Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2012 - 7

Why is Our Brand of Golf Special?
(editor's letter
)
A
re you ever asked, 'What makes golf
special in Minnesota?' I am. I might
point to the more than 34,000 jobs
and $776 million in wages, or mention the
$360 million that flows in thanks to hospitality
and tourism-related golf businesses, or
make note of the overall $2.4 billion economic
injection to the state's bottom line.
In fact, I could claim that any one of the
above rightfully sets golf apart in the land of
10,000 water hazards.
Yet if I did, it wouldn't tell the whole story.
Minnesota and golf have been inextricably
linked (forgive the pun) since the first golfer
Minnesota and golf have been linked
since the first golfer chased a
little white ball around a pasture in 1893.
chased a little white ball around a pasture
in 1893. Within a decade, seven golf clubs
formed the Minnesota Golf Association and
the state had its first golf championship. In
less than a generation, Minnesota hosted its
first national championship, with the 1916
Open's first trip west of the Mississippi.
Minnesota remains the only state to have
hosted all of the USGA's national championships
and team events and has sparkled in
the spotlight numerous times with other national
and international golf championships.
The world's very best women golfers were on
hand at Interlachen Country Club to contest
the 2002 Solheim Cup Matches and the '08
U.S. Women's Open-Annika Sorenstam's final
Open, where with her last swing, a 5-iron
from the fairway, her ball found the cup for
an eagle 3.
To observe that as golf spectators Minnesotans
are a bit spoiled is to acknowledge that
we saw Bobby Jones win a leg of his Grand
Slam at Interlachen a year after the Crash;
that we cringed when Dave Hill told the
world our next Open amounted to 80 acres
and a few cows; that we had the last word, and
stood just a little taller, when Payne Stewart
found redemption in his first Open win,
and our last, at Hazeltine in '91. It may not
have happened here, but when Tom Lehman
hoisted the Open trophy at Royal Lytham
in '96, didn't we remind one and all that he
bleeds maroon and gold?
We watched a surging Tiger Woods stalk
Rich Beem at the 2002 PGA Championship-
and we winced when the Beemer wiggled his
hips in a delighted jig after the final putt.
Seven years later, did we imagine Y.E. Yang, a
little-known Korean golfer, would do the unthinkable?
We did not. But he did, snatching
the gleaming Wanamaker Trophy from the
paws of a Tiger at Hazeltine at the '09 PGA.
These are fragments of our golf history and
some of the game's finest moments.
Still, a thread of the story is missing: you,
me and the golf course down the street. We
too are part of the brand, as any marketer
might quip, and that's why golf is special
here.
I'm just saying.
See you on the tee.
W.P. Ryan, Editor-in-Chief
www.mngolf.org
Spring 2012 MINNESOTAGOLFER 5
http://www.mngolf.org

Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2012

Contents
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2012 - Cover1
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2012 - Cover2
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2012 - 3
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2012 - 4
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2012 - 5
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Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2012 - 7
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