tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/golf-8672/articlesGolf – The Conversation2023-12-28T09:19:31Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2174152023-12-28T09:19:31Z2023-12-28T09:19:31ZCan golf courses help save the planet? Ask a herd of wild pigs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564304/original/file-20231207-29-1fpb9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-young-hermann-turtle-on-synthetic-1814171870">Mathilde.LR/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>An Arizona golf course, so picture-perfect it was described as “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/24/arizona-javelina-pig-destroy-golf-course">the Imax of golf</a>”, was wantonly trashed by intruders in the autumn of 2023. But no, this was not Just Stop Oil <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NB7FgPmx2w">back for another round</a>, nor the result of <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/how-to-control-anger-golf-course">a disgruntled golfer</a>. In fact, it was the work of a squadron of <a href="https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/Javelina.php">javelinas</a>.</p>
<p>Javelinas (or peccaries) are small but feisty relatives of the domesticated pig, found across the southern US and into South America. Like many of their relations, javelinas are bright, enterprising and with an extensive palate that includes everything from tubers to roadkill, though cacti are a firm favourite.</p>
<p>These tough little pigs are not the only porcine terrors of the fairway, though. In New Zealand, feral pigs have <a href="https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350051669/marauding-wild-pigs-rip-golf-course">grubbed up a course</a>; in southern China, wild boar damage has seen hunters <a href="https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350051669/marauding-wild-pigs-rip-golf-course">called in</a>; and in South Africa, warthogs do the pitch invading. </p>
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<p>These pig invaders hint at a role for golf in nature conservation that is not immediately obvious. A study of wild boar in Spain revealed that they raided golf courses less often during the COVID lockdown, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363435273_SARS-CoV-2_lockdown_reduced_wild_boar_raids_in_golf_courses">when hunting was curtailed</a>. </p>
<p>The courses offered a refuge from hunting which the pigs did not need during lockdowns. What else might they offer wildlife?</p>
<h2>The bogey of management</h2>
<p>When nestled within farmland or suburbs, golf courses can support <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10021-008-9217-1">markedly more biodiversity</a> than the surrounding landscapes, hosting inventories of wildlife that include birds, insects and amphibians.</p>
<p>Golf courses might provide all sorts of benefits to species. Those grassy expanses could offer a cooling oasis amid overheated concrete sprawl. Wildflower meadows that <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-019-00907-0">benefit bees and other pollinators</a> can also lure bats <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-023-01397-x">looking for insects to eat</a>. But these benefits depend on good management to create a mix of habitats, including flower-filled rough grass, scrub and woodland. </p>
<p>Wildlife-friendly golf course management can even benefit the game itself. The same flowers that entice pollinators attract natural enemies of turf-trashing caterpillars like the fall armyworm, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-019-00885-w">reducing the impact of this pest</a>. Water hazards that operate as wildlife ponds might also be a boon, but careless planting of showy plant varieties can <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10750-011-0678-4">push native flora out</a>.</p>
<p>There are sterner environmental challenges with running a golf course, though. Irrigation is a major drain on water – especially for courses in arid regions. Water draining from these courses may be polluted with pesticides or nutrients that <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/b03-081">alter the algae</a> in adjacent streams. </p>
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<img alt="An aerial view of a golf green surrounded by desert habitat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Golf courses can be hard to justify in regions where water is scarce.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/scottsdale-golf-course-aerial-view-upscale-190651205">Dave Morgan/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Golfers themselves could be a large and generally affluent body of allies for nature conservation – although a nationwide survey conducted in France in 2021 suggested involvement in conservation is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213078023000567?via%3Dihub">not high on many golfers’ agendas</a>. Rampaging javelinas probably do not help.</p>
<p>French golfers have it easy compared with some of the creatures roaming the fairways in other countries. Florida’s golfers, for example, would do well to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXn1g0xtUMk">keep an eye out for alligators</a>. But the wild can be a selling point for golf courses too. Some African courses even advertise their <a href="https://africafreak.com/golf-safaris-in-africa-when-golfing-embraces-wildlife">wildlife encounters</a>.</p>
<p>The Arizona course staff were understandably horrified by the damage done, but the javelinas have their fans too. Their media allies eulogise the javelinas’ cunning at exploiting our world, their complex family lives which may include <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/eth.12709">mourning their dead</a>, and their attempts at rewilding an alien habitat.</p>
<h2>Rewild the fairway</h2>
<p>The potential for letting nature take back golf courses may also be surprisingly high. </p>
<p>In the US, the total number of golf courses is declining, with <a href="https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/closed-golf-courses-history">more closures than openings</a> since 2006 – many of them abandoned with no new purpose in mind. While some may be reused for housing, there are other possibilities, such as parks. Reversing the drainage from derelict courses could create new wetland habitats capable of stalling <a href="https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/88216">floods</a> during heavy rainfall.</p>
<p>However, abandoning courses may not be enough to benefit nature on its own. The hangover from past management, such as high nutrient levels in the soil, can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/biohorizons/hzn022">linger for years</a> and allow a small number of hyper-competitive species to dominate.</p>
<p>Projects to reverse this damage and rewild golf courses are springing up in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/25/frodsham-cheshire-golf-course-transformed-woodland">England</a>, <a href="https://rewilding.academy/rewilding/rewilding-abandoned-golf-courses/">the US and Australia</a>. In all these cases, conservationists are planting native species, diversifying habitats and preventing water from draining. These interventions raise a thorny issue for conservationists – does <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(15)01575-4.pdf">it count as rewilding</a> if people are doing so much of the work?</p>
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<img alt="A fox next to a tree with golfers in the distance." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Golf courses lure wildlife looking for food and shelter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fox-on-golf-course-sunny-summer-2272997033">Mats Silvan/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Perhaps we should look to the javelinas, an example of wildlife taking the initiative, for an answer. The usefulness of pigs and their kin for grubbing up the land is widely recognised in rewilding projects. They reset the stage, bringing static landscapes <a href="https://knepp.co.uk/rewilding/free-roaming-herbivores/tamworth-pigs/">back to life</a>. On a farm that was returned to nature in Sussex, England, the <a href="https://knepp.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/The-Vegetation-of-the-Pig-Rootled-Areas-at-Knepp-Wildland-and-their-use-by-Farmland-Birds-Ivan-de-Klee.pdf">rooting around of pigs</a> has been credited with opening up bare ground and allowing annual weeds to flourish, whose seeds then sustain a remarkable number of endangered turtle doves. </p>
<p>It has become fashionable among opponents of rewilding to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/07/12/race-to-rewild-britain-is-putting-food-security-at-risk/">criticise</a> this approach to nature conservation for taking land out of food production. But the use of agriculturally productive land for golf courses goes unremarked. </p>
<p>Don’t blame the javelinas for taking matters into their own trotters.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Jeffries does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A herd of javelinas wrecked a pristine golf course. Is this rewilding in action?Mike Jeffries, Associate Professor, Ecology, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2084682023-07-06T20:21:04Z2023-07-06T20:21:04ZIs Saudi Arabia using ‘sportswashing’ to simply hide its human rights abuses – or is there a bigger strategy at play?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535724/original/file-20230705-22-nitql4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=278%2C13%2C4080%2C2932&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Christiano Ronaldo signed a 2.5-year contract with the Saudi team with Al Nassr, estimated to be worth more than 200 million euros. He made his debut in January.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hussein Malla/AP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Saudi Arabia continues to open up internationally, it is yet again <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2023/jun/07/saudi-arabia-deal-pga-major-step-sportswashing-golf">in hot water over its human rights record</a>. <a href="https://au.sports.yahoo.com/tennis-john-mcenroe-saudi-arabia-swipe-american-legend-shuts-down-nick-kyrgios-call-052520020.html">The current controversy</a> revolves around the kingdom’s increasing presence in the sporting world and accusations of “sportswashing”. </p>
<p>In recent years, the Saudis have thrown the heavy weight of their <a href="https://www.pif.gov.sa/en/Pages/Homepage.aspx">Public Investment Fund</a> into partnerships with Western institutions like the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/06/06/liv-golf-pga-tour-merger/">PGA</a>, <a href="https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2023/Saudi_Arabia.html">Formula One racing</a> and <a href="https://www.thesportster.com/things-you-should-know-wwe-deal-saudi-arabia/">World Wrestling Entertainment</a>. </p>
<p>Riyadh is also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/02/sports/soccer/saudi-soccer-messi-benzema-ronaldo.html">luring top soccer players</a> like Cristiano Ronaldo to its national league and using <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/18/sports/soccer/lionel-messi-saudi-arabia.html">Lionel Messi</a> as an influencer to promote the kingdom.</p>
<p>Recently, Saudi Arabia has signalled its interest in holding <a href="https://apnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-womens-tennis-sportswashing-8e1dbf680b6307cb6c2603c9f58a4379">women’s tennis tournaments</a> and even potentially hosting the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/saudi-arabia-forging-network-to-bid-for-2030-world-cup/a-64866806">2030 FIFA World Cup</a>, as well.</p>
<p>While the precise dollar figure of all of these efforts is difficult to determine, it has easily reached into the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/28/saudi-arabia-has-spent-at-least-15bn-on-sportswashing-report-reveals">billions</a>.</p>
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<h2>‘Sportswashing’ atrocities?</h2>
<p>But the Saudi sport blitz has been received with less enthusiasm by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/13/saudi-arabia-golf-human-rights-sportswashing">many</a> <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/saudi-arabia-sportswashing-human-rights-accusations-60-minutes-2023-04-09/">outside onlookers</a>. </p>
<p>Human Rights Watch and many <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-24/liv-golf-saudi-arabia-and-sportswashing-adelaide/102255808">Western</a> <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/au/golf/news/sportswashing-pga-tour-liv-golf-merger-saudi-arabia/ztq8cmgar21l3e3yt9ueer4d">commentators</a> describe it as simple “<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/16/saudi-arabias-newest-sportswashing-strategy-sponsorship-womens-world-cup">sportswashing</a>” – an effort to distract the world’s attention from its continual disregard for international human rights.</p>
<p>For instance, the kingdom has racked up a well-documented <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/torture-slow-motion-economic-blockade-yemen-and-its-grave-humanitarian-consequences#:%7E:text=The%20naval%20blockade%20imposed%20on,in%20a%20report%20published%20today.">record</a> of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/saudi-war-crimes-yemen/">human rights violations</a> during its eight-year proxy war in Yemen. </p>
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<p>Despite Riyadh’s murky <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/10/saudi-arabia-makes-peace-proposal-for-yemen-after-houthi-talks">peace deal</a> with the Houthi fighters in Yemen in April, the war <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/1/18/hrw-saudi-violating-international-law-in-war-on-yemen">will remain a stain</a> on its humanitarian record for the foreseeable future. </p>
<p>The lack of any meaningful reparations following the <a href="https://theconversation.com/peace-may-finally-be-returning-to-yemen-but-can-a-fractured-nation-be-put-back-together-203668">peace deal</a> also raises the question whether the deal was simply a way for the Saudis to disengage from the war at a time when a serious rebranding campaign was needed.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/peace-may-finally-be-returning-to-yemen-but-can-a-fractured-nation-be-put-back-together-203668">Peace may finally be returning to Yemen, but can a fractured nation be put back together?</a>
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<p>At home, political freedoms and rights remain tightly constrained by the regime. Despite moves to relax some <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/24/world/middleeast/saudi-driving-ban-anniversary.html">restrictions on women</a> and religious minorities, these reforms have paradoxically come with increasingly harsh measures towards peaceful dissidents. </p>
<p>Only last year, female activists <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/17/saudi-salma-shehab-activist/">Salma al-Shehab</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62736118">Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani</a> received prison terms of 34 years and 45 years, respectively, for their engagement with social media posts criticising the regime. </p>
<p>More recently, several Howeitat tribesmen were <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/05/saudi-arabia-un-experts-alarmed-imminent-executions-linked-neom-project">sentenced to death on terrorism charges</a> for peacefully protesting a megacity project that threatened their ancestral village.</p>
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<h2>Building a new Saudi brand</h2>
<p>But while obfuscating human rights issues is certainly part of the equation when it comes to the kingdom’s sports mania, its motivations <a href="https://www.playthegame.org/news/the-saudis-in-sport-ambitions-much-larger-than-sportswashing/">are far more strategic</a> than simple bait-and-switch tactics. </p>
<p>At their core, these actions fit within a broader effort outlined in the <a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/">Saudi Vision 2030</a> campaign to rebrand the country and normalise it within the wider liberal international order.</p>
<p>For many outside observers, the kingdom has long been an outlier on the international stage. It’s been characterised as a primitive backwater cut off from the outside world and ruled over by a despotic monarchy that has relied on a combination of oil wealth and Islamic extremism to maintain its hold on power. </p>
<p>Such reductive depictions ignored a far more <a href="https://www.mup.com.au/books/iss-24-securitising-identity-paperback-softback">complex, rich and colourful history</a>. However, few in the West were keen to explore this more nuanced viewpoint (at least if my <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Iss-24-Securitising-Identity-Saudi/dp/052287231X">book sales</a> are anything to go by). </p>
<p>Saudi royals have historically been content with such stereotypes, too, provided they maintained their sovereignty and security at home. The kingdom made little effort with <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/minisite/static/4ca0813c-585e-4fe1-86eb-de665e65001a/fpwhitepaper/foreign-policy-white-paper/chapter-eight-partnerships-and-soft-power/soft-power.html#:%7E:text=Having%20the%20ability%20to%20influence,is%20known%20as%20soft%20power.">soft power</a> initiatives outside the Islamic world. </p>
<p>The international art, culture and sporting worlds were seen as being in stark contrast to the <a href="https://www.academia.edu/29606243/The_Saudi_State_as_an_Identity_Racketeer">psychological and cultural norms</a> of the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html">Wahhabi orthodoxy</a> that has long governed Saudi public life. </p>
<p>This all changed in 2015, however, with the ascension of King Salman and his chosen heir, Prince Mohammad bin Salman. The younger bin Salman quickly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/22/saudi-crown-princes-ascendancy-gives-hope-of-reform-but-it-may-be-premature">assumed</a> de facto control over many of the country’s key portfolios. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535945/original/file-20230706-15-s5muy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535945/original/file-20230706-15-s5muy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535945/original/file-20230706-15-s5muy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535945/original/file-20230706-15-s5muy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535945/original/file-20230706-15-s5muy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535945/original/file-20230706-15-s5muy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535945/original/file-20230706-15-s5muy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes US President Joe Biden to his palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in July 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace/AP</span></span>
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<p>In contrast to his conservative predecessors, the prince was seen as a “<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/12/middleeast/saudi-sport-mbs-global-ambitions-mime-intl/index.html">disruptor</a>” with little regard for tradition. Like with many of the Silicon Valley tech-bros he emulates, bin Salman likes to move fast and break things. This includes everything from traditional <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/saudi-arabia/changing-times-for-saudi-arabias-once-feared-morality-police/articleshow/88987601.cms?from=mdr">religious institutions</a> to <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/26/8931389/saudi-arabia-mega-city-neom-plans-futuristic-dystopian-ai-robot-fake-moon">architectural rules</a>.</p>
<p>Bin Salman’s vision is to remake the Saudi brand as a modern authoritarian technocracy in the mould of the United Arab Emirates or Qatar. He wants to emulate these successful case studies through economic reform, military modernisation, technological innovation, cultural modernisation and the opening of the kingdom to cosmopolitan cultural engagement and exchanges.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1676668481918455816"}"></div></p>
<h2>A new platform to engage with the world</h2>
<p>These efforts took a hit, however, after the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Bin Salman <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/06/us-judge-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman-khashoggi">denied</a> being personally involved in the murder, counter to what US intelligence reports <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/us/politics/jamal-khashoggi-killing-cia-report.html">concluded</a>. But some believed the global anger of Khashoggi’s killing could have
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/17/cia-khashoggi-findings-highly-damaging-to-saudi-prince-mohammed-bin-salman">damaged the prince’s reputation badly enough</a> to hamper his future as a statesman.</p>
<p>Memories can be remarkably short-lived, though. And five years on from the killing, bin Salman’s rebranding agenda is charging ahead with increased urgency. This is where the Saudi sporting onslaught comes in, and why it needs to be understood. </p>
<p>Control and influence over these sports provide the kingdom with enormous cachet. Saudi Arabia can use this new stature to engage in cultural outreach with the world, influence global opinion and portray itself as modern and dynamic.</p>
<p>To characterise all of this as mere sportswashing may be catchy, but reduces a much broader and strategic effort.</p>
<p>Indeed, implicit in the notion of sportswashing is that the Saudis are suddenly concerned about the country’s association with human rights violations. </p>
<p>But looking at the examples of Qatar and the UAE, authoritarian regimes are able to flout international norms and laws on human rights and still fit quite comfortably within the wider liberal international order. The reason: the countries serve a valuable function in sustaining that same system.</p>
<p>While human rights abuses will undoubtedly continue to plague the Saudis’ efforts, bin Salman is betting big they won’t stand in the way of other states and companies engaging with an increasingly open and cosmopolitan kingdom. If history is anything to go by, he may just be right.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/big-money-bought-the-pga-tour-but-can-it-make-golf-a-popular-sport-in-saudi-arabia-207803">Big money bought the PGA Tour, but can it make golf a popular sport in Saudi Arabia?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208468/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Rich receives funding from The US State Department. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leena Adel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Prince Mohammad bin Salman is trying to rebrand the kingdom in the model of Qatar and the UAE – two states with human rights issues that have become part of the global order.Ben Rich, Senior lecturer in History and International Relations, Curtin UniversityLeena Adel, PhD Candidate, Political Science and International Relations, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2078032023-06-19T12:24:29Z2023-06-19T12:24:29ZBig money bought the PGA Tour, but can it make golf a popular sport in Saudi Arabia?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532511/original/file-20230618-19-d8yj7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=41%2C197%2C1910%2C1152&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The kingdom hopes to have 135,000 kids playing golf in school by 2025 and plans to build 23 new courses by 2030.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/golf-ball-saudi-arabia-flag-royalty-free-illustration/642838254?phrase=golf+saudi+arabia&adppopup=true">JulyVelchev/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/10/sports/golf/pga-liv-merger-monahan-rumayyan.html">The recent merger</a> between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi-funded LIV Golf – now being reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice over <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2023-06-15/department-justice-pga-tour-liv-golf-merger">antitrust concerns</a> – stunned the golf community. </p>
<p>A year ago, the idea that Saudi Arabia – an absolute monarchy with <a href="https://golf.com/travel/saudi-arabia-trying-to-spark-golf-craze/">few golf courses</a>, scant public interest in the sport and a <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia/report-saudi-arabia/">notorious human rights record</a> – could suddenly leap to the top of the global golf hierarchy seemed impossible. Now, the new company will be chaired by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/06/09/yasir-al-rumayyan-pga-tour-liv-golf/">Yasir Al-Rumayyan</a>, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, <a href="https://www.pif.gov.sa/en/Pages/Homepage.aspx">or PIF</a>.</p>
<p>Most observers explained the surprising merger with a simple principle: Cash is king. As professional golfer <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/sports/golf/mcilroy-pga-tour-liv-merger.html">Rory McIlroy put it</a>, “At the end of the day, money talks.”</p>
<p>PIF, an investment fund with more than <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-sovereign-wealth-fund.html">US$700 billion</a> in Saudi government money, can certainly wield immense influence. </p>
<p>But even PIF’s deep pockets may not be deep enough to achieve the Saudi grand vision of bringing golf to the Arab masses.</p>
<h2>An ambitious vision</h2>
<p>The fund’s venture into golf, according to <a href="https://www.golfsaudi.com/en-us/vision">Golf Saudi</a>, a division of PIF, is part of a broader economic growth plan aimed at reducing the country’s reliance on oil and enacting sweeping societal and lifestyle transformations.</p>
<p>One of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_annual_precipitation">the driest nations in the world</a> hopes to build new golf courses, “spread the sport of golf among the Saudi society” and “enhance the Kingdom’s position in the game of golf locally and internationally,” as Golf Saudi noted <a href="https://www.golfsaudi.com/en-us">on its website</a>.</p>
<p>The organization has outlined the country’s grand plans for growing the game: <a href="https://golfsaudi.com/en/news/20">250,000 Saudis</a> trying golf in 2023, <a href="https://golfsaudi.com/en/news/20">135,000 kids</a> playing it in school by 2025, <a href="https://www.arabianbusiness.com/gcc/saudi-arabia/saudi-arabia-sport/454066-revealed-how-golf-is-set-to-create-up-to-50000-jobs-in-saudi-arabia">23 new courses</a> built by 2030 and <a href="https://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=643087&article_id=3571524&view=articleBrowser">37,000 registered golfers</a> by 2040.</p>
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<img alt="Golfer swings club on sand while a caddy looks on." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532512/original/file-20230618-27-vp91po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532512/original/file-20230618-27-vp91po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532512/original/file-20230618-27-vp91po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532512/original/file-20230618-27-vp91po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532512/original/file-20230618-27-vp91po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532512/original/file-20230618-27-vp91po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532512/original/file-20230618-27-vp91po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">American golfer Matthew Wolff competes at the PIF Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Al Murooj, Saudi Arabia, in February 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/matthew-wolff-of-usa-plays-plays-a-shot3-on-day-four-of-the-news-photo/1463175655?adppopup=true">Luke Walker/WME via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>If you build it, will they come?</h2>
<p>The strategies for achieving these goals – state funding for new infrastructure, school programs, ambassadors and global golf clout – involve a top-down economic approach. </p>
<p>But as I argue in my recent book, “<a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-76457-9">Emerging Sports as Social Movements</a>,” such an approach to sports often falls short.</p>
<p>Similar cases in the U.S. point to an uphill battle for Saudi golf promoters. Heady predictions about emerging American sports have been just as optimistic – and potentially flawed – as those coming out of Saudi Arabia about golf.</p>
<p>Lacrosse was once the poster child of <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/id/44628826">fast-growing sports</a> in the U.S., but the number of players declined from 2.1 million in 2015 to 1.8 million in 2022, according to the <a href="https://sportsmarketanalytics.com/home.aspx">Sports Business Research Network</a>.</p>
<p>The same data source dubs pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America, but its total number of players is tiny compared with dozens of well-known sports and recreational activities in the U.S., and its quest for mainstream status will <a href="https://theconversation.com/pickleballs-uphill-climb-to-mainstream-success-193052">likely encounter stumbling blocks</a>, despite having wealthy benefactors and celebrity sponsors like NBA superstar <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/sports/major-league-pickleball.html">LeBron James</a>.</p>
<p>In recent years, <a href="https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/fastest-growing-sport-in-north-america-cornhole-play-expanding-1.6329703">cornhole</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaellore/2022/02/21/drone-racing-league-doubles-broadcast-reach-thanks-to-growing-global-interest">drone racing</a>, <a href="https://velo.outsideonline.com/mountain/why-the-epic-rides-mtb-series-is-booming/">mountain biking</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-76457-9">disc golf</a> and <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/07/23/ax-throwing-sport-diverse-community/10035703002/">ax throwing</a> have established professional leagues, appeared on ESPN and attracted major corporate sponsors. But they haven’t achieved anywhere near the participation levels, fandoms or cultural foundation that football, basketball, baseball, or hockey possess in the U.S. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, soccer, as the joke goes, is America’s sport of the future — and always will be.</p>
<h2>What money can’t buy</h2>
<p>The kingdom’s plans for growing golf resemble its efforts to promote soccer. Lured by the promise of making fortunes, some of the world’s best-known soccer players, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/messi-is-heading-to-the-us-as-saudi-arabia-kicks-off-bidding-war-with-mls-for-aging-soccer-stars-207111">the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo and French sensation Karim Benzema</a>, have joined the Saudi Pro League.</p>
<p>Soccer, however, is already the <a href="https://www.saudiembassy.net/sports-and-recreation">most popular sport</a> in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi national team has been competitive in Asia for decades and has qualified for six FIFA World Cup tournaments. Its run in 2020 included <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37634135/saudi-arabia-stunning-upset-argentina-quite-possibly-asia-greatest-win-fifa-world-cup-history">a stunning victory</a> over Argentina, the eventual winner.</p>
<p>In contrast, programs to develop professional golf talent in Saudi Arabia are still in an early stage of development.</p>
<p>The history of sports is filled with stories of visionary business people taking big financial risks to grow their sports. </p>
