“We want people to have great facilities that they can go play at a reasonable rate.”

In Gene Yasuda's online column about his year in golf, he takes the opportunity to figure out why he played less golf and thinks part of the problem is the golf course industry.

For nearly 15 years, I've attended more than my share of industry conferences and summits dedicated to reversing declining participation. And the lack of progress not only is discouraging, but alarming. The number of rounds played will fall for the fifth consecutive year in 2011, and since 2005, the U.S. golfer population has declined from 30 million to 26.1 million in 2010. In that year alone, the game lost roughly 1 million participants.

Next year, the PGA of America will lead yet another industry initiative, called "Golf 2.0," to get more people to play. But its plan or any other has little chance of success unless the people who really matter commit to solving the problem: Individual course operators and their staff.

There are many profound challenges affecting the game, including a stalled economy and societal changes that have greatly changed how consumers spend their discretionary income (and often less on golf). But there's no hope of tackling such bigger issues if key personnel in the trenches don't realize – or are unwilling to acknowledge – that "business as usual" no longer is acceptable.

With apologies to those who are striving to improve their facilities, how is it possible in this day and age that so many golf courses still regard customer service as an alien concept?

On that note, reader James sent in a story from Washington state while visiting relatives that suggests someone out there is listening to people like Yasuda. Todd Milles reports on Ryan Moore and friends buying courses and starting an innovative membership concept called the RMG Club.

Not only will RMG Club run the day-to-day operations at the Classic Country Club in Spanaway and McCormick Woods in Port Orchard, the company announced Thursday that it had acquired Oakbrook Golf and Country Club in Lakewood. With those three venues in the fold, RMG Club will launch a membership-driven business model Jan. 1 that is designed to attract all types of golfers.

The company will offer three levels of unlimited-golf memberships, ranging from its three-course, all-access $179-per-month package, to a one-course, $99-per-month rate, to a twilight-only $49-per-month package.“We want this to be a product that appeals to everyone – and not just to people who are 45 and can afford a membership and go play golf any time they want,” Moore said. “We want people to have great facilities that they can go play at a reasonable rate.”