The Future of Golf in America: How Golf Lost Its Way in the 21st Century (and How to Get It Back)
by Geoff Shackelford
Category: Sports & Recreation

As a golfer, open your mind when reading this treatise on the sport and its future. We all must consider where golf is headed and how best to protect the traditions of the game. I think The Future of Golf in America is vitally important. --Ben Crenshaw, former Masters champion Geoff Shackelford is a sane voice from deep in the trees. In his new and important book, The Future of Golf In America, he's here to tell us that bigger is not better. His call is the same one Henry David Thoreau made from a different wood: 'Simplify, simplify.' --Michael Bamberger, Sports Illustrated senior writer and author of To the Linksland A galvanizing new book from one of America's leading golf writers, The Future of Golf in America reveals how the tradition-rich sport has been kidnapped by equipment manufacturers and knowingly deregulated by its governing bodies. and Grounds for Golf, Geoff Shackelford charges that the slumping golf industry responds to unregulated technology by lengthening and narrowing courses at great expense, even as golfers flee the sport because golf takes too long, is too difficult and too expensive. Offering new commentary and analysis, along with essays from the Los Angeles Times, Links, Golf Magazine, Golf World and Golfdom, Shackelford chronicles several astonishing mistakes made by the once-respected United States Golf Association. He observes that the momentum gained from Tiger Woods' positive effect on golf's popularity is being squandered by an ill-advised emphasis on commercial interests. Shackelford urges the USGA to re-shoulder its responsibilities while suggesting how the PGA Tour can restore excitement to its championships for the good of the sport.