Why The Latest USGA Revelations Matter

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Many of you, especially the many new readers who have come on board in 2012-13 thanks to Twitter or Golf Digest partnering with this blog, wonder why there is such a focus on the inner workings of the United States Golf Association.

Here's why: we need a powerful, respectable USGA and an equally thoughtful, respected R&A on the other side of the Atlantic to prevent commercial interests from superseding those of the sport we love. I detailed this in The Future of Golf and this blog was inspired to continue the spirit of those writings.

If you don't agree with golf needing a healthy USGA to regulate the sport and keeping this from becoming a consumer activity foremost, this isn't a website for you. That's not to say there is is something wrong with buying new clubs or longing for help via the purchase of new "stuff" now and then, it's just that there is more to the enjoyment, affordability and soul of this sport than unfettered consumerism. Our rulemakers are here to ensure that skill remain the overriding factor in success and that golf is played for enjoyment without succumbing to corporate concerns. In the end, everyone wins if the game maintains a healthy balance.

So when the USGA is exposed to be chasing dollars like Gordon Ghekko or a corporation worried about the stock price, it's cause for alarm. As Ron Sirak's Golf Digest story illustrates, the USGA chased the maximum number of dollars with nary a clue how that money would be spent, or worse, how this hunger for every penny possible might impact an ability to connect with a core audience via Golf Channel. As we learned in Friday's news dump, the primary architect of this pursuit has been retired after a minuscule two-year stint on the Executive Committee. Worse, there are signs that he still has ties to the consulting firm which delivered the deal. That firm, Wasserman Media Group (full disclosure: who I have worked for at the Memorial Tournament and respect their work), is certainly entitled to pursue every dollar possible because they are in the business of maximizing profit for clients.

The USGA, on the other hand, is a 501c3 non-profit whose primary mission is to protect, serve and nourish the game of golf. Maximizing profit is not a requirement and as Frank Hannigan explained in a letter to this site, not essential to survival.

The USGA appears to be in crisis. Friday's news dump raises questions about where the governing body of golf is headed. After all, here they were burying the appointment of Tom O'Toole to the presidency at the time where only bad news goes to die: a Friday evening. This, even though O'Toole is a certified golf "guy," a man who has devoted his life outside of his wonderful family and work, to the game and deserves to have his achievement properly recognized.  (Jim Achenbach calls O'Toole "popular" and endorses the selection here).

You can quibble with the setup of some U.S. Open courses under O'Toole and Executive Director Mike Davis's watch, as I have in Golf World, but those are very minor philosophic debates in the big scheme. We should be thrilled that a devotee of the game is moving into the presidency vacated by a Jack Abramoff-hounding, indicia-citing point-misser.

The Executive Director, Mike Davis, another certified golf nut who loves the game and has devoted his life to our sport, needs to step forward as soon as possible to address several questions which are weighing on the minds of the organization's closest followers or risk a blow to his crediblity.

My questions, though feel free to post your own below:

  • If so, are Executive Committee members encouraged to recommend the hiring of their own businesses or those that they are aligned with, or once aligned with, for profitable USGA consulting contracts?
  • When does the USGA plan to outline how they will be spending the additional Fox Sports money and will regional golf associations, member clubs and the golfing public learn when such monies might be distributed?
  • Will Fox Sports be restricting commercial time in the forthcoming, 2015-2027 U.S. Open coverage to 6 minutes per hour as the current contract structure with NBC and ESPN calls for, or will fans be forced to weather an increase in commercial breaks to justify the massive rights fee increase?