanamaker Trophy, isn't it? On his golf blog Woods said, "Looking ahead to next year, I'm just trying to win those big four tournaments."



2.The Rory McIlroy-Tiger Woods competition will continue to heat up and fans will see several final round close calls this season. McIlroy will easily win the Masters after remembering what he said after squandering a four-stroke lead at Augusta in 2012. "I'll get over it," said Rory, "it was a character-building day, put it that way. I'll come out stronger for it," and so he has with his major victory in 2012 at the PGA Championship.

3. The 2016 Anchoring Ban (belly putter) will force advocates such as Webb Simpson to change their putters and revise their putting strokes. Watch for new and unpredictable grips for belly-putter golfers and for new equipment on the golf course. Will we see Keegan Bradley trying out a new claw grip this season?



4. The LPGA future will further take root in Asia. American LPGA golfers will be asked to learn Korean and Mandarin to keep up with the further globalization of the Tour. Instead of "foreign" Tour players being penalized for not speaking English, ladies such as Cristie Kerr on the LPGA will brush up on Korean to follow the sponsors, "follow the money".

Could it be that, down the road, American LPGA golfers will be penalized for not speaking Korean?



5. Two female members will be allowed to join Muirfield's "Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers" (so one can play golf with the other without disturbing the men) with the Royal & Ancient Golf Club following suit after much ballyhoo.

Stay tuned for mystical Tarot predictions by Stacy Solomon throughout the 2013 golf season!

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A Hole-in-One Christmas for Mobitee Mobile Golf App purchasers

In the spirit of giving, Mobitee Mobile Golf Assistant has announced that it will be offering a thirty percent discount on its GPS golf app to iphone, Android and Windows phone users throughout the end of the year.

The innovative virtual golf coach says gift-giving should be easy and should keep on giving.  Instead of the usual stocking stuffer, Mobitee’s user-friendly rangefinder, shot tracker, flyover video, club recommender and scorecard will allow both the beginner and advanced golfer in your life the ability to improve his or her game. Thirty-five thousand golf courses allow you to take...and use... Mobitee anywhere in the world.   And, as Mobitee says, “it’s so easy even an adult can use it!”

“Mobitee is not a simple gadget application or a very complicated software,” says Stan Chapus, CEO of Mobitee. “It is a real tool to help every golfer.  It is a virtual caddie, a reliable golf companion.”   

 

The thirty percent discount has been applied directly at the point of sale so neither codes nor special coupons are needed!

Here are the links to download Mobitee on iTunes for iPhone and iPad users, on Google Play for Android phones (like my Samsung Galaxy S3 (which I LOVE) and through Facebook.

You can communicate directly with Mobitee either through email: info@Mobitee.com, via Facebook and through Twitter.

Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and the best of wishes to everyone this festive season. May you get what you want and may joy act as your umbrella.

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Golf Swing Made Easy With This Infographic

What muscles do you use in the golf swing? How flexible do you really need to be when taking a swing? These questions and more have been put into an Infographic by Matt Baird, PGA Instructor. Read this explanatory analysis of how your golf swing works and what you can do to improve during the off-season.

Thank you to Matt Baird for providing Golf for Beginners with this Infographic.


Matt Baird Bio

As a full time instructor,  Matt Baird has taught thousands of Golf Lessons with a way of teaching that people can relate to and understand.  He has real professional experience in teaching and playing the game and can instantly diagnose and fix the swing of amateur golfers. 

The key to Matt's knowledge is that he understands all aspects of the game from a pro golfers perspective. He has recently been on pro tours, he has played with the pros, he has lived with them, he knows how the pros practice, what they work on, and how the they get better. He knows and teaches the swing path of the current best pro golfers in the world. He not only teaches the game but he plays it well. He is good at golf and teaching golf because he loves the game and loves to help others improve their game. His current project is working on GolfGator, a golf Training Aids company. Be sure to visit him there.


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Who is it --- #Tiger Woods or Rory #McIlroy?

Thank you to Author James Ross for this submission to Golf for Beginners blog.

**********

The golf season was around the corner and the grinding professional Tour was about to begin. The weather outside was gloomy. It was way too cloudy and windy to even think about playing. Of course flurries of snow were predicted in the forecast. That was also a discouraging factor.

What’s a fellow to do? If you’re a golfer the local pro shop and clubhouse is the perfect meeting place. It was no different at Prairie Winds Golf Course high atop the Mississippi river bluffs just east of St. Louis. Fred, the portly one with a baker’s dozen of doughnuts, was the first to arrive. His rotund backside had left an impression in the booth nearest the far corner.

J Dub, the nice looking, lanky head pro had a pot of coffee brewing before the night maintenance foreman at the local auto plant had come through the front door. Julie, his chic assistant, was filling the cash register with petty cash. They expected a slow day of golf but plenty of banter from the regulars who considered the clubhouse their home away from home.

Captain Jer, the functional alcoholic, arrived early. He had travelled to the course with two sidekicks. Doc, the elderly veterinarian, and Trot, an old vaudeville comedian, entered behind him. As news of the upcoming golf season flashed across the TV screen the conversation switched to controversy.

