2020 most successful year in history for golf growth

The past year was one of the most difficult for businesses across the country, but that certainly wasn’t the case for golf.

According to the final numbers released this week by the National Golf Foundation, 2020 was the most successful year in history for golf in terms of growth.

Close to 60 million more rounds were played on courses across the United States in 2020, pushing the total to just about 500 million for the year. That represents a 14 percent increase from 2019. Just once in the past 20 years had there been an increase of more than 3 percent year over year.

The numbers are all the more staggering considering most courses across the country were closed for significant portions of the spring as the reality of the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

The number of active golfers in the country grew by about 500,000 in 2020, including 6.2 million players who were new to the game or returned after previously stepping away. This more than made up for 5.7 million players who stepped away from golf due mainly to virus anxieties, financial hardship and parenting challenges, the NGF reported.

Detailed charts and reports on all the 2020 numbers can be found on the foundation’s website at www.ngf.com .

Rules, rules, rules

Patrick Reed won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines by five shots Sunday, but he found himself knee deep in a rules controversy Saturday that cast a black cloud over the entire weekend.

Reed took a free drop on the 10th hole Saturday after claiming his ball plugged in the rough, even though video replay clearly showed his ball bounced once before settling down deep in the rough.

Reed was cleared of wrongdoing by rules officials on the scene, but announcers, golf fans and his fellow players were not happy that Reed picked his ball up within seconds of reaching it before closely examining the lie or calling for a rules official.

Reed said numerous times that he did everything by the book. Others weren’t so sure.

“Golf’s a game of sportsmanship, and it’s tough to put us in the spot to call him out because we weren’t there,” Lanto Griffin said Sunday. “It’s tough to see, it’s sad, kind of pisses us off. But it is the way it is.”

Xander Schauffele, who tied for second, didn’t mince words, saying players in that situation should always wait for a rules official before moving their ball.

“Obviously the talk amongst the boys isn’t great,” Schauffele said of tour players. “But (Reed’s) protected by the tour, and that’s all that matters, I guess.”

The incident probably wouldn’t have drawn such attention had it not been Reed, who has been involved in his share of past rules controversies.

“Obviously I did the right thing,” a defiant Reed said after his ninth career victory.

Chip Shots

— J.J. Gresco shot a 4-under 68 at TPC Summerlin on Monday to claim the championship division title at the SNGA Tournament of Champions. His round included five birdies and a lone bogey.

Other winners included Jason Berton (Championship Net), Steven Frink (Senior Gross), Freddie Sarno (Senior Net), Kim Braaten (Women’s Gross), Debbie Love (Women’s Net), Douglas Pool (Silver Gross) and Steve Liggett (Silver Net).

— Las Vegas ranks fifth in a new list of the best cities for golfers. LawnStarter ranked the nation’s 200 largest cities in six categories. Las Vegas ranked first or second for precipitation, PGA Tour venues, prized golf courses and awards, but lost points for number of golf equipment stores and number of venues offering lessons.

Cities ranked above Las Vegas were Scottsdale, Los Angeles, New York and Anaheim.

Greg Robertson is a freelance reporter who covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at robertsongt@gmail.com.