Here’s three golf industry developments from March 2023 that got everyone talking

From debates over driving distances to a cryptocurrency community buying a golf club, the last month has seen significant interest in golf just as the new season is starting.

Scottish Golf to consult over affiliation fee proposal

Scottish Golf is postponing its plan to increase affiliation fees – the levy paid by every member of an affiliated Scottish golf club – by six months in order for there to be more consultation on it.

“We have postponed the levy until September because it’s quite clear that we need to do a bit more consultation,” said chairman Martin Gilbert.

“Our members want to understand what it’s going to be used for, so we’re going to work on that for the next six months, and then we’ll go back to the membership with the overall strategy and thinking on the levy.“

A driving distance proposal has divided opinion

In March The R&A and USGA announced a proposal to allow an optional requirement to only use golf balls in elite competitions that have been tested under modified launch conditions.

This ‘Model Local Rule‘ is intended to address the impacts of hitting distances and is not set to apply to recreational golf.

However, it has divided opinion. On the one hand several golfers are opposed to the move, while LPGA Master instructor Kiran Kanwar PhD said that more research should have been conducted first.

On the other, golf course designers, such as the European Institute of Golf Course Architects, have welcomed the announcement, as most of its members believe driving distances should be reduced by between 10 and 15 percent.

A cryptocurrency community is buying a Scottish golf course

Is this the future of the golf industry?

A global, online community of golf enthusiasts have, via terms that most in the golf industry do not understand, such as web3, a DAO, NFTs and the ethereum network, raised cryptocurrency worth millions of dollars in order to buy golf clubs around the world.

One of the first it is in the process of buying is the 116-year-old Spey Bay Golf Club in north-east Scotland, which was put up for sale earlier this year with a guide price for offers in excess of £750,000.

Image from Pixabay

The crypto-firm is also said to be considering remodeling the course to turn it from a venue played primarily by a local membership and make it into a destination for serious golfers from further afield.

On the face of it the golf club and the crypto-community couldn’t be more different; but maybe their coming together represents the future of the industry?