<p>But emerging sports are more like social movements than business enterprises. Like social movements, sports rarely experience substantial, sustained growth unless countless individuals and groups come together, create a community, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0345-4">share an identity</a> and foster a culturally meaningful sporting experience.</p>
<p>With vast oil wealth, Saudi Arabia showed the world how easy it is to buy a seat at the table of an elite sport. It appears equally poised to construct a new golf infrastructure at home. And yet, even if it built a string of world-class courses from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf, golf still may not bloom in the desert without a golf culture and the one thing money alone cannot buy: a love of the game.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207803/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josh Woods does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>History is filled with stories of business magnates taking big financial risks on the next big sports sensation. But emerging sports are more like social movements than business enterprises.Josh Woods, Professor of Sociology, West Virginia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2073652023-06-14T14:28:34Z2023-06-14T14:28:34ZWhy have golf’s warring tours merged? The possible explanations<p>They say a few months in sports can feel like a lifetime. In March 2023, just before golf’s first men’s major of the year, the Masters tournament, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-mens-golf-has-been-shaken-by-saudi-arabias-billion-dollar-drive-for-legitimacy-193474">we explained</a> in The Conversation how men’s professional golf had been shaken up by Saudi Arabia’s billion-dollar drive for legitimacy. This was via the introduction of LIV Golf in 2022, created by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).</p>
<p>Presented as an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/liv-golf-saudi-arabia-pga.html">individual and team event</a>, that is “golf but louder”, LIV tempted several of the PGA tour’s top players away. It’s easy to see why they were attracted: LIV offered
astronomical signing fees and the chance to win up to <a href="https://www.bosshunting.com.au/sport/golf/liv-golf-prize-money-london-invitational/">US$4 million (£3 million) per event</a>, the largest prize in golf. </p>
<p>In response, the PGA tour banned all professional players who played in the LIV from their tour and repeatedly decried the LIV tour as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2023/jan/02/liv-golf-risks-becoming-an-irrelevance-in-growing-saudi-sportswashing-portfolio">sportswashing</a> exercise by PIF and Saudi Arabia. There were also a number of <a href="https://golf.com/news/pga-tour-lawsuit-liv-golf-yasir-al-rumayyan/">legal battles</a> between the two in 2023 and 2024 over claims of anti-competitiveness and financial legitimacy. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/saudi-arabia-and-sport-a-strategic-gamble-aiming-for-economic-political-and-social-goals-199233">Saudi Arabia and sport: a strategic gamble aiming for economic, political and social goals</a>
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<p>A shock <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/06/pga-tour-agrees-to-merge-with-saudi-backed-rival-liv-golf.html">“merger”</a>, between the PGA tour, DP World tour and the LIV has now been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/12/sports/golf/pga-liv-merger-monahan-al-rumayyan.html">announced</a>, which represents a seismic shift for professional golf as a sport.</p>
<p>Given the acrimony, the change of heart shocked many, including a number of PGA tour golfers who felt blindsided. This even led to the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/65885673">US Senate opening an investigation</a> into the drastic reversal of the PGA and the planned merger, which offered minimal details about the actual plan. We may never know the exact reasons why the bodies have joined forces, but we can hazard a guess at a few factors.</p>
<h2>What has changed?</h2>
<p>First, the product itself. The best product for men’s professional golf is one where all the best male golfers in the world compete against each other. Entering 2023, the men’s majors (the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and the Open Championship) were the only place they could do this. </p>
<p>With the player split, however, every stakeholder had something to lose. The big moves to LIV (Brooks Koepka, Open Champion Cameron Smith, and other prominent names, including Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson) cost the PGA tour in terms of prestige. They could no longer claim to host the strongest fields in men’s golf in their tournaments.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531969/original/file-20230614-19-wte52g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531969/original/file-20230614-19-wte52g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531969/original/file-20230614-19-wte52g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531969/original/file-20230614-19-wte52g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531969/original/file-20230614-19-wte52g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531969/original/file-20230614-19-wte52g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531969/original/file-20230614-19-wte52g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Brooks Koepka won the LIV Golf Invitational in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2022. He is one of the high profile players to defect to the tour.</span>
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<p>Likewise, LIV Golf was not making significant inroads into the PGA tours impact. They had some big names and big prize money, but no real sponsorship and <a href="https://inews.co.uk/sport/golf/liv-golf-live-stream-uk-tv-rights-misjudged-market-2170397">no major television broadcasting deal</a>. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.golfwrx.com/676491/greg-norman-unveils-radical-plan-to-change-pro-golf-after-2-billion-saudi-boost-pga-tour-blocks-liv-releases/">reported US$2 billion</a> (£1.6 billion) investment was not seeing any returns.</p>
<p>Second, the power play and, of course, the money are reasons to “merge”. </p>
<p>The PGA tour had been offered similar deals with different equity partners but declined. Legal battles can prove costly and perhaps the PGA did not have the desire or the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/sports/golf/liv-pga-golf-merger-money-75623873">resources</a> to keep this up.</p>
<p>In a business sense, the combination of entities actually makes some sense when you consider all these factors. It was also, perhaps, the only deal on the table. Money always talks, as the saying goes.</p>
<p>It’s not just about golf either. LIV Golf is part of a wider strategy, linked to Saudi Arabia’s <a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/">Vision 2030</a>. This blueprint, in part, looks to diminish Saudi Arabia’s reliance on oil by <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/pga-tour-liv-golf-future-saudi-arabia-royal-family-greg-norman-jay-monahan-phil-mickelson-rory-mcilroy-tv-streaming-rights/amp">diversifying the economy and modernising its public services</a>.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-saudi-arabia-came-to-be-at-the-centre-of-a-global-golf-merger-207203">How Saudi Arabia came to be at the centre of a global golf merger</a>
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<p>LIV may have started as the sideshow, but perhaps always had designs on being the main show. Or was LIV Golf just designed as a way to gain the Public Investment Fund (PIF) a seat at the top table of professional golf? Was it not designed for longevity but instead for disruption? LIV forced the PGA to make drastic changes that historically they were reticent to make. If that was the play, it was a smart one.</p>
<h2>Who wins?</h2>
<p>What comes next will be fascinating. The LIV Golf League’s status is currently unknown post the 2023 season. There will still be some player unrest that needs to be considered, especially for those <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/golf/2023/06/07/liv-golf-pga-tour-merger-analysis-tiger-woods-rory-mcilroy/">who stayed loyal to the PGA Tour in the first instance</a>. The players who defected to LIV now have the opportunity to apply to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/golf/pga-tour-europe-liv-golf-merger-1.6866905">rejoin the PGA Tour</a> in 2024.</p>
<p><a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2023/06/09/pga-tour-liv-golf-merger-definition-antitrust/70304195007/">Reports suggest</a> that the PGA Tour will keep its position as a non-profit, tax-exempt organisation. A separate commercial entity will sit above the different tours. <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/governing-structure-of-pga-tour-saudi-deal-hints-at-who-has-the-power">Who controls this in the future</a> will dictate the landscape of golf in the future. </p>
<p>Currently, we only know that the new entity will include the PGA Tour’s commercial assets, the European DP World Tour and other golf-related commercial businesses of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. On paper, this looks great, but economic power cannot be ignored.</p>
<p>While the personnel involved in brokering the deal between the PGA and the PIF have stated that the PIF will only have first refusal to provide financial input, if the PIF can limit other investments and continue to buy unlimited shares, they basically have preemptive rights to the larger commercial entity. It is hard to imagine a scenario where the PIF would provide unlimited funds yet not be able to take control of their investments. Golf can still win out. As can the major stakeholders. Expect big investment and big egos to collide along the way, though.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207365/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Once rivalling tours are merging and money and competition might be whyLeon Davis, Senior Lecturer in Events Management, Teesside UniversityDan Plumley, Principal Lecturer in Sport Finance, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2073862023-06-12T16:11:50Z2023-06-12T16:11:50ZPGA Tour-LIV merger: What this new partnership means for the future of golf and elite sport<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531178/original/file-20230609-27-iti1ac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C0%2C4127%2C2755&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Phil Mickelson lines up a shot on the 18th hole during the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, N.J. in July 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In June 2022, Greg Norman, a former world No. 1 golfer, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/10/sport/liv-golf-tournament-explainer-spt-intl/index.html">became the public face of LIV Golf</a> — a tour backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) that pledged to “holistically improve the health of professional golf on a global scale.” </p>
<p>The fact that such an accomplished professional chose to represent the tour was an early indicator of the reach and prominence it would soon have across the sport. </p>
<p>Only one year later, LIV Golf — and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that finances it — are now <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/golf/pga-tour-europe-liv-golf-merger-1.6866905">official partners with the PGA Tour</a>.</p>
<p>The merger has caused the PGA Tour to formally acknowledge LIV Golf as both its equal and partner. The PGA Tour has both validated and enshrined LIV Golf as a legitimate, powerful presence within the sport. By extension, the PIF has been granted a full-time seat at the international sporting table.</p>
<p>LIV Golf has gone from a renegade tour that attracted top players away from the PGA Tour to becoming a legitimate partner that will shape the future of the organization it sought to compete with only one year ago.</p>
<h2>New partnership</h2>
<p>The PGA Tour isn’t simply swallowing up a fledgling, unsuccessful competitor, which is what usually happens in professional sports. Instead, they are forming a genuine partnership with the PIF. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2023/06/06/pga-tour-dp-world-tour-and-pif-announce-newly-formed--commercial-entity-to-unify-golf">The language of the agreement</a> makes this clear:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“PIF will initially be the exclusive investor in the new entity, alongside the PGA TOUR, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour. Going forward, PIF will have the exclusive right to further invest in the new entity, including a right of first refusal on any capital that may be invested in the new entity, including into the PGA TOUR, LIV Golf and DP World Tour.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Leading up to the union, many in the golf community aired their unease about LIV Golf and what this move represented for the sport’s development. </p>
<p>After winning the 2022 Canadian Open last June, Rory McIlroy, who has been one of the PGA Tour’s most staunch defenders and LIV Golf’s most outspoken critics, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jun/14/rory-mcilroy-questions-validity-of-liv-golf-again-as-he-prepares-for-us-open">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“What [LIV] are doing over there doesn’t really mean anything apart from just collecting a ton of money.” </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man looks into the distance after swinging a golf club." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531179/original/file-20230609-25-e051lp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531179/original/file-20230609-25-e051lp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531179/original/file-20230609-25-e051lp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531179/original/file-20230609-25-e051lp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531179/original/file-20230609-25-e051lp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531179/original/file-20230609-25-e051lp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531179/original/file-20230609-25-e051lp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot on the 11th hole during the Canadian Open Pro-Am in Toronto in June 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The question of finances has been central to the premise and promise of LIV Golf since its creation. The last place finisher at the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge in May <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/here-is-the-prize-money-payout-for-each-golfer-at-the-2023-charles-schwab-challenege-colonial">earned about US$17,000</a>.</p>
<p>At the LIV Golf tournament held in the same month, the last place finisher earned US$127,000, while <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/here-is-the-prize-money-payout-for-each-golfer-at-the-2023-liv-golf-league-washington-dc-event">the winner took home US$4,000,000</a>, a whopping US$3.5 million more than the Schwab winner.</p>
<p>Such calculations have caused many to openly question why the LIV tour — which features many excellent athletes but not necessarily the world’s top golfers — was comfortable paying potentially inferior players considerably more money. </p>
<h2>Inflated salaries</h2>
<p>A foundational principle of sport that is becoming quainter with each passing day is that an athlete, team or league possesses a quantifiable value that directly relates to their salary. </p>
<p>This value can be enhanced by successes on and off the field, priced into budgets, traded and exchanged, all while being managed within the complex dynamics of a sports entertainment industry. </p>
<p>This notion that some grand ledger exists which calculates the precise value of a player or team is a useful illusion. It has been used to pay athletes less money based on some <a href="https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/wage-determination-in-professional-sports">false idea of their inherent worth</a>.</p>
<p>Over the past decade, Saudi involvement in sports has revealed some of the smoke and mirrors that make this illusion possible. The Saudi <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2023/05/16/saudi-money-is-supercharging-athletes-pay---and-shaking-up-the-sports-world/">willingness to overpay as a means of attracting athletes</a> has led to an overvaluation of talent and inflated salaries that other leagues have struggled to match.</p>
<p>Like any business, professional sports are not typically eager to pay beyond market value for their employees. The bloated salaries handed out through LIV Golf <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2022/07/28/the-worlds-highest-paid-golfers-2022-liv-golf-reshuffles-top-earners-and-sends-pay-soaring/">irrevocably skewed perceptions and expectations around athlete salaries</a>.</p>
<p>But perhaps more distressingly, the underlying exchange behind these payouts reveals the possible use of professional golf as an expensive smokescreen to help obscure or distract from larger controversies.</p>
<h2>Unsavoury sport money</h2>
<p>It would be naive to believe this is the first instance of unsavoury money flowing into the coffers of professional sport organizations. </p>
<p>However, it is important to note that the PIF is not simply purchasing a seat at the table: it is altering the blueprints, re-wiring the building and adding a pool to the backyard. </p>
<p>Just a year ago, PGA Tour officials and players were dead-set against the incursion of Saudi money into the game, for both <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/09/liv-golf-tour-saudi-arabia-explained">legitimate</a> and <a href="https://rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/what-selective-outrage-over-liv-golf">contrived</a> reasons.</p>
<p>By forming this partnership, the PGA Tour seems to be priortizing financial interests over ethical ones. Despite <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia/report-saudi-arabia/">Saudi Arabia’s ongoing human rights issues</a>, the PGA Tour has still chosen to align itself with the Saudis.</p>
<p>The rivalry between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf ends not with a bang, but with a merger. It’s clear both sides are far more interested in “collecting a ton of money” than issues of morality. What remains to be seen is the future of the sport, and the fate of its athletes, now that these priorities have been laid bare.</p>
<p><em>This is a corrected version of a story originally published on June 12, 2023. The previous version incorrectly used PGA in the headline and body of the article instead of PGA Tour. The PGA of America split from the PGA Tour in 1968 and had nothing to do with the PGA Tour merger.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207386/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Taylor McKee receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada </span></em></p>As the rivalry between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf ends not with a bang, but with a merger, it’s clear both sides are far more interested in financial gain than issues of morality.Taylor McKee, Assistant Professor, Sport Management, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2071112023-06-07T18:13:05Z2023-06-07T18:13:05ZMessi is heading to the US as Saudi Arabia kicks off bidding war with MLS for aging soccer stars<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530625/original/file-20230607-25-t9m6nc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C38%2C8640%2C5703&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Karim Benzema -- taking the money and running into the box.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SaudiSpanishSuperCupSoccer/e2e8acaa59f94cc690db8c9305dcd7ef/photo?Query=benzema%20saudi&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=32&currentItemNo=8">AP Photo/Hussein Malla</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The announcements on consecutive days that the storied Real Madrid and France soccer star Karim Benzema is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/sports/soccer/karim-benzema-saudi-arabai-al-ittihad.html">joining the Saudi Pro League</a> and that Lionel Messi, thought by many to be <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/messi-may-not-be-soccers-goat-for-long/2022/12/18/ae733296-7f33-11ed-8738-ed7217de2775_story.html">soccer’s GOAT</a>, intends to play in the United States’ Major League Soccer may mark the beginning of a new international bidding war for superannuated soccer stars.</p>
<p>MLS has for many years been recruiting aging talent from big European clubs, but the Saudi interest is new. Benzema’s move to Al-Ittihad – <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/06/07/karim-benzema-reportedly-signs-a-deal-with-saudi-arabias-al-ittihad.html">costing more than US$200 million</a> – follows the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/1/19/what-does-ronaldos-signing-for-al-nassr-mean-for-saudi-arabia">acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo</a> by fellow Saudi club Al Nassr in 2022 for $100 million.</p>
<p>The Benzema announcement on June 6, 2023, furthered speculation that the kingdom is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/05/football/kareem-benzema-saudi-club-intl/index.html">attempting to build a soccer league</a> that will be competitive with Europe’s elite: the English Premier League, La Liga in Spain, Germany’s Bundesliga and Serie A in Italy.</p>
<p>Although it seems unlikely that the Saudi Pro League will make any dent in the popularity of those established European leagues any time soon, the trend of big-name signings may be the detriment of smaller leagues – chief among them MLS – which will struggle to compete with the power of the Saudi sporting purse.</p>
<h2>A game of money and image laundering</h2>
<p>Confirmation of the Benzema move came on the same day that LIV Golf, funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-saudi-arabia-came-to-be-at-the-centre-of-a-global-golf-merger-207203">announced its merger with the PGA</a> – prompting <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jun/06/saudi-liv-pga-tour-divisions-within-golf">comments about “sportswashing</a>,” the use of investment in sports to launder the image of Saudi Arabia’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/saudi-arabia-is-a-repressive-regime-and-so-are-a-lot-of-us-allies-105106">repressive, brutal and authoritarian regime</a>. </p>
<p>However, there is one important difference between the Benzema story and LIV Golf. Saudi Arabians in particular – and the Arab peoples of the Middle East in general – have <a href="https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/197207/golf.in.the.arab.world-the.players.htm">never shown much interest in golf</a>. It was brought to the region by well-to-do British and American expats, and took hold only among local elites.</p>
<p>Golf Saudi was created in 2018 and launched an ambitious <a href="https://golfsaudi.com/en/news/24">mass participation program</a> as part of the kingdom’s <a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/">Vision 2030</a> project, precisely because few Saudis played the game.</p>
<p>The same cannot be said of soccer. The game is beloved across the Arab world, and as soccer writer Simon Kuper and I wrote in “<a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/simon-kuper/soccernomics-2022-world-cup-edition/9781645030171/">Soccernomics</a>,” the nations of the Middle East would have produced competitive international teams long ago were it not for the region’s <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2011/wp1112.pdf">long-standing political instability</a>. Some observers have described soccer as “<a href="https://www.arabamerica.com/soccer-the-second-religion-of-the-arab-world/">the second religion of the Arab world</a>.”</p>
<h2>Oldies but goodies</h2>
<p>The strategy of buying aging stars from European leagues to promote interest in an emerging soccer nation is a long-standing tradition. </p>
<p>In the 2016-17 season, China made waves when <a href="https://www.zujugp.com/articles/why-the-chinese-super-league-is-now-closed-to-foreign-superstars">it started spending large sums in the transfer market</a> to attract luminaries such as former Manchester United star Carlos Tevez and the Brazilian midfielder Oscar. The Australian A-League brought in players like <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/165688-a-league-news-move-over-fowler-here-comes-recoba">Liverpool’s Robbie Fowler and Brazil’s Juninho</a> in its early years, while Japan’s J.League launched in 1993 with aging World Cup legends <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-lineker-is-eclipsed-by-zico-barclays-league-promotion-playoffs-semifinals-2323402.html">Zico and Gary Lineker</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A man with long hair dribbles a ball past a player in a white shirt." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">George Best dribbles past Pelé in the North American Soccer League.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/GEORGEBESTPELE/7a23f776aae4da11af9f0014c2589dfb/photo?Query=Pele%20George%20Best&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=8&currentItemNo=7">AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the greatest examples of this strategy come from the United States. Back in the 1970s, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-apartheid-european-racism-and-pele-helped-cultivate-a-culture-of-diversity-in-us-soccer-that-endures-into-the-mls-197172">the North American Soccer League</a> assembled what may be the greatest collection of international stars ever to play outside of Europe or South America. Pelé, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, George Best and Bobby Moore – sporting legends in their home countries – all played in the league. But it was not enough to save <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/oct/20/nasl-history-soccer-america">the NASL from collapse in 1984</a>. </p>
<p>Its successor, MLS, <a href="https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/league-born-oral-history-inaugural-mls-match">launched in 1996</a> with the intention of avoiding some of the high spending associated with NASL. And in the early years, the league resisted the temptation of bringing in big European stars. But having almost folded in the early 2000s, the league changed course spectacularly with the <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/football/01/11/beckham">signing of David Beckham for LA Galaxy in 2007</a> at the peak of the soccer star’s celebrity – if not soccer – power.</p>
<p>There followed a steady stream of aging international stars entering the league: Italian Alessandro Nesta in 2012, former Chelsea star Didier Drogba and Spain’s David Villa in 2015, English midfielders Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in 2016, and strikers Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2018.</p>
<p>David Beckham graduated from player to owner with the addition of the Inter Miami franchise in 2020, and there had long been rumors that he was working to secure the addition of Messi to the MLS roster. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jun/07/lionel-messi-inter-miami-mls-barcelona-saudi-arabia-transfer-news">Messi’s confirmation that he intends to move to the Inter Miami</a> is a triumph both for Beckham and MLS, but it doesn’t remove the Saudis as a competitor in the long term and may push up the costs involved for all.</p>
<h2>Will the Saudis pop the MLS bubble?</h2>
<p>Since Beckham’s arrival as a player, MLS has flourished. In 2007 the league consisted of only 13 franchises, with the newly added <a href="https://www.thestar.com/sports/tfc/2016/09/07/toronto-fc-worth-245-million-according-to-forbes.html">Toronto FC paying a $10 million expansion fee</a> to join. In May 2023, it was announced that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/may/19/san-diego-fc-mls-expansion-mohamed-mansour">San Diego</a> would become the 30th MLS franchise, for a reported fee of $500 million. According to Forbes, the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2023/02/02/major-league-soccers-most-valuable-clubs-2023-lafc-is-the-first-billion-dollar-franchise/?sh=16bb6abe5324">average value of an MLS franchise</a> is currently $579 million. </p>
<p>This is remarkable, since for that price you could buy almost any soccer club in Europe outside of the top 20. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/lists/soccer-valuations/?sh=541ce649198b">Forbes also reckons</a> that no fewer than seven of the 30 most valuable soccer clubs in the world are in MLS. </p>
<p>It’s also remarkable because the standard of play in MLS is not that high, compared with what is offered in Europe. Statistical <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02692179700000008">research by me</a> and <a href="https://doi.org//10.1007/978-3-663-07711-4_12">others</a> has shown that in soccer, you get what you pay for – to the point where the overall team payrolls generate reliable forecasts of long-term results. </p>
<p>The website <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.us/">Transfermarkt</a> provides summary valuation of league squads, and currently values MLS players at $1.3 billion, compared with $11.3 billion for the English Premier League, $5.1 billion for La Liga, $4.9 billion for Serie A and $4.6 billion for the Bundesliga. The squad valuations for MLS are closer to those of the Belgian Jupiler League. </p>
<p>The valuation of MLS franchises is not based on the quality of the play, but on the prospects for growth if soccer becomes a mainstream spectator sport in the United States. MLS’s die-hard supporters are a forgiving lot but represent a tiny fraction of the U.S. sports market. Eventually, I believe MLS is going to have to field better players to continue its ascent – and that means competing in the international market. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man in a yellow and orange soccer kit dribbles a ball past a player in blue." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Messi heading for David Beckham’s Inter Miami.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/FranceSocccerChampionsLeague/5b815b5242894f91bac3aaf95bac35de/photo?Query=Messi%20Beckham&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:asc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=4&currentItemNo=3">AP Photo/Francois Mori</a></span>
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<p>The worry for MLS is that it now has a new competitor for the best aging players: Saudi Arabia. MLS wanted <a href="https://en.as.com/soccer/which-mls-club-wanted-to-sign-cristiano-ronaldo-n/">Ronaldo</a> and it wanted <a href="https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/real-madrid-star-karim-benzema-open-to-future-mls-move-football-is-getting-bette">Benzema</a> too. Inter Miami and MLS may soon have Messi, but they had to overcome competition from <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/lionel-messi-decision-on-saudi-arabia-expected-this-week-as-negotiations-intensify-ahead-of-possible-move">Saudi team Al Hilal</a>.</p>
<p>The Messi move is a great coup for MLS. But the emergence of the Saudis as competitors suggests that future opportunities will be diminished, and that the league will have to pay more for the stars it can attract.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207111/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stefan Szymanski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>French soccer star Karim Benzema will join Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League, and others may follow.Stefan Szymanski, Professor of Sport Management, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2072032023-06-07T07:06:56Z2023-06-07T07:06:56ZHow Saudi Arabia came to be at the centre of a global golf merger<p>Professional golf – and increasingly world sport – is caught in a sand trap. Not the familiar hazard between fairway and green, but the Middle Eastern desert producing enormous quantities of fossil fuels.</p>
