USGA leaders discuss future initiatives at 2015 Annual Meeting

By |  February 9, 2015 0 Comments
(L to R) USGA executive director Mike Davis and president Tom O'Toole Jr. meet with the press on Feb. 7. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)

(L to R) USGA Executive Director Mike Davis and President Tom O’Toole Jr. met with the press on Feb. 7.
(Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)

Environmental sustainability “is probably the No. 1 challenge (golf) has,” according to United States Golf Association’s (USGA’s) president Tom O’Toole Jr.

O’Toole and USGA’s executive director Mike Davis spoke about the association’s initiatives with reporters after the association’s annual meeting on Feb. 7 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. Resource management, sustainability and participation were among the topics O’Toole and Davis addressed.

“I think our industry gets caught up in looking at data about participation,” O’Toole says. “We’re looking at that, but we’re trying to get what makes the game more sustainable.  That’s really where we’re going to place our resources.”

The focus of the USGA’s leaders is on course maintenance and long-term sustainability, not participation. Water consumption is the specific problem that Davis has his eye on long-term.

“We’re already seeing water rates in terms of the cost of it, the availability of it, the quality of it, it’s changing substantially,” Davis says. “We really believe in terms of resource management that less water on a golf course is a very good thing.”

When he looked back on the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 one of the successes of the tournament was the quality of the course even after reducing its water consumption from 55 million gallons annually to 15 million gallons.

Davis noted the feedback from non-American players about Pinehurst was “almost a unanimous ‘we loved it,’” but the Americans response was split between positive and negative. The American ideal of golf that difficult courses with lush, green turf are best is going to have to change.

In the minds of the USGA, slower green speeds, lower rough and higher and dryer fairways lead to a decrease in the use of course resources and difficulty as well as an increased enjoyment of the game for players. The more people enjoy playing the game the more rounds they will play.

The pair also highlighted some preparations for the upcoming 2015 U.S. Open Championship at Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Wash. This year will not only be the first time the U.S. Open will take place in Pacific Northwest, but it is also the first all fine-fescue course to host the championship. The grass requires certain safeguards to ensure a solid playing surface come June.

“Fine fescue is a very unique grass,” Davis says. “We have taken precaution, and eliminated some of the play, and in particular two greens we’ve backed play completely off, just to make sure we’re in good shape going into The Open.”

O’Toole announced another first for the USGA, the creation of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship. The event will begin in 2018 and mirror the format of the U.S. Senior Open.

“In making this announcement today, we reinforce our passion and commitment to promote a game that is welcoming and accessible to all,” O’Toole says. “It is the right message to send to the golf industry, as we support a game that can be played for a lifetime, as both a recreational and competitive sport.”

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