Ben Crenshaw, others talk about the state of golf

Google “golf’s future” and results range from surprisingly upbeat to tragically depressing.

The reality lies somewhere in between. For the past decade-plus it has become a sport shedding players at an alarming rate.

Yet … while it remains a time-honored game deeply attached to its legends, it is also now well aware that it needs renovations to keep attracting young players like Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Brooke Henderson and Rickie Fowler.

Maybe more critically, it needs to keep their less-talented friends more entertained.

Hawaii has a lot riding on what comes of all that, and the discussion starts again in earnest at the ninth biennial Hawaii Golf Industry Conference, Sept. 7 at Kahala Hotel and Resort.

The conference will take a look at “cultural challenges with attracting Millennials and Gen X golfers to the game” and how to absorb increasing costs and increased competition from Pacific Rim resorts. Aloha Section PGA conference organizer Greg Nichols also has junior golf access on the menu.

The conference will also serve up Hall of Famer Ben Crenshaw and PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua as featured speakers. Expect tradition, inspiration and motivation for future leaders to be primary topics.

“I think the ‘theme’ of this particular conference, especially with having an icon of the game like Ben Crenshaw as our keynote speaker, is to touch upon the traditions and spirit of the game,” Nichols says. “Why do we play the game? Why is the game important to so many people? What are the intrinsic factors of the game that help the community and that help an individual to live a fuller, more productive life.

“In that sense, the conference’s purpose is to help inspire and motivate the many stakeholders that are attending — especially the future leaders of our game.”

The idea is to “bring together all the game’s stakeholders to listen to industry and community leaders share new trends and opportunities that may be happening both locally, nationally and internationally,” says Nichols, Ko Olina’s General Manager/Director of Golf. “It’s also to identify any challenges and determine ways that we can work together more inclusively to address those challenges successfully.”

Always, the underlying focus is to find better ways to promote Hawaii as a world golf destination while keeping it relevant and affordable for folks here.

Members of the Hawaii Golf Alliance — Hawaii State Golf, Women’s Golf and Junior Golf Associations, Hawaii Golf Retail and Course Superintendents, and Club Managers — are the stakeholders involved. Partners from the hotel, hospitality, visitor and tourism, real estate, resort development, transportation, public relations and advertising industries are also invited.

Other speakers include George Szigeti, CEO of Hawaii Tourism Authority, Corbett Kalama, Weinberg Foundation Vice President and Friends of Hawaii Charities Chair, and Four Seasons Ko Olina General Manager Sanjiv Hulugalle.

Flatline “growth” on the golf course over the past decade might not be a topic, but it will be always be part of the discussion.

The National Golf Foundation said the number of people who played on a golf course last year was 23.8 million, basically the same as the year before, but the lowest number since Tiger Woods captured the game’s imagination nearly 20 years ago.

In contrast, the NGF put the number of beginning golfers up 14 percent, to 2.5 million — better than the previous record of 2.4 million in Tiger-tinted 2000.

The number of “committed golfers” also grew for the first time in five years. And, the success of places like Topgolf, a driving range and entertainment facility interested in coming to Hawaii, helped off-course golf participation grow 11 percent, to more than 20 million.

At the first Hawaii Golf Industry Conference in 1998, the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association was established and an Economic Impact Study for Hawaii golf was undertaken.

Nichols says that was the start of a concerted effort “to promote Hawaii as the Premier Golf Destination in the World.”

Later conferences worked on diverse topics like growing Hawaii State Golf Association membership, introducing the PGA’s Play Golf America program and seashore paspalum grass to Hawaii, establishing the Hawaii Golf Alliance, introducing the Chinese golf market and the impact of women on the game.

This year, there will be time devoted to networking and finding ways the golf industry can “better support other engaged industries” and “work more efficiently and cooperatively to face new challenges.”

Topics will also include how Hawaii can take better advantage of the popularity of the game in Japan, Korea and China and develop new tour players to follow Dean Wilson, Michelle Wie, Parker McLachlin, Scott Simpson and David Ishii.

The future will absolutely be a huge part of this current conference.

“I think we need to re-emphasize the power of mentorship and make sure that we are creating mentoring opportunities for our community leaders and kupuna to be able to pass on their wisdom to our younger generation,” Nichols says. “Most of all, we have to encourage a sense of servant leadership and that giving back and making a positive difference, in whatever way possible, is what it’s all about.”

For more information on attending or participating, contact Marissa Suehiro at the Aloha Section PGA, (593-2230 or msuehiro@pgahq.com). Deadline to register is Sept. 6.