<p>The resulting riches are being diverted into sport, disrupting its traditional <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Geopolitical-Economy-of-Sport-Power-Politics-Money-and-the-State/Chadwick-Widdop-Goldman/p/book/9781032390598">Western dominance</a>.</p>
<p>The latest example is the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/06/pga-tour-agrees-to-merge-with-saudi-backed-rival-liv-golf.html">dramatic announcement</a> that LIV Golf, the rebel circuit led by retired Australian golfer Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has merged with the (US) PGA and (European) DP World Tours after two years of trench warfare.</p>
<p>While today’s big story is LIV Golf, Saudi Arabia’s involvement in sport will generate many more money-driven, politics-heavy headlines.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-mens-golf-has-been-shaken-by-saudi-arabias-billion-dollar-drive-for-legitimacy-193474">How men's golf has been shaken by Saudi Arabia's billion-dollar drive for legitimacy</a>
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<h2>Welcome to the ‘party hole’</h2>
<p>There are echoes here of Kerry Packer’s <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/The_Cricket_War/N3Q4DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=world+series+cricket&printsec=frontcover">World Series Cricket</a> and Rupert Murdoch’s <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Two_Tribes/N8C6zgEACAAJ?hl=en">Super (Rugby) League</a>. An aggressive, well-funded competitor takes on the sport establishment, promising to shake up a sclerotic game, bringing in new money and younger fans with lashings of razzmatazz.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.livgolf.com/">LIV Golf</a> offers shorter stroke play contests and a competitive team format. This April, Australia got a taste of it in <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/golf/liv-golf-adelaide-insane-queue-29777714">Adelaide</a>. Large, raucous crowds turned up, witnessing innovations like a “party hole” complete with terrace, bars and a DJ.</p>
<p>LIV lured leading golfers such as Australia’s <a href="https://www.theroar.com.au/2022/09/01/was-cameron-smith-right-to-sign-for-liv-golf/">Cameron Smith</a> with enormous contracts, in his case worth A$140 million (US$93.4 million). <a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/liv-vs-pga-explained">In response</a>, the main tours banned LIV-signed golfers from most of their tournaments. Inevitably, it ended up in the courts, with LIV suing the PGA Tour for restrictive practices, and the PGA countersuing for inducement to break contracts.</p>
<p>Peace suddenly broke out this week via a joint news release <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/golf/pga-tour-european-tour-liv-golf-announce-merger-2023-06-06/">announcing</a> the tours and LIV Golf would morph into a collectively owned, for-profit entity. This came as a <a href="https://www.foxsports.com.au/golf/pga-tour-2023-golf-news-liv-golf-merger-reaction-live-updates-players-shred-jay-monahan/news-story/c2634b78785b4f65947211ed8f705327">shock</a> to tour golfers in an ostensibly player-run organisation, who found out via Twitter.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1666085967105773574"}"></div></p>
<p>Even <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/golf/greg-norman-reportedly-losing-his-job-in-bombshell-golf-merger/news-story/a923aa4a10ca6caf32f70d2ae5c946b8">Greg Norman</a> – a pivotal but deeply divisive figure – was apparently blindsided and discarded.</p>
<p>With Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan as chair and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan as chief executive, the so-far unnamed entity must heal some deep wounds. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/golf/65827786">Golfers</a> who refused massive LIV contracts and believed Monahan’s defiant rhetoric feel sold down the river. It will take more than boosterist words from golf’s inner circle to placate them.</p>
<p>Golf’s turmoil is symptomatic of the impact of huge injections of capital into sport from outside the US and Europe. It does not only come from the Middle East. The <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/sports/what-makes-the-ipl-a-more-lucrative-and-safer-investment-than-even-the-icc-world-cups/articleshow/99176918.cms?from=mdr">Indian Premier League</a>, both men’s and women’s, has comprehensively refashioned the economy of world cricket.</p>
<p>China has invested huge sums in soccer, and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/26/1075881068/the-significance-of-beijing-hosting-both-the-summer-and-winter-olympics">Beijing</a> is the only city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics.</p>
<p>But the Middle East is where commercial sport is seen as the future of a post-carbon economy. Last year, <a href="https://theconversation.com/qatar-world-cup-socceroos-best-ever-performance-and-what-it-means-for-the-game-in-australia-ahead-of-hosting-the-womens-world-cup-195736">Qatar</a> hosted the men’s FIFA World Cup and is steadily supplementing its sports infrastructure, while the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have committed large sums to motorsports and cricket. </p>
<p>Saudi Arabia is making the biggest impact on global sport through its A$10 trillion (US$6.7 trillion) <a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/">Vision 2030</a> plan to diversify its economy under leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (also known as MBS).</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1656226635639603201"}"></div></p>
<h2>Money and image</h2>
<p>Human rights come to the fore every time such non-Western countries host a major sport investment or buy a major sport property. A 2021 <a href="https://grantliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/sports-washing-report-1.pdf">report</a> by human rights group Liberty found Saudi Arabia had recently invested more than A$2 billion (US$1.3 billion) in sport. Much more since has been spent on sports such as football, golf, motor racing and cricket.</p>
<p>In the world game, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund bought English Premier League club <a href="https://theathletic.com/4375454/2023/04/06/saudi-newcastle-boris-government/">Newcastle United</a>, and has recruited superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/6/karim-benzema-joins-saudi-champions-al-ittihad-in-three-year-deal">Karim Benzema</a> to the Saudi Pro League.</p>
<p>The sight of a laughing FIFA President <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11450713/Outrage-FIFA-boss-laughs-Saudi-Prince-Mohammed-bin-Salman-Qatar-World-Cup-opening-ceremony.html">Gianni Infantino</a> seated alongside MBS at the Qatar World Cup opening ceremony fuelled suspicions that the kingdom’s bid for the 2030 men’s World Cup has the inside running.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/liv-golf-sportwashing-vs-the-commercial-value-of-public-attention-185478">LIV Golf: Sportwashing vs. the commercial value of public attention</a>
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<p>Sport investment is clearly part of the country’s economic agenda, but also its political positioning. Such <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/16/saudi-arabias-newest-sportswashing-strategy-sponsorship-womens-world-cup">sportswashing</a> is a method used by illiberal regimes to cover up the ugly face of repression. Despite some loosening of controls over women in Saudi Arabia in areas like driving cars, MBS <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/saudi-arabia-sportswashing-human-rights-accusations-60-minutes-2023-04-09/">undermined</a> his claim to be a moderniser when 81 people convicted of <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/15/saudi-arabia-mass-execution-81-men">crimes</a> ranging from murder to “monitoring and targeting officials and expatriates” were beheaded on one day in March 2022.</p>
<p>Critics of the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10126902221136086">sportswashing concept</a> argue that it’s imprecise, and moreover is a routine feature of national and corporate public relations all over the world. It is also used selectively, despite countries like <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-24/liv-golf-saudi-arabia-and-sportswashing-adelaide/102255808">Australia</a> having their own deficient human rights records regarding First Nations peoples and refugees, and trading freely with repressive nations.</p>
<p>But sport attracts greater scrutiny because it is carried on television screens, not container ships. This profile was clear when Infantino was forced, after an angry response by players, to abandon plans to make <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/visit-saudi-wont-be-sponsor-womens-world-cup-says-infantino-2023-03-16/">Visit Saudi</a> a major sponsor of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.</p>
<p>Saudi tourism may have missed out this time, but Saudi capital will continue visiting many more sports and countries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207203/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rowe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Today’s big sport story is LIV Golf, but Saudi Arabia’s involvement in sport will generate many more money-driven, politics-heavy headlines.David Rowe, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1934742023-03-31T15:27:49Z2023-03-31T15:27:49ZHow men’s golf has been shaken by Saudi Arabia’s billion-dollar drive for legitimacy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518714/original/file-20230331-26-wicpvl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=63%2C63%2C3806%2C2489&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Augusta, home of The Masters -- golf's first major championship of the year.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/augusta-georgia-united-states-april-2010-1300569937">Slusing/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The first <a href="https://www.todays-golfer.com/news-and-events/majors/">major tournament</a> of 2023 in men’s professional golf could be a particularly tense affair. The Masters, held every April in the US city of Augusta (Georgia), sees the world’s finest players compete for a prize purse of around US$15 million (£12.1m), as well as the famous <a href="https://www.golfmonthly.com/tour/us-masters/masters-history-records/masters-green-jacket-126753">green jacket</a> for the winner.</p>
<p>Approximately 90 players will compete for that jacket after a tumultuous 12 months for the sport, during which some of the best-known golfers have controversially broken away from the US-based PGA Tour, the biggest and most powerful organiser of professional golf events.</p>
<p>They chose instead to join <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIV_Golf">LIV Golf</a>, a new rival tour <a href="https://www.skysports.com/golf/news/12176/12692788/liv-golf-invitational-series-players-teams-results-and-all-you-need-to-know-from-inaugural-season">funded by Saudi Arabia’s</a> sovereign wealth fund, causing a significant rift among golf’s leading male professionals. Now in the early stages of its <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/64738914">crucial second season</a>, with US$2 billion (£1.65 billion) having been invested, LIV Golf is taking a real swing at the golfing establishment.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23750472.2022.2162953">recent research</a> suggests that LIV Golf was constructed not simply to add an extra layer to the men’s professional game or create a breakaway league. In fact, it appears designed to reshape men’s professional golf entirely.</p>
<p>From the outset, LIV Golf promised to be “<a href="https://firepitcollective.com/the-summer-of-golfs-discontent/">golf, but louder</a>” – with shorter rounds, limited competitor fields, and lots and <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/golf/news/liv-golf-rules-pga-tour/iywjdfqirerdej1hzcg0vd6c">lots of money</a> – to make the sport more attractive to new spectators.</p>
<p>A defensive PGA Tour immediately <a href="https://www.skysports.com/golf/news/12176/12630733/phil-mickelson-and-dustin-johnson-among-players-suspended-from-pga-tour-over-liv-golf-involvement#:%7E:text=PGA%20Tour%20suspends%2017%20players,as%20other%20PGA%20Tour%20golfers">lashed out</a>, banning any players who joined LIV Golf from its own competitions. LIV Golf responded by saying the PGA Tour was being “vindictive” and divisive. </p>
<p>Top players came out fighting for both sides. And while LIV Golf was initially labelled “<a href="https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/saudi-league-dead-in-the-water-rory-mcilroy">dead in the water</a>” by Northern Ireland’s four-time major champion Rory McIlroy in early 2022, not everyone agreed. High-profile defections from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf included major champions <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/14/golf/phil-mickelson-liv-golf-series-winning-side-spt-intl/index.html">Phil Mickelson</a>, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and the 2022 Open Champion <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/cameron-smith-jumps-to-liv-golf-to-spend-more-time-in-australia-home#:%7E:text=Cameron%20Smith%20reacts%20following%20a,150th%20Open%20at%20St%20Andrews.&text=Cameron%20Smith%20says%20his%20decision,year%20in%20his%20native%20Australia.">Cameron Smith</a>. </p>
<p>But despite huge cash prizes and big-name players, LIV Golf is not yet the roaring success it was designed to be. Sponsors and broadcasters are not desperate to get involved, and many of the first season’s events were only broadcast on Facebook and YouTube channels.</p>
<p>This rival tour still faces significant challenges. Encouraging more players to defect and gaining more broadcast deals – including improving on the one that involves LIV Golf paying an <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/liv-golf-inks-multi-year-deal-with-the-cw-network-as-saudi-backed-league-lands-first-u-s-tv-deal/">American network to cover its events</a> – will be the gameplan.</p>
<h2>Level playing field?</h2>
<p>But this is not just about golf. The expensive creation of a rival tour is just part of Saudi Arabia’s ongoing push for <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23750472.2022.2162953?journalCode=rmle21">legitimacy in the sporting world</a>. And what some call “legitimacy”, others call “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17511321.2022.2107697">sportswashing</a>” – the use of sport by oppressive governments or leaders to distract the rest of the world from from human rights abuses in a bid for <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1148580?origin=crossref">soft power</a>. </p>
<p>For Saudi Arabia, LIV Golf is part of a wider <a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/">economic strategy</a> which seeks to diminish the Gulf state’s <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/pga-tour-liv-golf-future-saudi-arabia-royal-family-greg-norman-jay-monahan-phil-mickelson-rory-mcilroy-tv-streaming-rights/amp">reliance on oil</a>. Other sports including <a href="https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/34723079/saudi-arabian-grand-prix-working-f1-address-race-safety-concerns">Formula 1</a>, football and <a href="https://insidersport.com/2019/08/22/the-ethical-issues-in-boxings-saudi-arabia-expansion/">boxing</a> are already in play.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Donald Trump on Liv Golf stage." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518729/original/file-20230331-28-dyp05b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518729/original/file-20230331-28-dyp05b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518729/original/file-20230331-28-dyp05b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518729/original/file-20230331-28-dyp05b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518729/original/file-20230331-28-dyp05b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518729/original/file-20230331-28-dyp05b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518729/original/file-20230331-28-dyp05b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Former US president Donald Trump hosted a LIV event in 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bedminsternjjuly-312022lr-former-president-trump-yasir-2186452075">L.E.Mormile/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But where does this leave the future of professional golf? LIV Golf claimed that <a href="https://www.livgolf.com/news/liv-golf-announces-usd100-million-commitment-to-new-global-corporate-social">its goal</a> is to “improve the health of professional golf” and “help unlock the sport’s untapped potential”. </p>
<p>There is perhaps some truth in this. Despite the controversy, McIlroy has since reflected that it was a shakeup the PGA Tour needed in order to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/64874722">innovate and adapt</a>. He now believes LIV has benefited everyone who plays professional golf at a high level.</p>
<p>As LIV Golf celebrated the beginning of a <a href="https://www.skysports.com/golf/news/12176/12799251/liv-golf-league-2023-schedule-14-events-in-seven-countries-feature-in-expanded-calendar">new season in February 2023</a>, amid reports of possible <a href="https://www.si.com/golf/news/liv-golf-business-plan-coming-more-into-focus-expansion-possible-2024">financial penalties for LIV players</a> if they decide they want to return to the PGA Tour, it is clear the organisation is not going away.</p>
<p>For the moment it continues to battle for supremacy of the men’s professional game, both on the course <a href="https://golf.com/news/pga-tour-lawsuit-liv-golf-yasir-al-rumayyan/">and in court</a>. However – ethical issues and a lack of external commercial backing notwithstanding – it’s possible the PGA Tour and LIV Golf could eventually <a href="https://www.si.com/golf/news/weekly-read-pga-tour-and-liv-golf-coexist-blueprint-how">manage to co-exist</a>. </p>
<p>The introduction of LIV Golf has also led to the men’s four major tournaments (the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and the UK’s Open Championship) becoming even more crucial for players to win. LIV has also made the majors more important for golf fans, as these are now the only men’s events where they get to watch a full-strength field from all tours. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/masters-2023-who-is-in-the-field-to-compete-at-augusta-national-golf-club">2023 Masters</a> will be the first time the players from the PGA and LIV tours have competed against each other in almost nine months. In a game all about control and tradition, LIV Golf has succeeded in creating a fair amount of noise. In years to come, that noise could prove loud enough to completely transform an entire global sport.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193474/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>But is it a fair way to build sporting influence?Leon Davis, Senior Lecturer in Events Management, Teesside UniversityDan Plumley, Principal Lecturer in Sport Finance, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1854782022-06-22T20:23:53Z2022-06-22T20:23:53ZLIV Golf: Sportwashing vs. the commercial value of public attention<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470314/original/file-20220622-7584-tzgchp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C0%2C4861%2C3262&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Charles Schwartzel of South Africa celebrates after winning the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational on June 11. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/liv-golf--sportwashing-vs--the-commercial-value-of-public-attention" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The <a href="https://www.livgolf.com/">LIV Golf Invitational Series</a> held its first event recently at Centurion Club in St. Albans, England.</p>
<p>LIV is a challenger to established tours in men’s golf — most notably the PGA Tour. Golfers have seemingly been lured to LIV by exorbitant paydays. LIV prize purses <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/golf/news/liv-golf-london-purse-payout-prize-money-pga-tour/cprsimdpclcmf9g4h7c9nm0w">are lucrative</a>. So too is the money reportedly paid to top golfers to choose LIV competitions over other tour options (approximately <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/06/mickelson-the-last-to-sign-up-for-saudi-funded-golf-league.html">$125 million</a> for Dustin Johnson and <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/06/06/phil-mickelsons-deal-with-saudi-backed-liv-is-around-200-million/">$200 million</a> for Phil Mickelson).</p>
<p>As social scientists who study <a href="https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526107039">golf</a>, <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315680521-10/masters-golf-tournament-brad-millington-brian-wilson">media</a> and <a href="https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/sport-and-the-environment/?k=9781787690301">politics</a>, we are interested in LIV as a case study of the “attention economy” in sport.</p>
<p>The pursuit of attention helps explain LIV’s efforts at carving out space in a competitive golf landscape. But LIV has also been controversial — most of all due to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jun/19/greg-norman-liv-golf-series-pga-tour-saudi-arabia">financial backing LIV receives from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF)</a>.</p>
<p>What might be gained through an investment in the attention that LIV offers? What are the dynamics at work through such an investment? And what are the social and political implications?</p>
<h2>Golf and the attention economy</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/234876/the-attention-merchants-by-tim-wu/">The attention economy</a> refers to the idea that attention has commercial value. For example, if attention is captured and retained, it can be sold — think of the (very costly) commercials that air during the Super Bowl each year.</p>
<p>Sport has special appeal in the attention economy because it generally commands a live audience. The fact that sport is good in-the-moment, unlike a sitcom that can be watched anytime, makes it excellent for capturing attention.</p>
<p>In one sense, LIV seems to be sidestepping these dynamics thanks to financial backing from Saudi Arabia’s PIF (which extends Saudi Arabia’s <a href="https://www.ey.com/en_eg/consulting/how-sports-events-can-transform-the-saudi-arabian-economy">track record</a> of investment in sport). This presumably relieves the pressure of matching revenue (like from broadcast contracts) to business costs (like prize purses).</p>
<p>But dig deeper and the fingerprints of the attention economy are there.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man waves his hand with a golfball in it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470317/original/file-20220622-22-qbrh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470317/original/file-20220622-22-qbrh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470317/original/file-20220622-22-qbrh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470317/original/file-20220622-22-qbrh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470317/original/file-20220622-22-qbrh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470317/original/file-20220622-22-qbrh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470317/original/file-20220622-22-qbrh9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Phil Mickelson reacts to the crowd after putting on the 15th green during the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational .</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Centurion Club event was shorter than a typical PGA tournament (54 holes instead of 72 — LIV refers to the Roman numeral for 54). Golfers began their rounds at different holes on the course at the same time, making for relatively compact viewing — “<a href="https://www.cityam.com/greg-norman-interview-liv-golf-can-emulate-crickets-ipl-and-create-generational-wealth/">a broadcast-friendly four and a half hours</a>.”</p>
<p>LIV also <a href="https://www.si.com/golf/news/liv-golf-says-its-broadcast-will-be-a-reimagined-experience-will-you-care">touted</a> “an audio-visual extravaganza of unprecedented depth and vibrancy.” The series’ CEO Greg Norman reportedly recruited David Hill, a renowned entertainment producer who previously helped overhaul Formula One broadcasts, with the <a href="https://www.cityam.com/greg-norman-interview-liv-golf-can-emulate-crickets-ipl-and-create-generational-wealth/">hope of bringing a new generation</a> to golf’s aging fanbase.</p>
<p>LIV invokes a tradition of changing sport broadcasts (like hockey’s infamous <a href="https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/21080555/nhl-bring-back-infamous-glow-puck">glow puck</a> in the 1990s) and changing sport itself to attract consumer attention.</p>
<p>But perhaps the most important dynamic involves how, in the traditional golf format, star golfers command attention but have no guarantee of a tournament payout. The traditional tournament structure includes a mid-event cut line; if your score falls below it, you leave empty-handed.</p>
<p>Star players <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/liv-golf-saudi-arabia-pga.html">reportedly say</a> their earnings should align with their status in the game. LIV’s payouts to attract top golfers seemingly attempt to match financial rewards and attention. And there’s no cut line: Everyone who played at the first LIV event earned <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/here-is-the-prize-money-payout-for-each-golfer-at-the-2022-liv-golf-invitational-london">at least</a> $120,000.</p>
<h2>Sportwashing</h2>
<p>Given the Saudi Arabian government’s record of human rights abuses, LIV has <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2022/06/10/sportswashing-explained-saudis-liv-golf/10003676002/">been described</a> as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/06/01/dustin-johnson-liv-golf-saudi-tour/">a case</a> of <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/golf/article/liv-golf-clearly-is-sportswashing-now-its-up-to-the-public-to-take-a-stand/">sportswashing</a>. Sportwashing is when sport — with all the good feelings it inspires — is used as a tool for diverting attention from social or environmental problems.</p>
<p>Sportwashing relates to the concept of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0002716207311699">soft power which means</a> exerting influence by attracting, rather than coercing, others. Think diplomacy instead of military intervention. </p>
<p>Hosting or sponsoring sports events are examples of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2020.1723781">soft power plays</a>, since the idea is to present the host country or sponsor in a positive light. Accusations of sportwashing cast a cynical eye on attempts to leverage sport for soft power purposes. In this case, the idea is that LIV is a public relations ploy for Saudi Arabia and golfers are complicit.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man puts his golf bag down." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470318/original/file-20220622-7895-ys3g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470318/original/file-20220622-7895-ys3g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470318/original/file-20220622-7895-ys3g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470318/original/file-20220622-7895-ys3g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470318/original/file-20220622-7895-ys3g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470318/original/file-20220622-7895-ys3g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470318/original/file-20220622-7895-ys3g5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dustin Johnson of the United States prepares to play from the first tee during the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>LIV participants have been heavily criticized. And golfers joining LIV seem to be twisting themselves into knots to explain their decision.</p>
<p>When asked if he was participating in sportwashing, golfer <a href="https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/34117162/inside-wildest-two-weeks-history-professional-golf">Talor Gooch</a> said: “I don’t think that’s fair. Also … I’m a golfer. I’m not that smart. I try to hit a golf ball into a small hole. Golf is hard enough.” And golfer Graeme McDowell’s logic was “<a href="https://www.skysports.com/golf/news/12176/12629518/were-not-politicians-says-graeme-mcdowell-as-liv-golfers-asked-about-saudi-arabias-human-rights">we’re not politicians</a>” — implying only decisions made by politicians are meaningful.</p>
<p>Sports journalist Shireen Ahmed <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/liv-golf-sportswashing-saudi-arabia-opinion-shireen-ahmed-1.6487789">notes that</a> golf itself has a history of sexism and racism, and we’ve previously described golf’s <a href="https://www.manchesteropenhive.com/view/9781526107039/9781526107039.xml">ambiguous relationship with environmental issues</a> — all relevant topics when reflecting on the ironies of using golf for sportwashing purposes.</p>
<h2>The politics and implications of attention</h2>
<p>The LIV series adds to the mountain of evidence that sport and politics are interconnected. It’s also a case study in the attention economy and how its inseparable from the incentive systems that drive investment in sport — and the social issues that are embedded in and surround sport. </p>
<p>LIV’s future is unclear. Will it attract sufficient interest to remain viable? Will this even matter, so long as it’s backed by Saudi Arabia’s PIF? Will golfers continue to leave established tours? To what extent will negative attention remain? How will fluctuations in the amount and type of attention influence those who cover, invest in and consume golf?</p>
<p>As it stands, for all the efforts at reimagining golf to attract consumer interest, the sportwashing discourse has brought an avalanche of negative attention to the LIV series, and rightfully so.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185478/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brad Millington receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Wilson receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p>For all the efforts at reimagining golf to attract consumer interest, the sportwashing discourse has brought an avalanche of negative attention to the LIV series, and rightfully so.Brad Millington, Associate Professor, Sport Management, Brock UniversityBrian Wilson, Professor, School of Kinesiology, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1824212022-05-04T23:34:23Z2022-05-04T23:34:23ZLydia Ko’s ‘time of the month’ comment showed how far sportswomen have come – and how much still has to change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461405/original/file-20220504-18710-35ois7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C6%2C4073%2C2989&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last weekend’s LPGA event in California will likely be remembered as much for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/may/03/that-time-of-the-month-golfer-lydia-ko-stuns-reporter-after-talking-about-period">what was said</a> as the golf that was played. Asked about some on-course treatment she’d needed for back pain, world number three Lydia Ko replied matter-of-factly, “It’s that time of the month.”</p>
<p>The candid reference to her menstrual cycle had Golf Channel commentator Jerry Foltz flummoxed. Ko joked, “I know you’re at a loss for words, Jerry. Honesty it is.”</p>
