(Photo ©GOLFFILE/Fran Caffrey)
The Program Director for The First Tee of Greater Wichita (Kan.) noted that social media had already come alive after Woods’ Masters victory, with “people who don’t even watch the sport talking about golf,“ and the topic “trending everywhere.” Another local club’s PGA General Manager expressed hope that a revival of it being “cool to play golf” will result from Woods’ comeback.
The latest victory in Tiger Woods’ career has the potential to once again impact an entire generation, station KWCH CBS 12 in Wichita, Kan. reported, with local golf pros anticipating that Woods’ Masters victory will once again encourage more youngsters to pick up a club.
And this time around, KWCH noted, the bounce may be even bigger, considering that Twitter and other now-ubiquitous social-media channels didn’t even exist when Woods last won the Masters 14 years ago.
“It was cool to play golf,” Jim Elliott, PGA, General Manager of Willowbend Golf Club, told KWCH, in remembering the boom that followed Tiger’s initial glory years. “That would be fun to see again.”
“You could easily make the argument,” Elliott added, that Woods brought new life to an old sport in the first phase of his career, and now stands to help to “play a big role” in starting another revival in interest in taking up the game and/or playing it more.
Corey Novascone, Program Director for The First Tee of Greater Wichita, told KWCH that he hopes to see an increase in youth playing golf following Woods’ 15th major tournament win.
“People who don’t even watch the sport are talking about golf,” said Novascone. “It’s trending everywhere on social media.”
Novascone attributes much of golf’s advancement to greater diversity among players to Woods’ accomplishments in the sport over the past 20 years. “He opened a bunch of doors for everybody,” he said.
“We’re not going to let the cost of this game be an excuse any longer,” Novascone told KWCH, noting that Wichita’s First Tee organization will host a fundraiser on April 22, in addition to accepting equipment donations daily, and expressing hope that Woods’ win will spark greater interest in supporting those efforts.
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