Golfing News & Blog Articles

The L.A. Times editorial board weighted in on the latest attempt by assemblymember Cristina Garcia to help fast track conversion of some California golf courses into affordable housing and in doing so, inadvertently highlighted how bizarre the proposal is.

It’s a sign of how desperate our housing shortage is that lawmakers and some cities are even considering converting golf courses to housing. This should be a last resort given the paucity of open space in many communities. Empty shopping malls and other unused commercial space should be the first places to look.

Yes they should.

Then there is this:

There are 960 golf courses in California, according to the National Golf Foundation, a trade association for the golf industry, but only about 200 are owned by local cities and counties.

Steph Curry is expanding his “Underrated” outreach program to golf where a lucky 24 boys and girls play in regional events. They’ll ultimately compete for the Curry Cup as part of our season-ending UNDERRATED Tour Championship.

From the release:

Golf is one of the most inaccessible sports for underrepresented individuals across the globe, which is why Stephen and his team are expanding the brand beyond basketball. UNDERRATED Golf is a purpose-driven business endeavor with the overarching commitment to provide equity, access and opportunity to student-athletes from every community by balancing participation in the sport to truly reflect our society. With a mission to increase the participation numbers amongst competitive golfers from diverse communities, UNDERRATED Golf will have players compete hand-in-hand with their peers who currently represent the vast majority of today's golfers.

"I created UNDERRATED back in 2019 with the goal of celebrating the underdog," said Stephen Curry. "UNDERRATED is a mindset, a motivation, a calling, a compliment. With this inspiration, I am excited to expand the brand into UNDERRATED Golf, which happens to be one of the most inaccessible sports for underrepresented individuals across the globe. UNDERRATED Golf will provide equity, access and opportunity, recognizing the instrumental role the sport plays as one of the greatest vehicles and connectors for life successes."

UNDERRATED Golf's vision of the sport better reflects and balances the diversity of our society and most of all provides access to the countless opportunities that the game brings both on and off the course. This new venture will also allow young golfers to play on courses that they would never have access to, all the while addressing the gender inequity within the sport of golf and beyond, ensuring young female players are given the same opportunities as their male counterparts. Furthermore, UNDERRATED Golf will prioritize workforce development, bringing greater awareness, training opportunities and programming to individuals, while fostering an understanding of the many career paths made possible by way of the sport.

They just keep on locking up venues without still confirming 2028 at Winged Foot or 2031 that’ll be coming to a bit of a surprise course already pretty booked up with big time events in the next six years. No one ever said the USGA was original.

Whether this increased use of familiar places on a more regular basis takes some bite out of U.S. Open excitement, remains to be seen.

Of course, locking in these venues years from now mostly seems to remind us of our mortality instead of serving as causes for celebration.

For Immediate Release:

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (April 20, 2022) – Building upon a nearly century-long relationship, the United States Golf Association and Pebble Beach have forged a landmark partnership that seeks to benefit the game of golf for generations to come.