<p>Ko has been <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/03/golf/lydia-ko-period-pain-lpga-spt-intl/index.html">celebrated for breaking the stigma</a> about menstruation in sport. But she is not the first elite athlete to talk to the topic. Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/08/17/490121285/a-swimmers-period-comment-breaks-taboos-in-sports-and-in-china">made headlines</a> for telling the world she was on her period during the 2016 Rio Olympics. </p>
<p>But even though more athletes are speaking out about a normal physiological experience, the words “period” and “menstruation” still tend to shock commentators and audiences.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1520955299842113536"}"></div></p>
<h2>A long silence</h2>
<p>A brief look at the history of women in sport helps explain these longstanding silences and taboos. In fact, women in the 19th century <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p063725">were considered</a> too “weak” and “fragile” to even participate in sport and vigorous physical activity. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461408/original/file-20220504-15-gz35lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461408/original/file-20220504-15-gz35lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=910&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461408/original/file-20220504-15-gz35lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=910&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461408/original/file-20220504-15-gz35lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=910&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461408/original/file-20220504-15-gz35lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1143&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461408/original/file-20220504-15-gz35lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1143&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461408/original/file-20220504-15-gz35lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1143&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Victorian women with bicycles, circa 1890, clearly ignoring male advice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Doctors and politicians – male, of course – warned women that running, cycling or playing tennis would compromise their ability to have children, including the threat that women’s wombs would fall out if they rode a bicycle.</p>
<p>We might seem to have come a long way, with modern women competing in almost every sport, demonstrating skill, competence, strength and courage. Yet discussion of many aspects of their female physiology – menstruation, menopause, pregnancy – <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-point-of-a-period/">has long been suppressed</a>.</p>
<p>In many ways, the unruly, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Leaky-Bodies-and-Boundaries-Feminism-Postmodernism-and-Bioethics/Shildrick/p/book/9780415146173#:%7E:text=Drawing%20on%20postmodernist%20analyses%2C%20Leaky,female%20moral%20agency%20and%20embodiment.">leaky female body</a> continues to be seen as problematic and a weakness, both in sport and <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-15-0614-7">society more broadly</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-pandemics-disproportionate-impact-on-women-is-derailing-decades-of-progress-on-gender-equality-180941">The pandemic’s disproportionate impact on women is derailing decades of progress on gender equality</a>
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<h2>Muting of menstruation in sport</h2>
<p>In this context, the menstrual cycle has often been seen as a “problem” in women’s sport. Research has revealed how sportswomen view it as an <a href="https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/8/2/e001300.abstract">unwanted complication</a> for <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1747954120916073?">training and competition</a>. Some athletes have resorted to working around it for big events by manipulating the oral contraceptive.</p>
<p>It has been shown the menstrual cycle not only affects female reproduction, but also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15892917/">regulates</a> physiological, metabolic, thermoregulatory and cognitive functions. But even coaches well versed in sport science have trouble talking about the menstrual cycle. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-black-ferns-review-shows-again-why-real-change-in-womens-high-performance-sport-is-urgently-overdue-181144">The Black Ferns review shows – again – why real change in women’s high performance sport is urgently overdue</a>
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<p>Our <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2021.601420/full">own research</a> has shown most elite sportswomen don’t feel comfortable talking about menstrual health matters with male coaches and support staff, preferring to talk to women instead. While some coaches have adopted a more <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21640629.2022.2060635?">progressive approach</a>, they remain the minority. </p>
<p>With a persistent culture of stigma and taboo, conversations about menstruation often happen in code, or quietly and privately among fellow sportswomen and women support staff. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461406/original/file-20220504-18-hxsj00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461406/original/file-20220504-18-hxsj00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461406/original/file-20220504-18-hxsj00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461406/original/file-20220504-18-hxsj00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461406/original/file-20220504-18-hxsj00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461406/original/file-20220504-18-hxsj00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461406/original/file-20220504-18-hxsj00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui (here competing in 2019) also made headlines at the 2016 Olympics for talking about menstruation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>An evolving science</h2>
<p>Over the past two decades, however, a new wave of women in sport science has been leading <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-022-01691-2">important initiatives</a> in understanding how the menstrual cycle affects women’s training, performance and recovery. </p>
<p>Their research has examined an array of menstrual-health issues faced by sportswomen (and menstruating non-gender-conforming athletes), including conditions such as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2021.1885782?src=recsys">iron deficiency</a>, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0149881">menorrhagia</a> (heavy bleeding), <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-83951-2_9">amenorrhea</a> (chronic loss of menstruation), and <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsnem/28/4/article-p316.xml">RED-S</a> (relative energy deficiency in sport). The work represents a real change, with more research by women, with women, for women.</p>
<p>Some are advocating applying <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-022-01679-y">new training techniques</a> during the menstrual cycle, working with hormonal changes and the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/sms.13818">nuances of symptoms</a>. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2019/jul/10/how-period-tracking-can-give-all-female-athletes-an-edge">Menstrual-tracking apps and technologies</a> can help athletes and coaches better understand how the menstrual cycle effects an athlete’s health and performance. </p>
<p>Armed with such knowledge, athletes and teams are designing training, performance, recovery, injury prevention and rehabilitation, sleep, nutrition and well-being programmes around the menstrual cycle. In the process, menstruation is re-framed as a sign of health and power.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/toxic-sport-cultures-are-damaging-female-athletes-health-but-we-can-do-better-128376">Toxic sport cultures are damaging female athletes' health, but we can do better</a>
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</em>
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<h2>‘Women are not small men’</h2>
<p>Recognising the opportunities for improved performance, some national sports organisations – including the <a href="https://eis2win.co.uk/resource/smarther-female-athlete-health-at-the-eis/">English Institute of Sport</a>, the <a href="https://www.ais.gov.au/fphi">Australian Institute of Sport</a> and <a href="https://hpsnz.org.nz/home/whispa-healthy-women-in-sport-a-performance-advantage/the-menstrual-cycle-and-sport/">High Performance Sport New Zealand</a> – are investing (to varying degrees) in education campaigns for emerging and elite sportswomen, coaches and support people. </p>
<p>By better understanding the menstrual cycle, they can work with it rather than against it. But there are still gaps and silences. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/menstruation-is-not-a-taboo-in-womens-sport-period-92378">Menstruation is not a taboo in women's sport, period</a>
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<p>For example, much of the research is conducted by white sports scientists on white sportswomen. Important cultural and religious <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ssj/37/2/article-p73.xml">ways of knowing menstruation</a> are ignored or overlooked – although <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/lockerroom/the-constant-loss-that-wiped-out-kayla-imrie">some athletes</a> are drawing on Indigenous <a href="https://www.mcleodsbooks.co.nz/p/maori-books-waiwhero-the-red-waters-a-celebration-of-womanhood">understandings of menstruation</a> as a time and source of strength and power.</p>
<p>Lydia Ko has restarted an important conversation, one we must keep having publicly and privately. As physiology and nutrition expert Stacy Sims has put it, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5LYGzKUPlE">women are not small men</a>”, and their distinctive and varied physiologies are not weaknesses. Rather, they are strengths yet to be fully understood, harnessed and celebrated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182421/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new wave of women in sport science is helping us see how women can perform at their best with their menstrual cycle. But there are still gaps and silences – which is why Lydia Ko’s comment matters.Holly Thorpe, Professor in Sociology of Sport and Physical Culture, University of WaikatoAgatha Gibbons, PhD Student, University of WaikatoStacy T. Sims, Senior Research Fellow, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1799312022-04-08T12:32:08Z2022-04-08T12:32:08ZFishing, strip clubs and golf: How male-focused networking in medicine blocks female colleagues from top jobs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456701/original/file-20220406-12863-lo8xzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C1074%2C7893%2C4095&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Building relationships with colleagues outside of work is important for career development. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/multi-racial-business-colleagues-at-conference-in-royalty-free-image/1340724372?adppopup=true">10'000 Hours/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women have been entering academic medicine at <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/25785/chapter/1">nearly the same rate as men for decades</a>, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM200002103420606">very few women reach the top levels of leadership</a>. For example, as of April 2022, of the 71 U.S. cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute, only seven are directed by women. In 2018, women accounted for <a href="https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/faculty-institutions/report/state-women-academic-medicine">16% of medical school deans, 18% of department chairs and 25% of full professors</a>. To this day, women are still less likely than men to become associate or full professors of medicine or to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa1916935">be appointed as chairs of university medical departments</a> – and there has been no narrowing of this gender gap over time.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=10vXfYgAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">cancer researcher, physician and surgeon</a>, and I also study gender inequity within medicine. In my most recent research, I interviewed more than 100 people in medicine to better understand why women struggle to advance in academic medicine. From this work, one important reason seems to be that women are consistently <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101338">excluded from important, male-dominated networking activities</a>, especially golf.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456705/original/file-20220406-26-3t2qv4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three men watching sports and drinking." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456705/original/file-20220406-26-3t2qv4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456705/original/file-20220406-26-3t2qv4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456705/original/file-20220406-26-3t2qv4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456705/original/file-20220406-26-3t2qv4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456705/original/file-20220406-26-3t2qv4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456705/original/file-20220406-26-3t2qv4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456705/original/file-20220406-26-3t2qv4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Men mentioned watching or playing sports as a common networking activity in which women didn’t frequently participate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/ecstatic-men-watching-soocer-game-in-a-bar-after-royalty-free-image/515524312?adppopup=true">Tomazl/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Exclusion from networking blocks women’s advancement</h2>
<p>Networking is essential to success in many professional fields. Networking <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3081781">leads to success</a> in many ways. When colleagues befriend one another, they can promote one another’s careers and exchange information about opportunities. Networking also allows junior people to meet powerful senior colleagues who may take them under their wings and become invested in their success. </p>
<p>The effects of these social connections can be very tangible. Research in the sales field has shown that women who networked through golf made more sales of significantly higher value <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2020.05.005">than women who did not play golf</a>. </p>
<p>In my recent study, I wanted to see what kinds of activities are important for networking in research-focused medical institutions – and whether women were excluded. </p>
<p>To do this, I conducted interviews with 52 female and 52 male faculty members at 16 university medical centers across the U.S. in 2019. The people I spoke with had similar levels of education and years of professional experience, and similar career goals and ambitions for advancement and leadership. I asked each interviewee questions such as “How do people come to occupy leadership positions at your institution?” and “How has your gender played a role in your experiences in academic medicine?”</p>
<p>Both men and women mentioned “networking” and specifically “the boys club” – which excludes women – as important factors in career advancement.</p>
<p>Nearly all interviewees – 51 of the 52 men and 50 of the 52 women – saw networking as critical for career advancement. Despite the fact that interview questions never used the term “boys club,” 73% of the women and 42% of the men brought up this concept on their own in the interviews.</p>
<p>Women are notably absent from a number of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243205283107">informal networking activities</a>. Of the 52 male interviewees, 30 mentioned watching or playing sports, five discussed hunting or fishing and five alluded to or mentioned strip clubs.</p>
<p>Nearly everyone I spoke to said networking often happened while drinking at bars, and this too was gendered. One male department chair said, “I think about the bar at meetings. The important stuff – the intangible side of science – happens there, and I worry about a male bias of who goes for drinks after the talks. Even when women join us, men may be more likely to hit on them after a few drinks rather than focus on helping their careers.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456704/original/file-20220406-17347-wsusk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three men on a golf course and two shaking hands." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456704/original/file-20220406-17347-wsusk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456704/original/file-20220406-17347-wsusk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456704/original/file-20220406-17347-wsusk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456704/original/file-20220406-17347-wsusk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456704/original/file-20220406-17347-wsusk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456704/original/file-20220406-17347-wsusk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456704/original/file-20220406-17347-wsusk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Both men and women described the golf course as a place where important decisions are made and where more junior people can get access to senior leaders.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/men-on-golf-course-putting-green-shaking-hands-royalty-free-image/185306650?adppopup=true">Kali9/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Special access on the golf course</h2>
<p>Of all the places where the interviewees said important networking happens, none was more important than the golf course. Both men – 29% – and women – 38% – described the golf course as a key place where relationships are built.</p>
<p>As one male physician said, “Big decisions are made on the golf course.” These included discussion about who should get resources or nominated for prizes and awards. Another woman echoed this but also pointed out the inequity, saying, “All the powerful events here happen on the golf course. And it’s not like the men are ever going to let you in that foursome.”</p>
<p>Some of the interview questions sought to explore how and why women were excluded from golf. As one male physician explained, “It did not feel like we were actively excluding the women, but I can tell you that if there was a woman resident, she would not have been invited to the golf games.” </p>
<p>Many of the people I surveyed specifically mentioned another important aspect that sets golfing apart from other networking activities – it is important for career progression because it is a way to get access to people in power.</p>
<p>One senior male medical researcher clearly explained the connection and how women are excluded from these activities. “I play golf, I go fishing, and my golfing buddies and my fishing buddies are males, because that’s just the way you do it. It bugs the hell out of my female colleagues, because I go fishing with the president and the vice president, and they do not. It gives me special access they do not have.”</p>
<p>The women I spoke with were acutely aware of this access. During one interview, a woman said of a senior male leader where she worked, “Unless you play golf, you don’t have the opportunity to see him.”</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=weekly&source=inline-weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p>
<h2>Limitations to female networking</h2>
<p>Both men and women considered informal social occasions to be powerful tools in career advancement. <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/05/learn-to-love-networking">Many studies</a> in other fields <a href="https://homepages.se.edu/cvonbergen/files/2013/01/Effects-of-Networking-on-Career-Success_A-Longitudinal-Study.pdf">back up this idea</a>. </p>
<p>Many of the women in the study described efforts by women to make up for the lack of female-inclusive networking opportunities. </p>
<p>A few of the women I interviewed described semiformal networks they were a part of – such as the alumnae group of the <a href="https://drexel.edu/medicine/academics/womens-health-and-leadership/elam/">Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program</a>. Others mentioned instances when female colleagues reached out to give them crucial information on salary negotiations or coached them for interviews for leadership positions. Finally, many shared experiences of informal networks around child care and family issues.</p>
<p>While these female-led networks were avenues for sharing information and provided some professional support, they lacked one key aspect present in many male groups: well-placed senior colleagues who could play a role in advancing the careers of more junior people. Since so few women occupy leadership positions today, there are inherent limitations to what female-led networking can accomplish, and women’s careers suffer because of it.</p>
<p>Many women in academic medicine are fully qualified to advance to the highest levels, yet they are not represented proportionally. My research shows that exclusion from networking opportunities is one of the reasons.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179931/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer R. Grandis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By surveying over 100 people in academic medicine, a researcher found that women are consistently excluded from important networking activities like watching sports, drinking at bars and playing golf.Jennifer R. Grandis, Distinguished Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San FranciscoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1615532021-06-07T15:30:57Z2021-06-07T15:30:57ZHow far away are professional golfers from accepting rangefinders in competition?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403663/original/file-20210531-17-nynue3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=28%2C0%2C4685%2C3144&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Phil Mickleson uses a rangefinder at the PGA Championship golf tournament.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Chris Carlson) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In May 2021, at age 50, Phil Mickelson <a href="https://www.pgachampionship.com/news-media/phil-mickelson-50-becomes-oldest-major-winner-in-history-with-pga-championship-victory">became the oldest golfer to win a major professional tournament</a>. He also made history as the first golfer to win a major professional tournament using a rangefinder to estimate shot distance. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.pgachampionship.com/">2021 PGA Championship</a> was the first major tournament on the PGA tour to allow the use of rangefinders during competition and their use was controversial.</p>
<p>Rangefinders let you measure the distance from your golf ball to the pin or other target area on the golf course. The aim was to increase the pace of play but it was met with <a href="https://www.insider.com/pga-championship-rangefinders-rule-disaster-2021-5">mixed emotions from players, caddies and commentators</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1394662583232311297"}"></div></p>
<p>The distance information from a range finder is important for club selection and deciding the appropriate shot type. But some professional golfers were hesitant about the use of rangefinders in competition prior to the tournament because most of this work is typically done by the player’s caddie. </p>
<p>Off of the golf course, there has been a lot of work done to understand how humans and technology can work together. This work has mostly been in areas like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-6670(17)46646-8">aviation</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2015.07.847">transportation</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1071181320641270">defence and security</a>. </p>
<p>The technology is intended to improve human performance and should not be relied upon to the point that human skills and confidence decrease. This concept also applies to sport and golf. </p>
<p>Our research team studies human-automation interaction in contexts ranging from maritime warfare to sport. <a href="https://www.golfsciencejournal.org/article/7408-trust-in-distance-measuring-devices-dmds-automation-in-golf">Our previous research with recreational golfers</a> showed that psychological factors played an important role in technology use. </p>
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<h2>Why would a golfer use technology?</h2>
<p>Like many relationships, trust plays an important role in a person’s relationship with technology. </p>
<p>Trust starts to develop based on people’s beliefs about the tech, people are more likely to use technology <a href="https://doi.org/10.1518%2Fhfes.46.1.50_30392">if they trust it</a>. For example, a golfer may see a friend using their rangefinder and develop a belief that the technology will be useful. </p>
<p>Trust also develops through experience with technology. Our research has <a href="https://www.scapps.org/jems/index.php/1/article/view/1818">shown that when we gave rangefinders to golfers who had not used them before</a>, their trust in the technology increased after only one round of golf. Professional golfers, while typically unable to use rangefinders in competition, still use the devices during practice and non-competitive rounds. </p>
<p>We have found that <a href="https://www.scapps.org/jems/index.php/1/article/view/2312">in people who use rangefinders regularly, the trust in technology is stable</a>, even when they can’t use the devices, so it is likely pros feel the same.</p>
<p>A person’s self confidence in performing a skill by themselves also affects whether they use technology. If someone is confident in their ability, they may be less likely to use technology. So, it comes down to a balance of trust in the technology versus self confidence in completing the task alone. </p>
<p>External factors, such as the difficulty of the task or situation, can also play a role. Even though professional golfers probably have more confidence than your co-worker hitting the links, most golfers — or their caddies — at the PGA Championship chose to use a rangefinder. This typically happened when golfers found themselves off the fairway or confirming their own distance estimation. </p>
<p>Professional golfer Webb Simpson spoke about the use of rangefinders <a href="https://www.golfchannel.com/news/after-experimenting-rangefinders-pga-what-do-pros-think-its-future">after the tournament</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I was definitely against it coming in, but we have seen how there’s a lot of situations where it helps… I was in the right rough on 10 yesterday, so you know, it’s a funky angle to that back left pin and my rangefinder got about six yards different than what we had come up with”. </p>
</blockquote>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Webb Simpson speaks about using rangefinders during the PGA Championship golf tournament.</span></figcaption>
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<p>So if players and caddies who typically determine distances to targets without technology began to use the rangefinders consistently during this tournament, what does that indicate about their confidence in themselves or in their caddie? </p>
<h2>Using rangefinders in training compared to competition</h2>
<p>While professional golfers still cannot use rangefinders in most competitions, they do use them during practice. For best performance during competition, training should closely relate so the athletes get the best transfer from training. </p>
<p>One worry is that people will over-rely on technology during training and not be able to perform in competition without it. If a golfer determines yardage using technology during training, then it changes the needs to estimate distances in competition by relying on yardage books and walking off distances. The fact that the player is not having to retrieve information to execute a precision shot in competition using the same cognitive processing as they did in training <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1992.tb00029.x">may hinder performance</a>. </p>
<p>Although the current generation of professional golfers seems to have adapted to not using technology in competition, we may see future improvements in performance as the competitive context becomes more similar to the training context.</p>
<p>Technology will continue to change the way sports are played. When the golf rangefinder was <a href="https://www.golfchannel.com/article/golf-central-blog/game-changers-distance-measuring-devices">first introduced in 1995</a>, Mickelson had been playing professionally for three years. Since then, he had successfully estimated shot distances without rangefinders for years on the PGA tour. However, he and his caddie frequently used the device during the 2021 PGA Championship. </p>
<p>The use of rangefinders at this year’s PGA Championship offers a glimpse into the future of professional golf. The implications on not only the pace of play, but also performance, will be fascinating to follow at future events as golfers and caddies weigh the benefits and drawbacks of rangefinder use in competition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161553/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather F Neyedli receives funding from National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Department of National Defence (DND) and Thales Group to study human-automation interaction</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Rittenberg receives funding via a scholarship from the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to study human-automation interaction.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bradley Young receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to examine self-regulated learning and the psychology of optimal practice.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lori Dithurbide receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan J Frayne receives funding from Mitacs.</span></em></p>How psychological factors may have influenced the opinions about the use of rangefinders during the 2021 PGA championships.Heather F Neyedli, Associate Professor, Kinesiology, Dalhousie UniversityBen Rittenberg, Masters Student, Kinesiology, Dalhousie UniversityBradley W. Young, Full Professor, Health Sciences, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLori Dithurbide, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, Dalhousie UniversityRyan J Frayne, Assistant Professor, Sport Biomechanics, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1560292021-02-25T04:52:20Z2021-02-25T04:52:20ZTiger Woods’ car crash injuries explained, according to a trauma surgeon<p>Tiger Woods’ medical team has <a href="https://twitter.com/TigerWoods/status/1364447580520738820/photo/1">released a statement on Twitter</a> to explain the injuries he sustained <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/23/us/tiger-woods-car-accident-intl-spt/index.html">in his car crash</a> earlier this week.</p>
<p>The statement was from the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a trauma centre, where golfer Woods was taken for emergency treatment after the <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/golf/story/_/id/30951717/tiger-woods-hospitalized-vehicle-rolls-crash">single-vehicle accident</a>.</p>
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<p>I’m a practising orthopaedic surgeon specialising in trauma surgery and I lecture nationally and internationally on the orthopaedic treatment of fractures. </p>
