In 2016, golf will again be an Olympic sport. What does that mean to us?  It means a lot and the timing is going to be great.  The industry has tried mightily to get the game to be adopted internationally.  That is why the LPGA has tournaments in Mexico, the PGA created the President’s Cup and courses are being developed all over the world.

As international markets become more affluent, middle and upper income wage earners will have more leisure time and will look for outlets.  One would be the golf course.  Rightly or wrongly, golf is thought of as the sport of the elite set.  It’s perceived as expensive, time consuming and only available to people with means (in spite of the fact that the average greens fee is only 34 dollars).

With the recent victory of Y.E. Yang over Tiger, there will be an explosion of interest, especially in countries like Japan and South Korea.  I was watching the President’s Cup over the weekend and the commentators mentioned that Ryo Ishikawa from Japan has over ten MILLION dollars of endorsements and he’s only eighteen.  Take that Michelle Wie!  When asked about his thoughts on golf as an Olympic sport he said "as a golfer, I am honored. By having golf become a part of the Olympics, golfers will be more interested in the Olympics, and the sport of golf will get noticed more as well. I am looking forward to playing golf in the Olympics."  Not very insightful, but millions of Japanese golfers consider Ishikawa their own Tiger Woods.

Even Tiger and Phil are fans of adding the Olympics .  According to Tiger "I think it's great for golf. We as golfers have never had it, so this will be a new experience for golfers who get to participate in the Olympics. Having talked to other athletes who have gotten a chance to experience the Olympics, they have absolutely loved it and had the greatest time."

According to Phil “I think this is important for the game of golf.  It's important for the growth of the game of golf and it's exciting what it will mean on a worldwide level for this great game.  And for us to be able to showcase the game in the Olympics is a unique opportunity."

Industry bigshots weighed in before the October vote was taken and they felt that adding the Olympics would be a huge shot in the arm.

I’m in agreement with the industry insiders and Phil and Tiger.  Golf has wanted to become an international sport and with a weeks -long Olympics in 2016, hundreds of millions of people will watch golf.  Can’t be all bad for the game.