“That kid from Ireland can play,” Fred shouted.

“Rory?” Doc questioned.

“Yeah, McIlroy.” Fred wiped the back of his oversized hand across his mouth in an attempt to clean the excess cream filling from the doughnut off the side of his mouth.

 “Lots of talent there,” Captain Jer agreed, “but I still think that Tiger is the guy to beat.” The retired airplane pilot motioned for Julie to bring a cold beer to his table. “When they tee the ball up I guarantee you the rest of the guys in the field are looking out the corner of their eye to see where Tiger is.”

“Maybe so,” the head pro said as he threw his opinion out, “but Tiger doesn’t put the fear in them like he used too. There are a lot of new guys out there that can flat play the game.”

“Guys you’ve never heard of,” Trot added. “There are hoards of young kids that rip the ball.”

“But that McIlroy kid is the best of the young bunch,” Fred argued.

“No question,” Doc said, “but you know the way sports are. On any given day…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Captain Jer shot back. “Give me Tiger Woods anytime. He has that uncanny ability to will the ball in the hole. When he’s got his putting stroke going there is nobody that can stay with him.”

“Granted, but the others know that if he’s in the hunt it just might be his tournament to lose.”

“I’ll still take the new kid on the block.”

“He can roll the ball in the hole with the best of them.”

“And his ball striking is as good as Tiger’s was in his prime.”

“Why don’t you guys take a break for a while?” Julie butted in. She was no novice when it came to the gentleman’s game. “Nobody is going to win this discussion. Was it Jack or Arnie? Or how about Ben Hogan or Sammy Snead? Each era has its own hotshot --- and the opinions will always vary.”

The others exchanged glances. They wondered how the lady in the group could be such a golf historian.

“That’s why golf is the truest sport out there. The guy that plays the best for four days will win the tournament.” Julie placed another beer in front of Captain Jer, delivered a screwdriver to Trot and filled up Fred’s coffee mug. “That’s the one that deserves the moment. Be glad that we have the opportunity to disagree.”

“Yeah, it makes for great viewing on Sunday afternoon!”

“And everybody has their favorite.”

James Ross has written five novels from the Prairie Winds Golf Course setting. Visit Amazon online on Wednesday #12_12_12 for a book promo on his latest, Pabby’s Score. The story delivers innocence, greed, corruption and Internet dating as well as mysterious intrigue from the cast of recurring characters --- and two newcomers with special needs, Pabby and Shae.

Join James Ross on Twitter as @golfnovels and @JamesRossBooks or on Facebook.

And... as always, voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and on our Facebook page.

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Did You Win YOUR Bet That Mandela Would Make it to the European Tour?

The European Tour is the second largest tour in the world of golf coming in second only to the PGA Tour. The increase in popularity of the European Tour can be attributed to its broad inclusion in other parts of the world featuring venues held not only in Europe but also in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Smaller tours, such as the Sunshine Tour, are part of a global constinuency which makes up the International Federation of PGA Tours, co-sanctioning four events with the European Tour.

That being said, the most recent event played this past weekend on the Sunshine Tour was the inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship. A possibly more well-known tourney taking place this week on the Sunshine Tour is the Alfred Dunhill Championship. Both events count toward the Race to Dubai, a year-long global affair with a prize in excess of $1 million dollars.

Although few Sunshine Tour events attract top names in golf, this week, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel are both competing: adding the name Mandela to any event also elevates it don't you think? These golf tournaments also give rise to fresh faces who might one day move toward a permanent spot on the Euro Tour.

Since gambling is an inherent part of golf, with these events comes the opportunity for sports betting.  As I have come to learn (no, I don't gamble but I read a lot), in the past, these sorts of transactions were done with a bookie, however, with the rise of the internet over the past few years many forms of gambling have taken full advantage of the online culture of this medium. Now bookmakers and casinos can be found online and everything that goes with them. People who fancy a quick go on the slots on their computer, or even their smartphone, can now do this at sites such as LuckyNuggetCasino.com online casino, along with card games such as Poker or Blackjack which are usually found to be more popular among sports fans. Betting on golf can now be done before or even during the game wherever they are; this new face of gambling also has expanded the types of sporting events on which bets can be placed.

The Nelson Mandela Championship, for example, showed me that a bettor would be able to predict finishing positions. This type of sports bet is where you make a prediction on where a golfer will finish at the conclusion of the tournament. This is a bit different than other bets as you can bet high which means you expect your selected golfer to do poorly in the tournament. On the other hand, you can decide to go low which means you expect him to do rather well. To know specifically what this looks like depends on the quote associated with a specific golfer. For instance, he may be quoted to be 5-8. This means that the sportsbooks have him predicted to finish either 6^th or 7^th. If you want to bet low, meaning he will do well, you would sell the finishing position at 5. If you expect this golfer may not place as well as expected, you would sell the finishing position at 8.

Where I do not condone gambling, I found the process quite interesting and wanted to share it with the audience. There are many people who go in ready to place a bet but not understanding the modus operandi in order to give themselves a chance at success.

Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend on Facebook.

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