<p>Here’s my explanation of some of the technical terms in the statement, and what this might mean for Woods’ recovery.</p>
<h2>What were his injuries?</h2>
<p>It appears from the statement his injuries were confined to his right lower leg. This may appear surprising to many who have seen the footage of the accident and heard that his vehicle rolled over. </p>
<p>However, it is common these days to have people admitted after bad car accidents with only injuries to their lower leg. This is because of seat belts, airbags and vehicle construction. These have done a lot to prevent the previously common facial injuries (from windscreens and steering wheels) and head, chest and abdominal injuries.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/smallpox-seatbelts-and-smoking-3-ways-public-health-has-saved-lives-from-history-to-the-modern-day-128300">Smallpox, seatbelts and smoking: 3 ways public health has saved lives from history to the modern day</a>
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<p>The statement says he had “comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula”.</p>
<p>Let me break that down. “<a href="https://medlineplus.gov/ency/imagepages/1096.htm">Comminuted</a>” means the bones had broken into many fragments, the opposite of a “simple” fracture where the bone breaks into two parts. </p>
<p>The “upper and lower portions” suggests he has what is called a “<a href="https://pssjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13037-015-0086-1/figures/13">segmental</a>” fracture, where the bone is broken in two separate locations.</p>
<p>The comminuted and segmental nature of the injury is not unexpected after high-energy injuries like car accidents and doesn’t change the treatment too much.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-do-we-have-bones-90246">Curious Kids: Why do we have bones?</a>
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<p>People place a lot of importance on how many pieces bones are broken into, but as long as the bones heal, they all end up in one piece regardless of how many pieces there were to start with. </p>
<p>The fact that it was a bad fracture, however, means it might be harder to get it to heal and that it might take longer. </p>
<p>“<a href="https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/open-fractures/">Open</a>” fractures mean the skin overlying the broken bone was broken. The main concern is that having an open fracture increases the risk of infection. However, given Woods remained in the vehicle (he had to be broken out of it with special equipment), there is unlikely to be any dirt or highly contaminated material involved.</p>
<h2>How did doctors treat his injuries?</h2>
<p>The tibia and fibula are the two bones that link the knee to the ankle, the tibia being the much larger, main bone. His tibia and fibula were “stabilized by inserting a rod into the tibia”. </p>
<p>It is routine to treat fractures like this with a rod inserted inside the bone from top to bottom to line it up. The rod only needs to go into the tibia because the fibular usually follows the tibia into alignment, as the two bones are connected.</p>
<p>The statement also said that trauma to the soft-tissues of the leg required “surgical release of the covering of the muscles to relieve pressure due to swelling”. </p>
<p>This refers to a procedure called a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556153/">fasciotomy</a> which is performed for actual or impending “<a href="https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/compartment-syndrome/">compartment syndrome</a>” — a build-up of pressure in the leg.</p>
<p>We do not have information on whether the muscle was damaged as a result of the increased pressure (in which case there could be permanent weakness) or whether the muscle is intact. If the fasciotomy was done early and adequately, it is likely there will be no permanent muscle damage.</p>
<h2>Will he recover?</h2>
<p>The interesting thing about Woods’ injuries is that, while the “open” and “comminuted” fractures of the tibia and fibula sound very bad, if he can avoid the early problem of infection, these injuries on their own do not necessarily mean that he will have any permanent problems. </p>
<p>Once healed, the leg can potentially be just as straight and strong as it was before. Muscles can be strengthened and skin and bones usually heal.</p>
<p>The point of most concern relating to his long-term function is the part of the statement that said: “additional injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle were stabilized with a combination of screws and pins”. </p>
<p>Injuries that involve the joints — the parts where one bone joins another bone — are the ones that commonly lead to long-term problems. This is especially the case in the foot and ankle, as these joints take our whole body weight when walking. And these joints allow us to not only walk normally, but also swing a golf club. </p>
<p>If, for example, he has fractures that involve the ankle joint or any of the foot joints, this can result in permanent loss of flexibility and pain on walking.</p>
<h2>Did Woods get special treatment?</h2>
<p>People may be wondering if Woods got <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC315491/">special treatment, or was even overtreated</a>, which is something that can occur with famous people, and when people seek treatment and have the resources to pay for it. </p>
<p>With trauma though, particularly the type of trauma in this case, the treatment usually follows fairly standard practice. Although some surgeons and hospitals vary in exactly how they treat certain injuries, the management of these lower limb injuries is fairly uniform. So it is unlikely he was treated differently to any other patient who would present to that hospital.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156029/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Harris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Once his leg fracture heals, his leg can potentially be just as straight and strong as it was before. But his foot and ankle are more of a worry.Ian Harris, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1486342020-11-04T19:23:26Z2020-11-04T19:23:26ZUrban golf courses are biodiversity oases. Opening them up puts that at risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367333/original/file-20201103-21-1q2etgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C1757%2C1061&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nicholas Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>High demand for green space under COVID restrictions led councils in Melbourne to temporarily open golf courses to non-golfers and <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/locals-want-covid-normal-to-include-turning-golf-course-into-parkland-20200925-p55zea.htm">fuelled public calls to “unlock”</a> or repurpose them permanently. However, this must be done carefully because many golf courses are oases of biodiversity in Australian cities. If more people visit golf courses, increased disturbance of wildlife is just one of the results that may be incompatible with their nature conservation values. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-cities-are-full-of-parks-so-why-are-we-looking-to-golf-courses-for-more-open-space-147559">Our cities are full of parks, so why are we looking to golf courses for more open space?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Between 2011 and 2014 <a href="https://girg.science.unimelb.edu.au/ecosystem-services-from-large-urban-green-spaces/">we studied</a> the biodiversity of green spaces throughout Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs. We compared golf courses to nearby public parks and residential areas as these are the land uses that most commonly replace golf courses when they close. </p>
<p>The results surprised us. Golf courses contained the greatest diversity and abundance of beetles, bees, birds and bats of all the green spaces we studied. We found ground-nesting native bees that do not occur in much of the urban landscape because it is dominated by built surfaces and exotic flowering plants. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366140/original/file-20201028-19-1dawhb3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Grasses, native flowers and trees at a golf course" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366140/original/file-20201028-19-1dawhb3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366140/original/file-20201028-19-1dawhb3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366140/original/file-20201028-19-1dawhb3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366140/original/file-20201028-19-1dawhb3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366140/original/file-20201028-19-1dawhb3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366140/original/file-20201028-19-1dawhb3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366140/original/file-20201028-19-1dawhb3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Golf courses have higher biodiversity than other green spaces in our cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nicholas Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The minimum number of bird species we saw on a golf course was always higher than the maximum numbers at other green spaces. We found much more evidence of birds breeding. There was also a diverse array of insect-eating birds, which are in decline in many parts of Australia. </p>
<p>Some golf courses supported all ten bat species known to occur in this part of metropolitan Melbourne. Bat activity was ten times greater than in nearby areas of housing. Golf courses also supported twice as many bat species considered “sensitive” to urbanisation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-39-endangered-species-in-melbourne-sydney-adelaide-and-other-australian-cities-114741">The 39 endangered species in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and other Australian cities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why is biodiversity greater on golf courses?</h2>
<p>There are many reasons golf courses support far more than the typical “urban-adapted” fauna we see in our cities. A key factor is the complex vegetation structure in the large parts of golf courses where you don’t want to hit your golf ball – the “rough” and “out of bounds” areas. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367341/original/file-20201103-15-18inzyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Looking from the golf tee across the fairway with trees either side." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367341/original/file-20201103-15-18inzyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367341/original/file-20201103-15-18inzyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367341/original/file-20201103-15-18inzyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367341/original/file-20201103-15-18inzyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367341/original/file-20201103-15-18inzyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367341/original/file-20201103-15-18inzyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367341/original/file-20201103-15-18inzyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Golfers fear the rough, but local wildlife loves the densely vegetated areas near Dandenong Creek at Glen Waverley Golf Course.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nicholas Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These areas of long grass and dense, often native, shrubs have little to no human intervention. These conditions are rarely found in urban parks and residential gardens, which typically have highly managed vegetation. The relatively high proportion of native plant species, many indigenous to the area, is also very important.</p>
<p>This complex vegetation is critical habitat for a wide array of animals such as small insect-eating birds, larger reptiles and ground-dwelling mammals. For example, occurrence records show Northcote Golf Course is an <a href="http://friendsofmerricreek.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Newsletter_Nov20_Jan21.pdf">important refuge</a> for the small population of swamp wallabies living along Merri Creek in Melbourne’s inner north. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367345/original/file-20201103-13-1eql3oe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Patch of heath next to golf course fairway" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367345/original/file-20201103-13-1eql3oe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367345/original/file-20201103-13-1eql3oe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367345/original/file-20201103-13-1eql3oe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367345/original/file-20201103-13-1eql3oe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367345/original/file-20201103-13-1eql3oe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367345/original/file-20201103-13-1eql3oe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367345/original/file-20201103-13-1eql3oe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Areas of heathland are rare in cities, but heathland species have a refuge at Spring Valley Golf Course.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nicholas Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Greater leaf litter accumulation and lower soil compaction mean these areas have healthier soils with more biological activity. These soils can also absorb stormwater more effectively, reducing the risk of urban flooding. </p>
<p>Another reason is that golf courses have many more large, old native trees. These mature trees are critical to the breeding success of hundreds of Australia’s animal species as they contain hollows, which are rare in urban areas. Because golf courses often prevent other uses, old trees can be left standing longer than is tolerated in other parts of the city. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367342/original/file-20201103-17-1d10ec3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Trees along a golf fairway" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367342/original/file-20201103-17-1d10ec3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367342/original/file-20201103-17-1d10ec3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367342/original/file-20201103-17-1d10ec3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367342/original/file-20201103-17-1d10ec3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367342/original/file-20201103-17-1d10ec3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367342/original/file-20201103-17-1d10ec3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367342/original/file-20201103-17-1d10ec3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mature native trees provide critical habitat, including nesting hollows, for many species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nicholas Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another important factor is the exclusion of dogs and ability to control foxes and cats, which protects vulnerable fauna. </p>
<p>Golf courses also provide a large expanse of dark vegetated habitat in an otherwise illuminated landscape. This habitat is critical for nocturnal animals such as bats, as well as many birds and invertebrates. Artificial light at night is emerging as one of the most pervasive threats to urban wildlife. </p>
<p>Large refuges of dark habitat in cities are unique and ought to be protected. However, this may be at odds with increased human activity, particularly if night lighting is needed to satisfy <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/major-safety-audit-for-merri-creek-trail-following-shocking-alleged-rape-20191206-p53hj8.html">safety concerns</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/getting-smarter-about-city-lights-is-good-for-us-and-nature-too-69556">Getting smarter about city lights is good for us and nature too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Shared use is possible but must be managed</h2>
<p>We are not suggesting golf courses should not be made more accessible to the public. The COVID-19 restrictions on human movement have highlighted the <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-cities-are-full-of-parks-so-why-are-we-looking-to-golf-courses-for-more-open-space-147559">value of urban green spaces</a> as places to exercise, socialise and connect with nature. But if city golf courses are opened to the public, it is vital it not be done at the expense of their biodiversity. </p>
<p>Indeed, shared-use models may ensure golf courses remain viable in Australian cities. Recognition of their biodiversity, cooling and social benefits via mechanisms such as council rate rebates could help ease the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-23/golf-on-the-hunt-for-new-members-after-tough-times/7957146">financial pressures of decreasing membership</a>. </p>
<p>The potential for golf course managers to improve the habitat that sustains biodiversity is also great. <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/culture/art-and-design/gardening-above-par-20200731-p55h96.html">Ways to achieve this</a> include tree planting, direct seeding of native grasses and wildflowers, and regeneration burns. Many course managers are eager to do this, although they have to proceed cautiously because it can affect the speed of play.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367343/original/file-20201103-13-7mex45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="revegetation area at golf course" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367343/original/file-20201103-13-7mex45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367343/original/file-20201103-13-7mex45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367343/original/file-20201103-13-7mex45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367343/original/file-20201103-13-7mex45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367343/original/file-20201103-13-7mex45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367343/original/file-20201103-13-7mex45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367343/original/file-20201103-13-7mex45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Revegetation projects like this one at Woodlands Golf Club add even more value for wildlife.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nicholas Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Australian cities have some of the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/events/citiesday/assets/pdf/the_worlds_cities_in_2018_data_booklet.pdf">highest population growth</a> rates <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/melbourne-is-one-of-the-fastest-growing-cities-in-the-developed-world-20180920-p504zn.html">in the developed world</a>. This growth is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-39-endangered-species-in-melbourne-sydney-adelaide-and-other-australian-cities-114741">putting pressure on our biodiversity</a>, decreasing human liveability and increasing conflict about the use of increasingly crowded green spaces. </p>
<p>Some urban golf courses <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/beyond-the-rough/11481964">support threatened species and communities</a>, but all are biodiversity refuges in what can be a hostile urban landscape. We need to consider this when contemplating alternative uses.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148634/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Williams has received funding from Hort Innovation, City of Melbourne, Australian Research Council, Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association and the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. He is also the President of Friends of Merri Creek. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research presented in this article was funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage Project (LP110100686), in collaboration with Industry Partners: Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association and the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. The project ran from 2011-2014.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caragh Threlfall receives funding from the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub, funded by the Australian Government’s National Environment Science Program; the City of Melbourne and the Australian Research Council through the Discovery Early Career Researcher Scheme (DE200101226). The research presented in this article was funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage Project (LP110100686), in collaboration with Industry Partners: Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association and the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. The project ran from 2011-2014.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Livesley has received funding from Horticulture Innovations Australia, Melbourne Water, City West Water, Nursery and Garden Industry Australia and many local governments. The research presented in this article was funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage Project (LP110100686), in collaboration with Industry Partners: Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association and the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. The project ran from 2011-2014.</span></em></p>COVID-19 restrictions led to calls to open up golf courses to the public. But these are such precious refuges for native flora and fauna that access will have to be carefully managed.Nicholas Williams, Associate Professor in Urban Ecology and Urban Horticulture, The University of MelbourneAmy Hahs, Senior Lecturer In Urban Horticulture, The University of MelbourneCaragh Threlfall, ARC Discovery Early Career Research Fellow, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of SydneyStephen Livesley, Associate Professor in Urban Ecosystems, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1423292020-10-16T11:45:02Z2020-10-16T11:45:02ZAttention! How successful golfers stay focused on those crucial shots<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363693/original/file-20201015-19-10h3agv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=82%2C0%2C4166%2C2828&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Even shots that look easy need proper concentration.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-golf-player-crouching-study-green-279631133">Otmar W/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sporting history is <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/snatching-defeat-from-the-jaws-of-victory-famous-sporting-collapses-6391115.html">littered</a> with tales of defeat snatched from the jaws of victory. Famously, the US golfer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/14/doug-sanders-obituary">Doug Sanders</a> was a three-foot putt away from winning the 1970 Open Championship in St Andrews. He missed. Not only did it lose him the championship, it cost him several sponsorship and endorsement deals too.</p>
<p>Sanders later <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/sanders-reflects-on-a-missed-putt-and-missed-boats-1.102514">recalled</a> that he missed the crucial shot because he was wondering where to bow first when he’d won. The golfer failed to direct his attention to the information that mattered most before he took his shot. His mind had wandered. Sanders was no longer concentrating on what he needed to do to sink his putt.</p>
<p>The mechanism that helps us to realise the mind has wandered has become an area of interest in the field of sports psychology because it is the process which enables athletes to re-focus their attention. If they are aware of – and listen to – this mechanism, they are less likely to succumb to distractions. Crucially, having this knowledge and awareness means psychologists, athletes and coaches can put into place interventions to take control of attention, enabling a player to concentrate on the information that is most relevant.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/tsp/34/1/article-p11.xml">research</a> over the last four years has sought to understand what enables concentration in sport. In particular we examined golfers’ beliefs, knowledge and understanding of their own ability to focus to explain the processes behind concentration.</p>
<p>We specifically chose this sport because golfers normally experience changes in their concentration before, after and between shots. This means the game provides a useful lens to examine the processes that enable the focusing and re-focusing of attention.</p>
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<h2>In the spotlight</h2>
<p>Our research revealed that this attention-alerting mechanism can be understood as an ongoing process called “meta-attention”, which has its origins in educational psychology but is also considered <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315784946">relevant to sport</a>. Meta-attention simply means the awareness, knowledge and control of attention – the mechanism that reminds us to pay attention to what we believe is most important in any given situation.</p>
<p>If we picture our attention as a spotlight – one that can shine not just outwards to our environment, but inwards into our own minds – meta-attention is the awareness of where the spotlight is shining and what we do to direct its beam. </p>
<p>But while we have awareness of how attention may operate, like the spotlight, it is only recently that research has looked further to understand the mechanisms that may be directing the spotlight. In particular, our study has developed a theory to understand the processes that can help divert a spotlight, uncovering the mechanisms that underlie concentration.</p>
<p>To understand what golfers know about attention, I interviewed eight elite golfers. These revealed how golfers evaluated the resources they needed for the shot they were taking, such as a past experience, then put in place a plan which was followed by a consistent pre-shot routine. This might entail creating a mental image of where the player wants the ball to go while performing practice swings for example. </p>
<p>Afterwards, the golfers explained, they would run though their post-shot routine where they reflected on the outcome of the shot. Then they would switch off, directing their spotlight to less relevant thoughts, like a drink at the bar.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Golfer taking a shot on a beautiful course on a sunny blue-sky day." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363724/original/file-20201015-21-14qoyjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363724/original/file-20201015-21-14qoyjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363724/original/file-20201015-21-14qoyjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363724/original/file-20201015-21-14qoyjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363724/original/file-20201015-21-14qoyjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363724/original/file-20201015-21-14qoyjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363724/original/file-20201015-21-14qoyjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Meta-attention is the process which enables players to fully concentrate on taking a shot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/smiling-african-american-man-cap-sunglasses-666708034">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Golf aloud</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1612197X.2020.1766536?journalCode=rijs20">second study</a> followed on from our original research, examining what meta-attention looks like as it happens during a performance. Here, with club-level golfers, we used a research method called “think aloud”, where every thought and internal speech has to be spoken out loud. Viewing meta-attention in a live performance setting allowed us to examine golfers’ awareness of their attention, including what was illuminated by their attentional spotlight and the strategies they used to direct it.</p>
<p>The results showed that during performance, golfers engaged in the process of meta-attention and used control strategies such as pre-shot routines. Interestingly, furthering established understanding, each golfer did not verbalise drawing on “attention resources” like past experiences, for every shot. Instead it seems this process may be largely automatic, suggesting that golfers are only aware of drawing on attention resources at times when they are most needed. </p>
<p>The study revealed that when golfers did verbalise their attention resources, it tended to be for more challenging shots – reflecting on training experiences prior to a recovery shot from a bunker, for example. In line with our theoretical understanding of meta-attention was the way club-level golfers implemented consistent control strategies – like pre- and post-shot routines – and frequently focused on helpful environmental information such as a clear visual target which could be seen from the tee. </p>
<p>The think aloud findings showed that golfers would often move their spotlight to information that they felt would be most useful to their game throughout performance. In other words, when faced with a challenge, they might consciously look for a similar experience to guide and inform the situation they are facing.</p>
<p>Having awareness of, and acting upon, the information that is highlighted to help players concentrate is key. If golfers perceive their spotlight is not shining on information they believe to be most relevant – like Doug Sanders experienced – then they can initiate control strategies to redirect the spotlight.</p>
<p>Noting some of the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10413200903403216">previous research</a> alongside our own findings, we recommend golfers opt for consistent pre- and post-shot routines when it comes to concentration. In doing so, players have greater control of their attention and are less likely to miss the shot of a lifetime, like the unfortunate Sanders. Once asked if he ever thought of his career-defining miss, the breezy golfer replied: “Only every four or five minutes.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Oliver does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For optimal concentration, players need to cultivate ‘meta-attention’, the mechanism that enables us to refocus our attention when the mind has wandered.Alex Oliver, PhD Psychology Researcher School of Health & Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1475592020-10-13T18:47:08Z2020-10-13T18:47:08ZOur cities are full of parks, so why are we looking to golf courses for more open space?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362899/original/file-20201012-17-1t64n1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C276%2C1493%2C1089&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wendy Walls</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/locals-want-covid-normal-to-include-turning-golf-course-into-parkland-20200925-p55zea.html">opening of a golf course to the public</a> in the inner north of Melbourne caused a flurry of excitement. Since then, thousands of visitors have explored the expanse of manicured rolling greens, fairways and rough. Under <a href="https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/second-step-coronavirus-road-to-recovery">COVID restrictions</a> that require Melbournians to stay within 5km of their homes, access to a very large and beautiful open space has provided welcome relief from the <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2020/sep/map-shows-melbourne-parks-will-struggle-in-next-stage-of-lockdown">well-worn tracks</a> up and down local creeks and around local ovals. </p>
<p>But beyond just exploring somewhere new, the meticulously crafted landscape of the Northcote public golf course offers a rare experience in Melbourne’s ever more densely developed inner suburbs.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/340-000-melburnians-have-little-or-no-parkland-within-5km-of-their-home-144069">340,000 Melburnians have little or no parkland within 5km of their home</a>
