The Culture of Golf - Isn't it Just a Game?

My purpose in developing this book is twofold. As a golf and club industry consultant I hope to help more clubs thrive economically by providing food for thought about how to make the game grow. As a lifelong and socially sensitive golfer, I hope to help the game grow while making it more inclusive and look more like society in general. Golf has been my avocation and my vocation for nearly 40 years. It's the greatest game there is and I feel like its culture is the game's own worst enemy.

My purpose in developing this book is twofold. As a golf and club industry consultant I hope to help more clubs thrive economically by providing food for thought about how to make the game grow. As a lifelong and socially sensitive golfer, I hope to help the game grow while making it more inclusive and look more like society in general. Golf has been my avocation and my vocation for nearly 40 years. It's the greatest game there is and I feel like its culture is the game's own worst enemy. "The Culture of Golf - Isn't it Just a Game?" is intended to provoke thought among golfers, golf leaders, course owners, club leaders and others about how the game can grow while preserving the game's best traditions and evolving beyond some of the others. I believe golf should be reaching a broader segment of the population, not be "elitist" and "aspirational". It's the game of a lifetime and its virtues can be shared more widely and benefit more people, all while making the game healthier.

Laurence A. Hirsh, CRE, MAI, SGA is the president of Golf Property Analysts (GPA), a Philadelphia, PA Area real estate appraisal, consulting and brokerage firm specializing in the valuation, analysis and marketing of golf properties. GPA has been in practice since 1980. Hirsh has lectured on numerous occasions to a variety of golf and club industry groups, including the National Golf Course Owners Association, Urban Land Institute, Club Managers Association of America, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, American Society of Golf Course Architects, Golf Association of Philadelphia, Metropolitan Golf Association and others. He has also lectured to student groups at Penn State University, Harvard College, The University of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin and University of Florida. Hirsh has published numerous articles on a variety of golf and club related topics for The Appraisal Journal, Real Estate Issues, Journal of Property Tax Assessment & Administration and a variety of industry publications. GPA publishes "Chip Shots," a monthly newsletter and Hirsh blogs at www.golfprop.com/blog. Hirsh is the author of Golf Property Analysis & Valuation – A Modern Approach, the award winning, authoritative text on the analysis and valuation of golf properties published by the Appraisal Institute. A member of the Appraisal Institute, Counselors of Real Estate and the Society of Golf Appraisers, Hirsh was a founder and the first president of the Society of Golf Appraisers. He is also a member of the National Golf Foundation, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, National Golf Course Owners Association and two American and one Scottish golf club. The author has played golf since the age of 8, encouraged by his father, with whom he played regularly as a junior. He has played competitive golf for most of his life qualifying for numerous Pennsylvania Amateur Championships and other state level competitions. He has won club championships at two clubs. Hirsh is a graduate of Penn State University, married and father of three children. He is a lifelong competitive golfer, and a licensed commercial pilot and certified flight instructor.