When golf was excluded from the considerable benefits included in the Hurricane Katrina Tax Relief Bill, the PGA of America decided to commission an independent study to show the nationwide impact, in dollars and cents, that the golf industry brings to the economic condition. The PGA commissioned the Stanford Research institute to conduct a study of the United States golf economy from 2000-05.

The study, known as the 2005 Golf Economy Report, determined that golf generated $76 billion in direct economic impact in 2005, up significantly from $62 billion five years previous.

For the first time, the report considered the direct, indirect, induced and total economic impact of golf on the U.S. economy, establishing a total economic impact of $105 billion in 2005.

Golf also created nearly two million jobs with a wage income of $61 billion. Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Norm Lezy, who chairs the PGA Government Relations Committee, says “the 2005 Golf Economy Report was extremely important, because it gives the industry a definitive study that vividly illustrates golf's powerful economic, environmental and human impact in the United States.”

The SRI International study revealed that the nation's 16,052 golf courses, 1,900 stand-alone ranges and 1,392 miniature golf facilities generated $28.1 billion in revenue in 2005.

The study identified the financial contributions from the game's core segments, including golf-facility operations ($28 billion), golf course capital investment ($3.6 billion), golfer equipment and supplies ($6.1 billion), tournaments, golf associations and endorsements ($1.7 billion), and charities ($3.5 billion).

Also included in the report is the impact on “enabled” industries, such as tourism and hospitality ($18 billion) and real estate ($15 billion). David Fay, chairman of the World Golf Foundation and Executive director of the USGA, says “golf is a meaningful contributor to this nation's economic engine, and it's important that everyone in the industry (and in general) is aware of these statistics.”

The above information was taken from an article by Roger Graves in the April 2008 issue of the PGA Magazine.

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Here are the results from the 2008 edition of the Dutch Hollow Member-Guest held this past weekend. Woods flight winners in the five round match play event were Art Luke and Jack Weinerth, followed by Peter Bommersbach and Dave Harvey, and Len Marshall and Bill Maneri. Palmer flight winners were Tom Lee and Mike Westover, followed by Tim Siracusa and Dave Peters, and Bud Barrette and Pat Kubly. The Nicklaus flight was won by Steve Poweski and Ray Williams. Wayne Pierleoni and Matt VanOrman came in second and Carl Weber and Bill Scarbrough came in third. Doug Brown and John Fedyshyn finished first in the Hogan flight, followed by Jim Tripicano and Sully Nardozzi, and Gary Hart and Mark Towers.

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See you on the links!