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<p>The past six months of lockdowns have sparked many discussions about our cities and lifestyles. And the importance of local parks has come to the fore. There are issues of <a href="https://theconversation.com/340-000-melburnians-have-little-or-no-parkland-within-5km-of-their-home-144069">equity in access to parks</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-urban-density-is-good-for-health-even-during-a-pandemic-142108">walkability</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-might-covid-19-change-what-australians-want-from-their-homes-145626">housing</a>, and the measured health and well-being <a href="https://theconversation.com/twitter-posts-show-that-people-are-profoundly-sad-and-are-visiting-parks-to-cheer-up-139953">effects of being outdoors</a>. </p>
<p>These target-driven discussions fit with the dominant planning methods of Australian cities. From <a href="https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/428908/Creating-a-more-liveable-Melbourne.pdf">walking times</a> to <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/greening-the-city/urban-forest/Pages/urban-forest-strategy.aspx">tree cover targets</a>, function has long dominated quality when defining urban open space. But this planning approach to open space significantly limits how parks are conceived. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1305077434954383366"}"></div></p>
<h2>Why the pressure on golf courses?</h2>
<p>Now, as people swarm to urban parks and gardens in record numbers, we need to give open space the same status as other valued urban assets such as roads and rail. And we need to work out what government, the private sector, design professionals and the community can contribute to create better public open space over the next decade.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/twitter-posts-show-that-people-are-profoundly-sad-and-are-visiting-parks-to-cheer-up-139953">Twitter posts show that people are profoundly sad – and are visiting parks to cheer up</a>
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<p>Returning to the Northcote golf course, a community group is <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/locals-want-covid-normal-to-include-turning-golf-course-into-parkland-20200925-p55zea.html">lobbying for ongoing community access</a>. It’s part of a wider discussion about the future of urban golf courses across Australia. In <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-18/marrickville-golf-club-vote-to-go-before-inner-west-council/12672562">Sydney</a>, the Inner West Council recently <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/inner-west/marrickville-golf-club-plan-to-turn-18-holes-into-9-rejected/news-story/07deba9839c2d88bf682a729f9808d53">voted down</a> a hotly debated plan to give over half the Marrickville golf course to public green space. In <a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/things-to-see-and-do/council-venues-and-precincts/parks/victoria-park">Brisbane</a>, the Victoria Park Golf Course is being converted to public parkland.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1308355184968347648"}"></div></p>
<p>Urban golf courses are in the spotlight because of their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/11/undraining-the-swamp-how-rewilders-have-reclaimed-golf-courses-and-waterways">rarity as large green open spaces with mature plantings</a>. The golfing community is <a href="https://www.australiangolfdigest.com.au/a-battle-for-survival/">under pressure</a> to justify why so much precious city space is being reserved for their sport. </p>
<p>This discussion masks the underlying issue of inadequate urban planning. Successive governments have failed to set aside enough open space to cater for population growth.</p>
<p>For decades, the planning of our cities has occurred through growth models that give priority to economic development. Missing are significant large parks – the modern equivalents of the much-loved colonial layers of the Domains in <a href="https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/Visit/The-Domain">Sydney</a> and <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/melbourne-domain-parkland-memorial-precinct">Melbourne</a>, <a href="https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/parks/hyde-park">Hyde Park</a>, <a href="https://whatson.melbourne.vic.gov.au/things-to-do/royal-park">Royal Park</a> or <a href="https://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/kings-park">Kings Park</a> – to offset this growth. </p>
<p>The issue of open space quality becomes even more pressing when we turn to the outer suburbs. Lacking access to bays and beaches, the outer suburbs <a href="https://www.foreground.com.au/parks-places/garden-cities-no-australias-leafy-urban-centres-pressure/">no longer have</a> the “Australian dream” of the quarter-acre block as a counterbalance. Houses are constructed gutter to gutter, cars crowd the front yards, and the local park is often a footy oval with a playground. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vanishing-australian-backyards-leave-us-vulnerable-to-the-stresses-of-city-life-81479">Vanishing Australian backyards leave us vulnerable to the stresses of city life</a>
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<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Playground in front of a football oval." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362883/original/file-20201012-20-hbg3rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362883/original/file-20201012-20-hbg3rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362883/original/file-20201012-20-hbg3rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362883/original/file-20201012-20-hbg3rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362883/original/file-20201012-20-hbg3rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362883/original/file-20201012-20-hbg3rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362883/original/file-20201012-20-hbg3rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For many suburbs, their most substantial public open space is a football oval and playground.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BaroogaFootballGround%26Playground.JPG">Mattinbgn/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Time to make open space a priority</h2>
<p>COVID and the slowing economy provide an important opportunity to rethink our models for open space. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reclaiming-the-streets-we-all-can-have-a-say-in-the-new-normal-after-coronavirus-137703">Reclaiming the streets? We all can have a say in the 'new normal' after coronavirus</a>
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<p>We need to challenge the binaries of competing values – public versus private, environment versus community – that structure our cities. Our parks should not emerge through a debate over the best use of limited green space: biodiversity, community gardens, bike paths, wetlands, sport facilities, playgrounds and dog walking. None of these agendas are wrong, but there is a limit to how much space can be shared. </p>
<p>There are, of course, many examples of councils wanting to add more open green space. But it is important to have larger-scale and longer-term perspectives that can operate independently of local and state politics. </p>
<p>Global examples of open-space governance reveal shifts towards alternative funding models and public-private relationships for delivering quality, not just quantity. For example, in New York, the NGO <a href="http://designtrust.org/">Design Trust for Public Space</a> works across government, community groups and the private sector to guide public space development. In Australia, the appointment of a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/public-spaces-minister-plans-to-buy-sydney-s-forgotten-land-for-open-space-20190504-p51k0z.html">minister for public spaces</a> in Sydney and the <a href="https://resilientmelbourne.com.au/living-melbourne/">Living Melbourne</a> strategy both acknowledge the importance of overarching spatial governance. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-minister-for-public-spaces-is-welcome-now-here-are-ten-priorities-for-action-115152">New minister for public spaces is welcome – now here are ten priorities for action</a>
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<p>The private sector is responsible too. Enabling large and high-quality open space across our cities means reviewing our expectations of funding and exploring new models led by the private sector. This includes not just funding construction but finding cash for ongoing park maintenance. </p>
<p>COVID has highlighted why the scale of open space is important. It’s needed for maintaining distance between users but also for providing a sense of escape from increasing urban density, compounded by the many hours spent indoors. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-radical-nature-based-agenda-would-help-society-overcome-the-psychological-effects-of-coronavirus-147324">A radical nature-based agenda would help society overcome the psychological effects of coronavirus</a>
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<p>It is widely recognised that an experience of <a href="https://theconversation.com/biodiversity-and-our-brains-how-ecology-and-mental-health-go-together-in-our-cities-126760">nature is valuable for health and well-being</a>. It’s now time to link this directly to a diversity of high-quality park experiences. </p>
<p>All parks have not been created equally. Let’s use this moment to determine a more ambitious future for our urban open spaces.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147559/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>All parks are not equal. The response to the opening of golf courses to the public during the COVID pandemic shows the quality of green open space is a big issue for city residents.Wendy Walls, Lecturer in Landscape Architecture, The University of MelbourneJillian Walliss, Associate Professor in Landscape Architecture, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1097692019-01-18T17:48:49Z2019-01-18T17:48:49ZA teen scientist helped me discover tons of golf balls polluting the ocean<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254520/original/file-20190118-100282-w0v7ak.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teenager Alex Weber and friends collected nearly 40,000 golf balls hit into the ocean from a handful of California golf courses.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex Weber</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans has become a global environmental crisis. Many people have seen images that seem to capture it, such as <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/waves-garbage-are-washing-beach-dominican-republic-180969747/">beaches carpeted with plastic trash</a> or a seahorse <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/09/seahorse-ocean-pollution/">gripping a cotton swab with its tail</a>. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uo1sSBwAAAAJ&hl=en">scientist researching marine plastic pollution</a>, I thought I had seen a lot. Then, early in 2017, I heard from <a href="https://www.theplasticpick-up.org/">Alex Weber</a>, a junior at Carmel High School in California.</p>
<p>Alex emailed me after reading my scientific work, which caught my eye, since very few high schoolers spend their time reading scientific articles. She was looking for guidance on an unusual environmental problem. While snorkeling in the <a href="https://montereybay.noaa.gov/">Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary</a> near the town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Alex and her friend Jack Johnston had repeatedly come across large numbers of golf balls on the ocean floor.</p>
<p>As environmentally conscious teens, they started removing golf balls from the water, one by one. By the time Alex contacted me, they had retrieved over 10,000 golf balls – more than half a ton.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254260/original/file-20190117-24634-adt9fi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254260/original/file-20190117-24634-adt9fi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254260/original/file-20190117-24634-adt9fi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254260/original/file-20190117-24634-adt9fi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254260/original/file-20190117-24634-adt9fi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254260/original/file-20190117-24634-adt9fi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254260/original/file-20190117-24634-adt9fi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254260/original/file-20190117-24634-adt9fi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dense aggregations of golf balls littering the sea floor in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, California.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex Weber</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Golf balls sink, so they don’t become eyesores for future golfers and beachgoers. As a result, this issue had gone largely unnoticed. But Alex had stumbled across something big: a point source of marine debris – one that comes from a single, identifiable place – polluting federally protected waters. Our newly published study details the scope of this <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.01.013">unexpected marine pollutant</a> and some ways in which it could affect marine life. </p>
<h2>Cleaning up the mess</h2>
<p>Many popular golf courses dot the <a href="https://www.westjetmagazine.com/story/article/top-7-golf-courses-along-california-coast">central California coast</a> and use the ocean as a hazard or an out-of-bounds. The most famous course, <a href="https://www.pebblebeach.com/golf/pebble-beach-golf-links/">Pebble Beach Golf Links</a>, is site of the <a href="https://www.pebblebeach.com/events/2019-u-s-open-championship/">2019 U.S. Open Championship</a>. </p>
<p>Alex wanted to create a lasting solution to this problem. I told her that the way to do it was to meticulously plan and systematically record all future golf ball collections. Our goal was to produce a peer-reviewed scientific paper documenting the scope of the problem, and to propose a plan of action for golf courses to address it. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254259/original/file-20190117-24634-b9pgbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254259/original/file-20190117-24634-b9pgbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254259/original/file-20190117-24634-b9pgbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254259/original/file-20190117-24634-b9pgbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254259/original/file-20190117-24634-b9pgbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254259/original/file-20190117-24634-b9pgbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254259/original/file-20190117-24634-b9pgbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254259/original/file-20190117-24634-b9pgbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Alex Weber and Jack Johnston collecting golf balls from the sea floor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex Weber</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Alex, her friends and her father paddled, dove, heaved and hauled. By mid-2018 the results were startling: They had collected nearly 40,000 golf balls from three sites near coastal golf courses: Cypress Point, Pebble Beach and the Carmel River Mouth. And following Alex’s encouragement, Pebble Beach employees started to retrieve golf balls from beaches next to their course, amassing more than 10,000 additional balls. </p>
<p>In total, we collected 50,681 golf balls from the shoreline and shallow waters. This represented roughly 2.5 tons of debris – approximately the weight of a pickup truck. By multiplying the average number of balls lost per round played (1-3) and the <a href="https://www.pga.com/worlds-most-beautiful-courses-pebble-beach">average number of rounds played annually</a> at Pebble Beach, we estimated that patrons at these popular courses may lose over 100,000 balls per year to the surrounding environment. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254258/original/file-20190117-24607-6va8s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254258/original/file-20190117-24607-6va8s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254258/original/file-20190117-24607-6va8s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254258/original/file-20190117-24607-6va8s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254258/original/file-20190117-24607-6va8s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254258/original/file-20190117-24607-6va8s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254258/original/file-20190117-24607-6va8s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254258/original/file-20190117-24607-6va8s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A harbor seal investigates a member of the golf ball recovery team.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex Weber</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The toxicity of golf balls</h2>
<p>Modern golf balls are made of a <a href="http://www.ravelast.com/en/r-d/pu-elastomers.html">polyurethane elastomer</a> shell and a synthetic rubber core. Manufacturers add <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-009-3249-z">zinc oxide</a>, <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/159747#section=Safety-and-Hazards">zinc acrylate</a> and <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/7187#section=Safety-and-Hazards">benzoyl peroxide</a> to the solid core for flexibility and durability. These substances are also acutely toxic to marine life. </p>
<p>When golf balls are hit into the ocean, they immediately sink to the bottom. No ill effects on local wildlife have been documented to date from exposure to golf balls. But as the balls degrade and fragment at sea, they may leach chemicals and microplastics into the water or sediments. Moreover, if the balls break into small fragments, fish, birds or other animals could ingest them. </p>
<p>The majority of the balls we collected showed only light wear. Some could even have been resold and played. However, others were severely degraded and fragmented by the persistent mechanical action of breaking waves and unremitting swell in the dynamic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertidal_zone">intertidal</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Littoral_zone">nearshore</a> environments. We estimated that over 60 pounds of irrecoverable microplastic had been shed from the balls we collected. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254261/original/file-20190117-24631-1g85252.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254261/original/file-20190117-24631-1g85252.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254261/original/file-20190117-24631-1g85252.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254261/original/file-20190117-24631-1g85252.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254261/original/file-20190117-24631-1g85252.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254261/original/file-20190117-24631-1g85252.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254261/original/file-20190117-24631-1g85252.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254261/original/file-20190117-24631-1g85252.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sea otter holding a golf ball at one of our study sites.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex Weber</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Game-changer</h2>
<p>Thanks to Alex Weber, we now know that golf balls erode at sea over time, producing dangerous microplastics. Recovering the balls soon after they are hit into the ocean is one way to mitigate their impacts. Initially, golf course managers were surprised by our findings, but now they are working with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to address the problem. </p>
<p>Alex is also working with managers at the sanctuary to develop cleanup procedures that can prevent golf ball pollution in these waters from ever reaching these levels again. Although her study was local, her findings are worrisome for other regions with coastal golf courses. Nonetheless, they send a positive message: If a high school student can accomplish this much through relentless hard work and dedication, anyone can.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109769/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Savoca does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Snorkeling off the California coast, a high school student found heaps of golf balls on the ocean floor. With a marine scientist, she showed that golf courses were producing tons of plastic pollution.Matthew Savoca, Postdoctoral researcher, Stanford UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1039452018-09-28T12:38:51Z2018-09-28T12:38:51ZGolf: the neuroscience of the perfect putt<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238302/original/file-20180927-48650-11rpblt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Listen to your brain.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/male-golf-player-putting-green-beautiful-276857315?src=KwvzSByAxfd7YeCNXEbILA-1-38">OtmarW/shutterstock</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sports fans across the world watched the American golfer Tiger Woods roll in a putt to win the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PGA_Tour">PGA tour’s</a> season ending Tour Championship on September 23. His victory caps a remarkable comeback from personal struggles and injuries that caused him to plummet to 1,199 in the world rankings less than a year ago, and restores him as one of the world’s best. </p>
<p>With the PGA Tour finale now complete, the eyes of the golfing world are on Paris for the <a href="https://www.rydercup.com/">Ryder Cup</a> – golf’s biannual team contest pitching the best players from the USA against the cream of Europe. But what makes a successful golfer? My research explores the neuroscience of golf putting – and ways that the brain can be trained to increase putting success. </p>
<p>Golfers carry 14 clubs, but the putter is by far the most used, <a href="https://www.pgatour.com/stats.html">accounting for around 41% of shots</a>. Successfully striking the 1.68-inch diameter golf ball into the 4.25-inch golf hole requires precision programming of force and direction. You have to take into account factors such as slope, direction of the blades of grass and weather effects including temperature, wind and rain.</p>
<p>My research has identified <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/psyp.12182">a type of “brainwave”</a>, produced by electrical pulses resulting from brain cells communicating with each other, that can predict golfing success. They can easily be recorded by simply putting sensors on the scalp. In a brain imaging study where 20 expert and novice golfers each hit 120 putts, I found that the intensity of activity of a brainwave at the frequency of 10-12 Hz, recorded before the backswing, could clearly distinguish putts that went in the hole from those that missed. </p>
<p>More specifically, intense activity at sensors placed on frontal parts of the scalp, over the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10796/">premotor cortex</a>, was key for putting success. This finding has since been <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2015-56326-001.pdf">supported by other research</a>, which also found that reduced activity at sensors placed on the <a href="https://sciencing.com/the-functions-of-the-left-temporal-lobe-12214661.html">left-temporal</a> parts of the scalp (close to the left ear) can further contribute to the recipe for proficient putting. </p>
<p>This makes sense, as the premotor cortex is implicated in movement planning, and the left-temporal region is associated with verbal-analytic processing. So it looks as if the brain intently focuses on accurately planning force and direction, while blocking out verbal intrusions, immediately before successful putts.</p>
<h2>Training the brain to drain putts</h2>
<p>Having identified neural signatures associated with putting success, scientists are now exploring whether you can train golfers to produce this pattern of brain activity and recognise what it feels like. The trick is to only hit putts when the appropriate activation-level is produced (when they are “in the zone”).</p>
<p>Such brain training can be achieved using a technique called “neurofeedback”, which involves measuring brain activity and displaying it back in real time (in the form of auditory tones, or graphs on a computer screen) so that recipients can develop ways of consciously controlling their brain activity levels. It may seem far fetched, but the technology and equipment are readily available, portable and relatively cheap – starting at less than £300 for a wireless electroencephalographic (EEG) neurofeedback headset.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238425/original/file-20180928-48662-xyqnhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238425/original/file-20180928-48662-xyqnhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238425/original/file-20180928-48662-xyqnhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238425/original/file-20180928-48662-xyqnhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238425/original/file-20180928-48662-xyqnhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238425/original/file-20180928-48662-xyqnhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238425/original/file-20180928-48662-xyqnhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jason Day: brain trained.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Keith Allison/wikipedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a 2015 study, I used wireless neurofeedback technology to train 12 amateur golfers <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029214001125">to produce the pattern</a> of brainwaves that I’d previously associated with success before they hit putts. This took place during three separate one-hour training sessions. On their return to the laboratory a few days later, the golfers were able to reliably produce the pattern of 10-12 Hz brain activity that I had prescribed. </p>
<p>What’s more, their putting had improved (on average, 8ft putts finished 21% closer to the hole after the training). Admittedly though, this was not to a sufficient extent to exclude the possibility of a placebo effect. Notwithstanding, the results are encouraging, and have been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10874200802149656%20and">bolstered by similar findings</a> from researchers in other parts of the world. </p>
<h2>From the lab to the golf course</h2>
<p>While the scientists are still experimenting before making firm and unequivocal statements about neurofeedback’s effectiveness, there are some members of the golfing elite who are already convinced of the benefits of brain training. Australian Jason Day, the current world number 11, has used neurofeedback for a number of years and said that it has yielded “<a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/golf/jason-day-turns-to-brain-training-to-improve-mental-strength/news-story/7e609fb8a67fb1ef5e1973cae7ab2bcf">a 110% improvement” in his mental game</a>. So it may be no coincidence that he was <a href="https://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.02564.html">ranked as the best putter</a> on the 2018 PGA Tour.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a more recent convert who’ll be on show in Paris is American Bryson DeChambeau. The current <a href="https://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.02428.html">world number seven</a> revealed details of his brain training regime in August 2018, before winning two out of the four season-ending <a href="https://www.pgatour.com/fedexcup.html">FedEx Cup</a> playoff events. With 21 professional victories between them, Day and DeChambeau are certainly doing something right. </p>
<p>Much is made about the Ryder Cup being a team event, a stark diversion from the individual contests that characterise regular tournaments on the PGA and European Tours. While this undoubtedly adds new dynamics that capture the attention of the sporting world, it will still, in all likelihood, boil down to an individual putt by an individual player to determine which continent lifts golfs’ premier prize. </p>
<p>As a proud European, I hope that player is wearing European blue, and can optimally shape his 10-12Hz brainpower during those crucial moments.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103945/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Michael Cooke has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council grants PTA-02627-2696 and RES-000-22-4523. </span></em></p>How to win at golf …with a little help from neuroscience.Andrew Michael Cooke, Lecturer in Performance Psychology, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1023862018-09-21T10:40:41Z2018-09-21T10:40:41ZThe future of ‘golf’ may not be on the links<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237173/original/file-20180919-158225-tdiknc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">To play disc golf, all you need is 20 dollars for a couple of discs, and you're good to go.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-throws-blue-disc-on-lawn-112575275?src=mPBYFJVE7KMb9QLGo20x2Q-1-23">Jari Hindstroem</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Could disc golf become more popular than ball golf by 2028? </p>
<p>Ask disc golfers and they’ll say, “You bet – our sport is growing like crazy.”</p>
<p>But for most Americans, the answer is, “What’s disc golf?” And the typical ball golfer will likely respond, “No – and stop calling my sport ball golf.” </p>
<p>For the uninitiated: Disc golf is an outdoor sport that is played by throwing streamlined plastic discs into metal baskets from varying distances. It shares many of ball golf’s rules, but the two sports are culturally distinct.</p>
<p>In my upcoming book, “Disc Golf Land: Rise of an Unknown Sport,” I talk about how the rapid growth of several nontraditional sports – think roller derby, parkour, drone racing, esports and disc golf – has gone mostly unnoticed by the public and major media outlets.</p>
<p>That could be about to change.</p>
<p>While the odds of disc golf overtaking ball golf in popularity within a decade are slim, if you consider recent social trends, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.</p>
<h2>A generation gap</h2>
<p>It’s no secret that ball golf courses are in trouble. </p>
<p>From 2011 to 2016, the number of U.S. courses dropped from <a href="https://www.gcmonline.com/docs/default-source/document-library/2016-us-golf-economy-report.pdf">15,751 to 15,014</a> – an average loss of 147 per year. If this trend continues, there will be only 13,245 courses by 2028.</p>
<p>In comparison, disc golf is experiencing <a href="https://parkeddiscgolf.org/2017/05/01/disc-golf-is-trending-in-u-s-newspapers-evidence-of-disc-golfs-fast-growing-sport-claim/">rapid growth</a> and may be nearing a <a href="https://parkeddiscgolf.org/2016/10/15/has-disc-golf-reached-a-tipping-point/">tipping point</a>. In 2011, there were <a href="https://www.pdga.com/files/2011_PDGA_Year_End_Demographics_0.pdf">2,982</a> U.S. disc golf courses, according to the Professional Disc Golf Association. By 2016, this number nearly doubled to <a href="https://www.pdga.com/files/2016_yr_end_0.pdf">5,467</a> – an average gain of 497 courses annually. If this rate continues, disc golfers will have almost as many places to play as ball golfers in a decade.</p>
<p>One of the main reasons for ball golf’s decline is a falling participation among young Americans.</p>
<p>In the past, the 18- to 34-year-old age group was the most likely to play ball golf. But between the early 1990s and early 2010s, there was a <a href="https://blog.nextgengolf.org/golf-help/nccga-president-interns-for-the-world-golf-foundation-golf-2020">30 percent decrease</a> in participation in this age group. Today, only <a href="http://wearegolf.org/blog/2018/05/the-national-golf-foundation-issues-2018-golf-industry-report/">26 percent</a> of ball golfers are between the ages of 18 and 34.</p>
<p>Perhaps young people are instead deciding to throw discs. </p>
<p>In 2017, <a href="https://infinitediscs.com/blog/who-participated-in-the-state-of-disc-golf-survey/">55 percent</a> of disc golfers were aged 18 to 35. Among members of the Professional Disc Golf Association, which includes both amateurs and professionals, <a href="https://www.pdga.com/files/2017_pdga_year_end_demographics_-_final_1.pdf">47 percent</a> were 20 to 34.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237170/original/file-20180919-158243-6ul3wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237170/original/file-20180919-158243-6ul3wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237170/original/file-20180919-158243-6ul3wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237170/original/file-20180919-158243-6ul3wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237170/original/file-20180919-158243-6ul3wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237170/original/file-20180919-158243-6ul3wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237170/original/file-20180919-158243-6ul3wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237170/original/file-20180919-158243-6ul3wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Two friends search for lost discs in a river along a disc golf course in Lancaster, New York.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/New-York-Daily-Life/e0b09d9422f64b6d92cb3f517b135ea3/2/0">AP Photo/David Duprey</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Could finances be playing a role?</p>
<p>Young adults are <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e5246526-8c2c-11e7-a352-e46f43c5825d">worse off financially</a> than previous generations. Stagnant wages and mounting debt may discourage them from paying expensive greens fees and investing in costly equipment.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, roughly <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/32f6/0a99b1e05bca4e41f7407a65af0846f26280.pdf">90 percent</a> of disc golf courses are in public parks, and the cost of equipment is low – all you need is around US$20 for a couple of discs. At most courses, people can play as little or as much as they wish, free of charge. A round of disc golf takes about half the time it takes to play ball golf.</p>
<h2>It’s the environment, stupid</h2>
<p>There’s also an environmental cost to playing ball golf that many could find off-putting.</p>
<p>A typical <a href="https://www.gcsaa.org/uploadedfiles/Environment/Environmental-Profile/Property-Profile/Golf-Course-Environmental-Profile--Property-Summary.pdf">ball golf course</a> requires roughly six to seven times more land area than a <a href="https://www.pdga.com/files/AcreageChart_0.pdf">disc golf course</a>. Building ball golf courses often involves clearcutting trees to make room for fairways. To keep the greens green, courses rely heavily on synthetic fertilizers and need to be watered. The water needs of ball golf courses vary across seasons, but, according to the Alliance for Water Efficiency, the average course requires <a href="http://www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org/golf_course.aspx">as much as 1,000,000 gallons</a> in the summer months. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237169/original/file-20180919-158213-d9zlqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237169/original/file-20180919-158213-d9zlqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237169/original/file-20180919-158213-d9zlqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237169/original/file-20180919-158213-d9zlqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237169/original/file-20180919-158213-d9zlqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237169/original/file-20180919-158213-d9zlqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237169/original/file-20180919-158213-d9zlqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237169/original/file-20180919-158213-d9zlqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Keeping golf courses green can be a real drain on natural resources.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/golf-course-view-plane-504886522?src=Lssr4bjAi-lsG87eNUc6hQ-1-23">Dmitri Ma</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Disc golf courses aren’t great for the <a href="http://www.whitefishdf.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Sport-Subcultures-and-Their-Potential-for-Addressing.pdf">environment</a>, either – trees might need to be selectively cut or trimmed. But the overall impact is far smaller: Chemicals are almost never used, and water demands are low or nonexistent.</p>
<p>Climate change, however, might be the biggest threat to ball golf.</p>
<p>While warmer weather could arguably <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00222216.2006.11950083?journalCode=ujlr20">extend the seasons</a> of both sports, the downsides of climate change are more acute. For instance, a recent study by the <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58b40fe1be65940cc4889d33/t/5a79bac853450a7495861454/1517927115822/Game+Changer.pdf">Climate Coalition</a> documented the troubling effects of climate change on ball golf courses in the United Kingdom, with rising sea levels and coastal erosion threatening some of the world’s oldest golf courses.</p>
<p>Indeed, increased rainfall, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09669582.2018.1459629?journalCode=rsus20">irregular drying and warming</a>, more extreme weather events, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B:CLIM.0000024690.32682.48">coastal erosion and rising sea levels</a> are hurting the ball golf industry all over the world. While several vivid examples exist – some Trump resorts, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/09/trump-florida-mar-a-lago-hurricane-irma">like Mar-a-Lago</a>, are increasingly threatened by tidal flooding and storm surges – the more significant problem involves the gradual loss of revenue due to temporary course closures and rising maintenance costs.</p>
<p>Given that disc golf courses are more rugged, natural and far cheaper to maintain than ball golf courses, disc golf will have an environmental edge over ball golf in the years to come.</p>
<h2>Rich in enthusiasm, but not in riches</h2>
<p>Even if shifts in course infrastructure, demographics and climate lead to relative gains for disc golf, the sport has no chance of catching ball golf unless a series of game-changing events come to pass. To go mainstream, the sport will require substantial buy-in from public institutions, greater media attention and an influx of private investment.</p>
<p>Many emerging sports that eye expansion set their sights on the Olympics. In 2015, the International Olympic Committee <a href="https://www.pdga.com/international-olympic-committee-grants-full-recognition-disc-sports">officially recognized</a> the World Flying Disc Federation, which bolstered the Olympic hopes of flying disc sports, including disc golf.</p>
<p>Among them, disc golf’s cousin, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_(sport)">Ultimate</a>, is the clear favorite for the 2024 or 2028 Olympic Games. An Olympic berth for Ultimate could boost disc golf participation and strengthen the sport’s institutional footing.</p>
<p>For decades, the viability of all sports has been tied to television. While cable TV is still the <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2018/2017-year-in-sports-media.html">primary sports platform</a>, younger fans are increasingly cutting the cord and opting for online streaming services. With the <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-sports-with-the-oldest-and-youngest-tv-audiences-2017-06-30">oldest fanbase</a> in pro sports, ball golf faces the challenge of satisfying aging TV watchers, while attracting young digital natives.</p>
<p>Disc golf rarely receives <a href="https://parkeddiscgolf.org/2018/07/16/fair-is-foul-and-foul-is-fair/">attention</a> from television networks. But new technologies – YouTube, streaming services, <a href="https://udisclive.com/">live scoring apps</a> and countless websites, podcasts, <a href="https://parkeddiscgolf.org/">blogs</a> and social media accounts – are paving the way for niche sports to gain exposure, energize their communities and grow.</p>
<p>To be sure, disc golf faces significant challenges. Chief among these is the lack of outside investment from large manufacturers and corporate sponsors. Currently, the primary manufacturers of equipment and most event sponsors come from within the disc golf community. </p>
<p>In the end, many of the trends discussed above will merely lead to modest growth. Only more media coverage and investments from major sports brands like <a href="https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2016/04/11/inside-deal-brought-adidas-disc-golf/">Adidas</a> will elevate disc golf into the mainstream.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102386/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Woods received a $1000 "Innovation Grant" from the Professional Disc Golf Association to support his academic blog, <a href="http://www.parkeddisgolf.org">www.parkeddisgolf.org</a>. None of this funding was paid to Joshua Woods personally. He is also one of the thousands of members of the Professional Disc Golf Association, but holds no office or governing power in the organization.</span></em></p>A disc-golf boom is coinciding with a ball-golf bust.Josh Woods, Associate Professor of Sociology, West Virginia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/923662018-02-26T11:57:04Z2018-02-26T11:57:04ZCan coffee improve your workout? The science of caffeine and exercise<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207827/original/file-20180226-120971-1b6j9ij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/resting-runner-260897984?src=XTj1Xdt-nA15eRNsMggkmg-1-1">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Caffeine is one of the most researched substances reported to help athletes perform better and train longer and harder. As a result, professional and amateur sportspeople often take it as a performance-enhancing “ergogenic” aids for a wide range of activities. These include intermittent exercise such as football and racket sports, endurance exercise such as running and cycling, and resistance exercise such as weightlifting.</p>
<p>But while most research looks at the effects of pure caffeine consumed as tablets with water, in the real world most people get their caffeine from coffee, energy drinks or other products like special gels or <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-017-0848-2">chewing gum</a>. So will drinking a cup of joe before your workout actually make a difference? The answer could depend as much on your genes as what kind of coffee you’re drinking.</p>
<p><a href="https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-7-5">Scientists think</a> caffeine affects the body chemical adenosine, which normally promotes sleep and suppresses arousal. Caffeine ties up the receptors in the brain that detect adenosine and so makes it more alert.</p>
<p>But it may also increase stimulation of the central nervous system, making exercise seem like it involves less effort and pain. In high-intensity activities such as resistance training or sprinting, it may increase the number of fibres used in muscle contractions, meaning movements can be more frequent and forceful. </p>
<h2>Faster, higher, stronger</h2>
<p>Research has shown that pure caffeine can help endurance athletes <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-014-0257-8">run faster</a> and <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/7/7/5219/htm">cycle for longer</a>. It can help footballers to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3279366/">sprint more often and over greater distances</a>, and basketball players to <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/9/1033/htm">jump higher</a>. It can help <a href="http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jcr.2012.0019?journalCode=jcr">tennis players</a> and <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2016/01000/Effect_of_Caffeine_on_Golf_Performance_and_Fatigue.18.aspx">golfers</a> to hit the ball with greater accuracy. And it can help <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2876999/pdf/1550-2783-7-18.pdf">weightlifters lift more weight</a>.</p>
<p>The evidence for caffeine’s effects on sprinting is more mixed. Limited improvements <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/4/3/45">have been found</a> for events lasting under three minutes. But for races of around ten seconds,
caffeine can improve peak <a href="https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-12-S1-P57">power output, speed, and strength</a>.</p>
<p>An increasing number of studies have also shown that coffee can be used as an alternative to caffeine to <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0059561">improve cycling</a> and <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/ijspp.2017-0456?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed&">competitive running</a> performance, and produce similar results similar to pure caffeine. In fact, coffee may even be more effective at <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2016/10000/Effect_of_Coffee_and_Caffeine_Ingestion_on.27.aspx">improving resistance exercise than caffeine alone</a>. Similarly, drinking <a href="https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-10-1">energy drinks</a> containing caffeine before exercise can improve mental focus, alertness, anaerobic performance and endurance performance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207825/original/file-20180226-120971-lly7xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207825/original/file-20180226-120971-lly7xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207825/original/file-20180226-120971-lly7xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207825/original/file-20180226-120971-lly7xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207825/original/file-20180226-120971-lly7xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207825/original/file-20180226-120971-lly7xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207825/original/file-20180226-120971-lly7xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Total weight lifted when performing back squats to failure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2016/10000/Effect_of_Coffee_and_Caffeine_Ingestion_on.27.aspx">Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But drinking coffee isn’t like taking a measured dose of caffeine. The amount of stimulant in a cup, and so how it affects you, will depend on the blend of coffee and how it is brewed. Studies have shown consuming either <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0059561">0.15g</a> or <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/ijspp.2017-0456?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed">0.09g</a> of caffeinated coffee per kilogram of body weight can improve performance. So a dessert spoon of coffee granules rather than a traditional teaspoon is probably best. </p>
<p>It’s also worth bearing in mind that each piece of research shows caffeine improves athletic performance of a group of people as a whole. But we also know that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5752738/pdf/40279_2017_Article_776.pdf">genetic factors</a> have a big influence on our responses to caffeine and not everyone reacts in the same way. This means consuming caffeine won’t necessarily improve your performance.</p>
<h2>Potential downsides</h2>
<p>In fact, you could end up feeling nauseated and jittery at a time when, if you are competing, you are already feeling anxious. And, as caffeine’s effects can linger for up to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK223808/">five hours</a>, taking it too late in the day could disrupt your sleep, which is a big factor in health and fitness in general. This means it’s important to practice with caffeine during training sessions or friendly fixtures before using it for an important event. </p>
<p>Some <a href="http://www.mysportscience.com/single-post/2017/06/18/Do-you-need-to-refrain-from-coffee-to-get-the-maximal-effect-of-caffeine">have also suggested</a> that you should abstain from caffeine in order to enjoy a better effect on your performance when you consume it for exercise. But maintaining your normal intake will prevent any <a href="https://theconversation.com/caffeine-withdrawal-drives-need-for-more-but-are-we-addicts-17380">possible withdrawal symptoms</a> and still provide benefits if caffeine is taken before exercise. Its effects peak between <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4898153/pdf/ictx-54-308.pdf">30 and 75 minutes after ingestion</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, it’s a a commonly held belief that caffeine is a diuretic that will lead to dehydration because it makes you produce more urine. But a <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0084154">number of studies</a> have shown that this isn’t the case with moderate amounts of coffee, cola or any other caffeinated beverage, which help keep you hydrated like any other drink.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92366/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Clarke receives funding from The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee. </span></em></p>Drinking coffee before exercising could make you run faster and lift heavier - if you’ve the right genes.Neil Clarke, Principal Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at Coventry University, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/629172016-07-28T13:46:56Z2016-07-28T13:46:56ZHow sports get chosen for the Olympics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132410/original/image-20160728-12110-1bzgzj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rugby sevens: on the Olympic programme in Rio. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mai Groves/www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A spokesperson for the ancient sport of jousting recently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jul/21/english-heritage-bid-jousting-olympics-international-olympic-committee-petition-2020">made a case</a> for its inclusion in the Olympic Games based on the technical skills and physical prowess required to be successful. She suggested these were as high or higher than many sports already included in the programme. If only it was that simple. </p>
<p>Inclusion in the Olympic programme is a fast-track to popularity with increased participation, television exposure, more sponsors and increased income. So it is hardly surprising that sports are <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/08/the-summer-olympic-sports-of-the-future/260982/">keen to</a> get in on the action. In Rio, golf and rugby sevens will be the new sports on the block. </p>
<p>The choice of which sports take part in the Olympics is up to the 90 members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) who make the decision on the basis of proposals from each games’ local organising committee, via the <a href="https://www.olympic.org/olympic-programme-commission">Olympic Programme Commission</a>. </p>
<h2>The criteria</h2>
<p>These proposals are evaluated against <a href="https://www.olympic.org/olympic-programme-commission">five categories</a>, split into 35 critieria:</p>
<ol>
<li> Olympic proposal: history of the sport, whether it has been included in the programme before, the number of affiliated national federations and the level of participation in world or continental championships.</li>
<li> Institutional matters: financial status of the sport, its governance, gender equity and strategic planning. </li>
<li> Value added to the Olympic movement: the sport’s image and whether it represents Olympic values. </li>
<li> Popularity: how many spectators it will draw, sponsorship, media interest and whether the best athletes will compete at the Olympics. </li>
<li> Business model: the income the sport generates, the costs of staging the sport and its financial status. </li>
</ol>
<p>All fairly straightforward – but there are a number of things that make some of these categories much more important than others. For example, in terms of value added to the Olympic movement, the IOC is increasingly emphasising the importance of sports with youth appeal, leading to the inclusion of a number of “youth sports” in the Tokyo 2020 programme. The <a href="https://www.olympic.org/olympic-programme-commission">remit</a> of the Olympic Programme Commission requires it to include sports that keep the Olympic Games relevant to young people. This is despite some included sports, such as skateboarding and sport climbing, scoring low in categories one, two and five. </p>
<h2>Popularity and cash</h2>
<p>And then there is the issue of popularity. This could be interpreted as a requirement for the sport to be played across the globe and by both men and women. Yet, when the criteria included in this category are considered, <a href="https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/IOC/Who-We-Are/Commissions/Olympic-Programme-Commission/EN-2004-08-IOC-evaluation-criteria-for-sports-and-disciplines.pdf#_ga=1.79247188.159135118.1469096757">popularity comes down to</a> watching rather than taking part – and the commercial value of the sport. </p>
<p>There is an emphasis on spectators, media interest, television rights and sponsors, which explains why we will see rugby sevens and golf in Rio and not squash – despite a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/willstrop-s-world/2016/jul/15/golf-olympics-rory-mcilroy-squash-rio-james-willstrop?CMP=share_btn_tw">global campaign</a> to get it included. Rugby sevens has a strong commercial case based on popularity, sponsorship and advertising. Squash has had little to offer in the way of popularity when compared to golf, as it is <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/squash/20417835">of considerably less interest</a> to spectators, sponsors and the media. The sport itself has limited popular following – can you name the current squash world champion? (For men, it’s France’s Grégory Gaultier and for women, Egyptian Nour El Sherbini.) </p>
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<h2>Never safe</h2>
<p>It’s also not a permanent process. The Olympic Programme has about 25 core sports, such as basketball, hockey and athletics. Other sports are subject to regular review with those that are included at the promotion of the local organising committee of a particular games in a particular year (such as London or Rio) susceptible to removal. For example, softball and baseball were included until 2008 and then were dropped for London and Rio. They are to be included in the Tokyo Games as one of the sports chosen by Tokyo’s organising committee. </p>
<p>For golf, it is the first time the sport has been played at the games since 1904. But who knows what will happen to golf after Tokyo 2020: from the <a href="http://www.espn.co.uk/golf/story/_/id/16590605/how-zika-virus-lets-golfers-hook-wanting-skip-rio-olympics">number of top male golfers</a> who won’t be attending the games citing fears over the Zika virus, it’s clear many do not feel that the Olympic Games is the pinnacle of their sport. (Though in the women’s game, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/24/sports/golf/24golf.html">nine of the world’s top ten</a> will be competing in Rio.)</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"755416323862257664"}"></div></p>
<p>Some sports are spending a huge amount of resources to be considered as potential additions to the Olympic programme. Lobbying for inclusion is done by each sport’s international federation. IOC governance and ethical policies mean that they can’t directly approach the 90 IOC members, who make the final vote; so large delegations from the sport visit the five <a href="http://www.acnolympic.org/about-anoc/organisation/structure/">continental general assemblies</a>, where representatives of the sport meet annually. Their lobbyists pitch to each general assembly and also meet individually with delegates and host lavish social receptions. </p>
<p>Ultimately, however, it’s the IOC members, not the continental general assembly members, who get to choose if a sport makes it to the programme or not. All the work that sports do in putting together a proposal and lobbying at continental meetings cannot guarantee a positive outcome, as they can’t directly lobby IOC members. </p>
<p>Rugby and squash are perfect examples of the vagaries of the selection system. Rugby, a team sport which increases the number of athletes at the games significantly and is only played seriously in ten nations, was always going to make it onto the programme as it was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2001/jul/16/danrookwood">one of the sports</a> of Jacque Rogge, the outgoing IOC president. </p>
<p>And as for squash, well it’s a puzzle. It should be in as it <a href="https://www.olympic.org/hrh-prince-tunku-imran">is the sport</a> of Prince Tunku Imran, the IOC member from Malaysia, and it meets all of the criteria for selection. It was derailed when the decision for Rio was made in 2009 by the popularity and income generation potential of golf, but continues to be unpopular with IOC members who <a href="http://squashmad.com/breaking-news/olympic-disaster-in-tokyo/">recently rejected</a> another bid for inclusion in the 2020 games. They chose to support sports which meet very few of the criteria such as sport climbing and skateboarding. </p>
<p>Squash may make it in the future. Jousting, however, has no chance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62917/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leigh Robinson receives funding from Olympic Solidarity. She is affiliated with sportscotland and Commonwealth Games Scotland.</span></em></p>It’s down to money, popularity and a lot of lobbying.Leigh Robinson, Dean of the Faculty of Sport, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/602922016-06-01T13:15:15Z2016-06-01T13:15:15ZHow Donald Trump’s shock politics are stalling his ambitions in world golf<p>The media circus surrounding Donald Trump’s bid for the US presidency is briefly switching from America to the £200m reopening of a golf resort in south-west Scotland. Trump Turnberry, as it has been renamed, boasts a remodelled course and a substantially upgraded five-star hotel and spa. The man himself is <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/donald-trump-set-make-fly-7970456">reportedly</a> to fly in for a grand ceremony on June 24. </p>
<p>Turnberry is among 18 golf courses that belong to <a href="https://www.trumpgolf.com">The Trump Organization</a> in the US, Scotland, Ireland and Dubai. It represents his best chance of landing the British men’s Open Championship, the only one of the four golf majors to take place outside the US. </p>
<p>Then came his campaign for the Republican nomination. Though golf’s ruling body in the UK has avoided commenting on that situation, Turnberry’s immediate future as an Open destination <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/22/open-donald-trump-turnberry-2022">is arguably</a> in <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/golf/2016/02/24/european-tour-rips-up-scottish-open-plans-after-donald-trump-fur/">doubt</a>, despite it having played host four times, most recently <a href="http://www.turnberry.co.uk/british-open-championship-2009">in 2009</a>. Given that Trump’s golf courses are at the heart of a global property and hotels empire, events in this quiet corner of Scotland look like an interesting case study in the risks of mixing business and presidential ambition. </p>
<h2>Trump in the rough</h2>
<p>Insulting Mexicans and Muslims might have played well with some blue-collar Americans fed up with cookie-cutter politicians and afraid of terrorism and losing their jobs to illegal immigrants, but it may not be going down well with the ruling bodies of golf. The sport is increasingly keen to lose its white men’s elitist image and embrace far corners of the world – witness the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-36340197">recent embarrassing row</a> over allowing female members at Muirfield Golf Club in the east of Scotland. </p>
<p>Turnberry has already come perilously close to losing one major championship since Trump <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-27203208">purchased the resort</a> in 2014. The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) <a href="http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/lpga-rather-women%E2%80%99s-british-not-be-held-trump-turnberry-too-late-switch/">openly contemplated</a> withdrawing the British Women’s Open last July in protest at his <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/11737589/Why-Donald-Trump-is-wrong-about-Mexican-immigrants.html">comments</a> linking Mexican immigrants with rape, crime and drugs. </p>
<p>While Trump <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/11740142/Donald-Trump-taunts-Womens-British-Open-organisers-over-Mexican-immigrants-rant.html">told the LPGA</a> to go elsewhere if they felt so strongly and that he wouldn’t sue them for breach of contract, losing the championship would still have seriously damaged his reputation and caused enormous commercial embarrassment. </p>
<p>The decision on where to hold the men’s Open Championship rests with golf’s governing body outside North America, the <a href="http://www.randa.org">Royal & Ancient (R&A)</a>. It chooses the destination from <a href="http://www.golf.com/photos/new-british-open-rota">a rota</a> of ten courses around the UK, which has included Turnberry since 1977. </p>
<p>It already surprised some golf observers by agreeing to Trump’s plan to <a href="http://ladieseuropeantour.com/trump-turnberry-unveils-changes-to-legendary-ailsa-course-2/">substantially change</a> the Ailsa course at Turnberry – particularly the stretch of eight holes along the craggy coast. While the traditionally conservative body has allowed minor tweaks to all courses on the rota over the years, Trump has realigned fairways; changed greens and relocated them closer to the sea shore; and even introduced completely new holes. </p>
<p>The end result, according to computer-generated images, is an undeniably spectacular course that will place Turnberry truly in a category of its own. The experience will not be cheap, however – anywhere between £195 and £275 for a round depending upon whether you stay at the hotel. In a country where Trump was <a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-lust-for-golf-majors-lands-turnberry-but-there-could-be-rough-ahead-26197">already notorious</a> before his presidential campaign for fighting with both the Scottish government and landowners over his other golf investment, the Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, this will not help attract local players. </p>
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<h2>Open or closed?</h2>
<p>Granting permission to change Turnberry is also a different matter from allowing the Open to be held there, of course. The R&A avoided answering questions about Turnberry’s place on the men’s rota when it announced in late 2015 that Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland would host the championship in 2019 following a break of nearly 70 years. </p>
<p>It <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/22/open-donald-trump-turnberry-2022">then confirmed</a> that Turnberry would not be considered to host any Open prior to 2022, apparently chipping a decision on holding the event at the course into the long grass. </p>
<p>Though Trump’s <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/sport/golf/donald-trump-saved-turnberry-from-losing-spot-on-open-rota-1-4142215#ixzz4AFHC17ZC">supporters argue</a> Turnberry may have lost its place on the rota without his investment, the R&A will likely be hoping that Trump moderates or backtracks on his more controversial comments, perhaps even that his 2016 presidential bid fails. If he does win in November, one assumes that pronouncements concerning <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/07/donald-trump-ban-all-muslims-entering-us-san-bernardino-shooting">temporary bans on Muslims</a> entering America, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34789502">deporting</a> 11m illegal immigrants and building a wall along the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-would-seek-to-block-money-transfers-to-force-mexico-to-fund-border-wall/2016/04/05/c0196314-fa7c-11e5-80e4-c381214de1a3_story.html">Mexican border</a> will come to nothing. Even so, a President Trump would be sufficiently unpredictable that the R&A could well feel that a Turnberry Open was an unnecessary risk.</p>
<p>And given current golf politics, Trump might still be damned without winning the presidency. Last month’s <a href="http://www.skysports.com/golf/news/12176/10288051/henni-zuel-backs-ra-decision-to-remove-muirfield-from-open-roster">bold decision</a> by the R&A under new chief executive Martin Slumbers to withdraw the open from Muirfield – arguably the most acclaimed test of golf on the rota – is a clear sign of dramatic change. </p>
<p>Tellingly, <a href="http://www.owgr.com">men’s number three</a> Rory McIlroy was <a href="http://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/irish-open/rory-mcilroy-backs-open-ban-on-muirfield-after-latest-menonly-vote-34731540.html">quoted as saying</a> Muirfield needs the Open more than the Open needs Muirfield. The values of proprietary club owners like Trump will probably no longer be off bounds in determining the venue of the game’s leading men’s competition in future. There have <a href="http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/why-pga-tour-should-dump-donald-trump">meanwhile been calls</a> in the US for Trump’s course at Bedminster, New Jersey to lose another of golf’s majors, the 2022 PGA Championship. </p>
<p>So notwithstanding his immense wealth and the unparalleled visual magnificence of his championship-quality course at Turnberry, Donald Trump may not have any lever to pull to get his way with golf’s regulatory body. One suspects he has become the obstacle to his own ambitions in international golf. It will be interesting to see if he encounters similar difficulties in other parts of his empire.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60292/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Walton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Trump Turnberry has reopened for business in south-west Scotland. Can you mix populist presidential ambition with a sport desperate to update its image?William Walton, Senior Lecturer, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/484812015-10-05T03:55:27Z2015-10-05T03:55:27ZHow to keep geese off golfing greens<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/97032/original/image-20151002-23067-1sijq8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Geese are becoming a serious problem on golf courses in the Western Cape and need active management. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Richard Gie </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s not just golfers who enjoy spending a day on the course. Geese are also drawn to their luscious, irrigated lawns interspersed with artificial water bodies. There are also no predators lurking in the bunkers. Contrary to their specific name, where they appear in ancient Egyptian art, Egyptian Geese are widespread throughout Africa from the Nile River down to South Africa. They are common in most landscapes, except for regions of extreme aridity and high altitude.</p>
<p>The birds’ fondness for golf courses isn’t considered a problem until their presence starts ruining the lawns. In South Africa, Egyptian Geese are the problem, just as Canadian Geese wreak havoc on North American golf <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8827602/Golfer-shoots-goose-on-course.html">courses</a>.</p>
<p>There are <a href="http://www.steenberggolfclub.co.za/downloads/geese/Golf%20courses_Egyptian%20Geese.pdf">more</a> Egyptian Geese in South Africa than before. This is because of burgeoning cereal production and dam construction in the coastal Western Cape province. Since these birds aren’t going away any time soon, it’s important to examine what’s best for both them and golf courses. </p>
<h2>The geese need management</h2>
<p>There are 106 golf courses in the Western Cape, providing geese with almost 5 000 hectares of attractive habitat. Researchers <a href="http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/docs/gamebird.html">asked</a> residents of Cape Town’s <a href="http://www.steenberggolfclub.co.za/">Steenberg Golf Estate</a> and members of its golf club about their perceptions of the ubiquitous feathered visitors.</p>
<p>Most golfers (84%) considered geese a problem on the estate. But only 57% of non-golfers perceived the geese as a problem. People ranked the problem as minimal (15%), moderate (33%) and severe (52%). Most golfers (87%) felt that the goose population required active management. The majority (86% of all respondents) believed the goose population should be reduced by 50% or <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/00306525.2013.772079">more</a>.</p>
<p>There are lethal and non-lethal ways to control geese. Non-lethal methods have included scarecrows, fake predators, flashing lights, bird alarms and fireworks. Most have had little success because the geese soon become used to their presence. </p>
<p>Trained herding dogs have proved to be more successful. But dogs are expensive to buy, need expert training and cost a lot to look after. Relocating geese to new habitats is also not foolproof because the birds may return to the site of capture, or will begin novel conflicts of crop damage or being a general nuisance in other areas.</p>
<p>Lethal measures include egg addling by puncturing or chemically treating eggs and culling. But the high mobility of the geese make both quite ineffective for controlling localised <a href="http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/docs/gamebird.html">populations</a>.</p>
<p>In addition when geese abandon unsuccessful nests, they typically make a new one and thus a replaced clutch. Shooting geese in residential areas is considered unethical, and while lethal methods are more cost-effective than non-lethal options, they are often deemed socially unacceptable. </p>
<p>While it is not necessary to eliminate geese from a property, managing their numbers at a level where they are tolerated by managers and golfers may be important.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/97033/original/image-20151002-23063-1kpahhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/97033/original/image-20151002-23063-1kpahhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/97033/original/image-20151002-23063-1kpahhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97033/original/image-20151002-23063-1kpahhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97033/original/image-20151002-23063-1kpahhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97033/original/image-20151002-23063-1kpahhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97033/original/image-20151002-23063-1kpahhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97033/original/image-20151002-23063-1kpahhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Geese’s vigilance levels make them more likely to live in an area where they feel secure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Richard Gie</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Possible solutions</h2>
<p>Researchers looked at finding <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.711/abstract">possible solutions</a> from two angles. First they studied how geese behave, where they are most comfortable and where they feel most threatened. Secondly they matched this with the layout and physical features of 10 golf courses in the Western Cape. </p>
<p>This was done to better understand what makes the courses attractive to the geese. Geese avoid predators by being vigilant and by scanning the landscape for any possible threat. </p>
<p>Geese are obviously more vigilant where there is an increased possibility of being caught by a predator.</p>
<p>They seem to feel safer in precisely the areas where they and their droppings bother golfers most: on open patches of green close to water. In these spaces, the birds seem to feel there is less risk of encountering a predator. They can see at a good distance around them and take refuge in the water if threatened.</p>
<p>The answer is for golf course management to shift their focus away from the birds and to the way golf courses are designed. They could, for example, reduce the number of favoured sites. Alternatively, favoured sites should be shifted to the non-playing areas of the course. Areas where water bodies are adjacent to large, open lawns could be avoided in the design of a course.</p>
<p>Poorly situated ponds on existing courses could be modified with physical barriers to restrict access to the water. These barriers can be fences along the edge of the water or a wire grid placed over the water surface. The most inexpensive and attractive method is to plant vegetation along the edge of the water. This would interrupt the geese’s access to the water and decrease their ability to detect predators.</p>
<p>Considering that large patches of open lawn are attractive safety features for geese, tall grass and shrubs can also be planted around the fairways of existing golf courses. This will reduce the openness and the safety levels perceived by the geese.</p>
<p>Or there is falconry. By introducing a predator into the landscape, falconry is effective at changing the perception of safety for the geese. This method naturally involves a few goose deaths, but the birds then quickly learn about the potential threat. They increase their vigilance and become less attracted to the course. </p>
<p>According to our research it is indeed possible for humans and geese to occupy the same territory peaceably. Designing golf courses and adjacent vegetation so that they are attractive to local bird species while simultaneously being less attractive to Egyptian Geese involves short-term costs with potential long-term benefits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48481/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Little receives funding from the South African Department of Science and Technology via the National Research Foundation. </span></em></p>Geese droppings on golf courses are a source of great irritation for golfers . They are now calling for the birds to be properly managed.Rob Little, Manager: DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/444752015-07-21T04:07:18Z2015-07-21T04:07:18ZWhy technology in sport poses a threat to keeping the game fair, safe and affordable<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89021/original/image-20150720-12572-1y80r1d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The swimsuit worn by competitors throughout 2009 improved performance and was subsequently banned. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Wolfgang Rattay</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The history of technology in sport is a long and sordid love affair. It has thrilled, broken hearts, and either built success or elicited cries of fraud.</p>
<p>The humble golf ball is a good example. Fundamental to the game of golf is striking it from point “a” to “b” to end up in a hole in as few shots as possible. But apply a dimpled pattern to its surface and it can go further for less effort. Then optimise the pattern of the dimples and the ball will hook or slice less when struck. Suddenly the skill required to play the game is made easier. </p>
<p>Allowing any of these evolutionary steps is bound to trigger a debate about the importance and limits of technological progression.</p>
<h2>Keeping it controversial</h2>
<p>History is littered with the controversial use of sports technology.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2011/07/07/banned-but-awesome-fly-straight-golf-balls-taking-off-again/">Polara</a> golf ball is a case of an innovation making a sport too easy, effectively deskilling it. The innovation benefited lower-skilled players who had a greater tendency to make mistakes but not higher-skilled golfers who were already adept at making an accurate drive. It essentially deskilled the game – and was banned. </p>
<p>Full-body swimsuits captured the public’s imagination at the <a href="http://www.olympic.org/sydney-2000-summer-olympics">2000 Sydney Olympic Games</a>. The introduction of the <a href="http://shura.shu.ac.uk/5621/">suit</a> was shown to improve a swimmers’ performance dramatically as the designs <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705812017341">evolved</a>. After 43 records were broken in 40 events at the <a href="http://global.britannica.com/sports/swimming-sport-Year-In-Review-2009">2009 World Swimming Championships</a> and <a href="http://scaddistrict.com/2010/01/03/swimming-records-broken-with-a-dose-of-polyurethane/">130</a> world records were broken in less than a year, the global swimming governing body voted to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/sports/25swim.html?_r=0">ban</a> the full-length suits.</p>
<p>The tragedy was not that the suits were banned but that the world records remained in place. This meant that future athletes did not have the same advantage as those that had set them. This decision was arguably unfair.</p>
<p>Likewise the case of South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius. In <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-debate-oscar-pistorius-prosthetic-legs-disqualify-him-olympics/">2008</a>, he sought to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The use of his prosthetic legs with carbon fibre blades resulted in a furious debate on what advantage they gave him. </p>
<p>After a protracted dispute involving studies and counter studies, Pistorius was allowed to run in both – mainly due to lack of agreement on the issue.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89023/original/image-20150720-12540-d9bax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89023/original/image-20150720-12540-d9bax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=847&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89023/original/image-20150720-12540-d9bax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=847&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89023/original/image-20150720-12540-d9bax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=847&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89023/original/image-20150720-12540-d9bax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1064&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89023/original/image-20150720-12540-d9bax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1064&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89023/original/image-20150720-12540-d9bax6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1064&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Did the prosthetic legs of South Africa’s fallen hero Oscar Pistorius give him an unfair advantage?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Davis Gray</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Faster, higher, stronger</h2>
<p>The motto of the Olympic Games is “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (faster, higher, stronger). This suggests that we should embrace any progress and push all of our resources to achieve it.</p>
<p>Never is this more apparent than in cycling. Forty years ago riders were wearing woollen jerseys and using the same bike for all events. Now they wear advanced fabrics to maximise aerodynamics and optimise core body temperature while using different bikes based on terrain or effort. It could be argued that the technology makes the effort of athletes today incomparable to those of the past.</p>
<p>The cycling hour record involves riders cycling as far they can on a velodrome in 60 minutes. In the 1990s there was a flurry of innovations and bikes evolved away from the design that had remained virtually unchanged since the 19th century. </p>
<p>Worried that things were getting out of hand and that engineers might be dictating the results, the <a href="http://www.uci.ch/">international cycling governing body</a> outlawed these designs. It then rewrote the rules in such a way that a rider was expected to use a similar design to those made 50 years ago. It was a noble idea, but cyclists <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Hour-Michael-Hutchinson-x/dp/0224075195">continued</a> to try and find loopholes.</p>
<p>In late 2014, the governing body rewrote its <a href="http://road.cc/content/news/97711-which-uci-technical-rules-should-be-updated">rules</a> again to allow contemporary time trial bike designs. The reality is that giving a sport some technological wiggle-room can keep sponsors coming, provide interest to fans and may prevent a sport from stagnating.</p>
<h2>Keeping it accessible</h2>
<p>The equipment needed to perform a sport can determine its success and levels of participation. New and interesting technology may keep us engaged with a sport. But cost and access need to be monitored for it to remain accessible. </p>
<p>Part of the controversy around swimsuits was the fact that only athletes with the right sponsors could access them. Many others couldn’t – effectively making it a case, metaphorically speaking, of bringing a knife to a gun fight.</p>
<p>Make sports equipment and technology too expensive and very few future athletes will participate. Keep the equipment too technically difficult to use and amateurs will have to move onto something else.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/paddleboarding.html">Stand-up paddleboarding</a>, for example, has been described as the world’s fastest growing watersport. But no robust governing body or equipment specification guides what length or width boards should be. Board width determines how stable the board is when paddled and therefore how skilled in balance a person needs to be. The narrower the board, the faster it will go but the more challenging it will be to use. Go wider and raw performance will suffer but more people will be able to engage with the sport. </p>
<h2>The safety conundrum</h2>
<p>What about the impact of technological progress on safety? For example, the centre of gravity of <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/431055-physics-of-javelin-throwing/">javelins</a> was changed in the late 1980s to ensure that they remained within existing throwing infields as athletes were throwing further and further. Likewise, headgear in amateur boxing was eventually adopted to provide extra protection to its athletes.</p>
<p>But unintended consequences also have to be taken into account. While headgear has reduced the general severity of head injuries, it can also give a boxer an increased sense of <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/12/us-boxing-wu-idUSKCN0IW0N620141112">invulnerability</a>. This might explain why there has not been a reduction in the number of recorded head injuries since <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2293803/Headgear-boxers-banned-bid-REDUCE-head-injuries.html">headgear</a> was introduced. </p>
<p>Ultimately, there is a philosophical difference between technologies that facilitate a sport and those that enhance it. Empirical science often needs to be accompanied by philosophical debate. In the case of runners with an amputation, it isn’t just about how a prosthetic limb performs. It also challenges perceptions about disability and how closely humans should engage with technology.</p>
<p>Technology is there to facilitate a sport and to challenge the limits of our performance. But this has to be tempered with caution and vigilance to ensure a sport remains fair, safe and accessible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44475/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bryce Dyer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Technology has become a major game-changer in sport. But innovation has to be tempered with caution and vigilance to ensure sport remains fair, safe and accessible.Bryce Dyer, Senior Lecturer in Product Design, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/446882015-07-17T05:29:27Z2015-07-17T05:29:27ZEco-friendly golf means not worrying if the grass is greener on the other course<p>The Open Championship has returned to St Andrews, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious golf courses and one that has been recognised for its <a href="http://www.standrews.com/Living-Landscape">commitment to sustainability</a>. Last month’s men’s US Open was held at Chambers Bay in Washington state, a course built on <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/2015/06/13/3838234_chambers-bay-it-took-an-ice-age.html?rh=1">reclaimed land</a> in what was once a sand and gravel pit. This transition from “<a href="http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2015-06/us-open-preview-chambers-bay-whitten">pit to prince</a>” has also earned Chambers Bay <a href="http://www.chambersbaygolf.com/golf/about-chambers-bay/">recognition</a> from the environmental organisation <a href="http://www.auduboninternational.org/signature">Audubon International</a>. </p>
<p>You might think this all reflects a shift in the golf industry and a growing ease among fans and players towards more “natural” – and environmentally-friendly – courses. From the US Open’s first day onwards, however, the playing conditions at Chambers Bay elicited harsh reviews from players and commentators alike. Top pro Henrik Stenson said the greens were “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jun/20/us-open-chambers-bay-greens-red-faces">borderline laughable</a>”, tantamount to broccoli and the surface of the moon. Rory McIlroy injected <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/sports/golf/like-putting-on-broccoli-or-cauliflower-and-results-are-bumpy.html">some humour</a> into the conversation: “I don’t think [the greens are] as green as broccoli … I think they’re more like cauliflower.”</p>
<p>Having studied the relationship between golf and the environment, we find these two sides to golf’s environmental “story” to be telling. They reflect, respectively, the reasons why some are optimistic about the golf industry’s professed environmental stewardship and why others continue to express concern.</p>
<h2>The greening of golf</h2>
<p>Our <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tsq.12033/abstract">research</a> on golf and the environment has focused largely on the Canadian and American contexts. To borrow a phrase from University of Michigan professor <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/From-Heresy-Dogma-Institutional-Environmentalism/dp/080474503X">Andrew Hoffman</a>, what we have found is that, in the postwar years, environmentalism in the golf industry has effectively gone from heresy to dogma.</p>
<p>For much of its history, golf was played on quite rugged terrain. The original coastal links-style courses were subject to the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Landscapes-Modern-Sport-Politics-Culture/dp/0718514645">natural shape of the land</a> and, as late as the last decades of the 1800s, inland Scottish courses were characterised by their extreme muddiness. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88394/original/image-20150714-21721-1fw4k0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88394/original/image-20150714-21721-1fw4k0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88394/original/image-20150714-21721-1fw4k0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88394/original/image-20150714-21721-1fw4k0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88394/original/image-20150714-21721-1fw4k0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88394/original/image-20150714-21721-1fw4k0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88394/original/image-20150714-21721-1fw4k0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88394/original/image-20150714-21721-1fw4k0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Natural’ golf in the 18th century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_MacDonald_boys_playing_golf.jpg">Jeremiah Davison (1741)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With golf’s “migration” across the Atlantic, however, key figures in the industry aimed to professionalise course design and maintenance by making these tasks into matters of science and precision. For example, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Methods-Early-Golf-Architecture-Tillinghast/dp/0615829295">in the eyes of Alister MacKenzie</a> – the British-born designer of the Augusta National golf course, where the annual Masters tournament is played – the “modern” golf architect was one versed in disciplines such as chemistry, botany and geology, and one capable of carefully sculpting the land.</p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tsq.12033/abstract">Judging from industry trade publications</a>, this “modern” inclination lived on into the postwar years. By this point, however, golf architects had the capacity to radically manipulate development sites. At the same time, those responsible for golf course maintenance had potent synthetic chemicals, most famously the pesticide <a href="https://theconversation.com/50th-anniversary-of-silent-spring-synthetic-chemicals-cause-the-decline-of-bees-6599">DDT</a>, at their disposal in the task of keeping the golf course (literally) green.</p>
<p>The postwar years, and especially the 1960s, were also a time when the environmental movement was afoot. Thus, what we find in these same publications from this time is both passionate advocacy for chemicals such as DDT and rather stern condemnations of environmentalists like Rachel Carson, famed author of the 1962 treatise <a href="http://www.penguin.co.uk/books/silent-spring/9780141184944/">Silent Spring</a>. In this context, environmentalism was effectively heretical.</p>
<p>Fast-forward 20 years though, and things were far less antagonistic. Through investment in research and the implementation of new “best practices” – for example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/cut-pesticide-use-to-boost-yields-its-worked-for-millions-of-farmers-in-asia-and-africa-38951">Integrated Pest Management</a>, which in theory lessens pesticide usage through the adoption of non-chemical means – golf industry representatives could credibly make the claim that they themselves had become true stewards of the Earth.</p>
<p>At present, then, pro-environment rhetoric has seemingly become a matter of dogma for key golf industry representatives. </p>
<h2>Perfection comes at a price</h2>
<p>Can golf really claim to be environmentally-friendly? Certainly those protesting against the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/25/rio-2016-occupy-takes-swing-at-olympic-golf-course">new Olympic golf course in Rio de Janeiro</a> and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/10/donald-trump-scotland-golf-course">Donald Trump’s</a> development in Scotland have expressed strong and negative opinions about golf’s “friendliness” in those contexts. Indeed, golf still has environmental costs. In California, golf courses have earned criticism – even “<a href="http://globalnews.ca/news/2009578/california-celebrities-targeted-in-drought-shaming-on-social-media/">drought-shaming</a>” – for their water consumption in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/22/us/california-golf-trip-lands-obama-in-a-water-use-debate.html?_r=0">midst of a severe drought</a>. </p>
<p>Golf’s version of environmentalism is one underpinned by the idea of “sustainability”, which itself puts social, environmental, and economic development alongside one another. Yet it is not evident that the first two “lines” of this <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-triple-bottom-line-22798">triple bottom line</a> can always stand up to the third. Donald Trump’s group wanted a new course on the Scottish coast. Local residents and environmental experts worried that this would “freeze” the dynamic coastal sand dune ecosystem, a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/protected-or-designated-areas">Site of Special Scientific Interest</a>. With government support, Trump won out in the end.</p>
<p>At the same time, the highly manicured course evidently still holds a place of high prominence. We can infer from complaints about Chambers Bay that a worthy golf course is one that is predictable, consistent, and <a href="http://espn.go.com/golf/usopen15/story/_/id/13110175/2015-us-open-color-consistency-chambers-bay-greens-called-question">literally green</a>. </p>
<p>One might well say in response that the best players deserve the best conditions. Yet it has long been a concern – even within the golf industry – that the game’s most famous courses can set an unrealistic standard for the industry as a whole. Indeed, this phenomenon has even been given a name: <a href="http://golfweek.com/news/2012/apr/01/green-envy-dont-be-augusta-national-unique/">Augusta National Syndrome</a>, a condition whereby golfers come to expect the “perfect” conditions they see each year during broadcasts of the Masters. </p>
<p>Thus, at the same time <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/23/exposure-to-mixture-of-chemicals-may-trigger-cancer-scientists-find">researchers</a> and <a href="http://irs.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/03/24/1012690214526878.abstract">environmental groups</a> have expressed concerns over the chemicals that have come to replace the likes of DDT, Augusta National Syndrome is an issue to the extent that it rationalises the heavy use of water and pesticides in golf course maintenance.</p>
<h2>Golf goes organic?</h2>
<p>As golf returns “home” to St Andrews, we would do well to remember that broccoli – even cauliflower – is a long way from extreme muddiness. The standards we have made for golf are relatively new. </p>
<p>However there are alternative visions of environmentalism in the industry that go even further beyond the Audubon-certified way of being “green”. In our work on <a href="http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/np03.shtml">the greening of golf</a>, we looked at the (admittedly sluggish) emergence of “organic golf”, a style of course management that often involves eschewing synthetic chemicals completely.</p>
<p>We do not romanticise organic golf. It has many struggles and problems of its own, not least its occupation of land for a leisure activity not accessible to everyone. But the organic golf practitioners we have spoken with have been open to blemishes here and there, even if they still hoped to provide a challenging and rewarding experience for golfers in the end.</p>
<p>Thus, organic golf holds the potential to subtly change the perception of how a “proper” golf course should appear. It is one thing to go from “pit to prince”. It would be another thing entirely to presume the prince’s appearance need not be perfect.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44688/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brad Millington has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Wilson receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Millington and Wilson are the authors of the forthcoming book "The Greening of Golf: Sport, Globalization and the Environment" (Manchester University Press).</span></em></p>The quest for perfect lush greens is a relatively recent development in the sport’s history.Brad Millington, Lecturer, Department for Health, University of BathBrian Wilson, Professor, School of Kinesiology, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.