Editor’s Letter: Welcome to The Q

Welcome to the first of the many questions asked and answered by The Q:

What is it and why is the NGF introducing it?

It’s a simple answer with deep roots. In 1936, the National Golf Foundation was founded by a pair of journalists with a true passion for the game – Herb and Joe Graffis.

More than eight decades later, the NGF continues to be driven by its dedicated mission to foster the growth and vitality of the game and the business of golf. Over the years, however, the approach has evolved, with a concentration on what the golf industry needed most at the time. The NGF at one time published how-to books on the construction and development of golf courses. It created planning guides for businesses, events and tournaments, and later transitioned to growing golf through instruction, focusing on teaching kits and manuals.

From guides to building golf courses and planning tournaments to instructional material, the NGF has been rooted in the needs of the golf business for more than 80 years.

The NGF today is regarded as the foremost authority in the golf business for data, research and consulting. The foundation serves members across every sector in the industry with an expertise that includes market intelligence in golf participation, consumer behavior, course operations, facility development, travel, retail, consumer confidence and more.

While the NGF has always had a well-respected public voice, The Q is an effort to amplify and modernize that reach.

In the NGF’s close work with a wide variety of businesses and organizations across the incredibly diverse landscape of the industry, gathering an unrivaled depth of research and data, it’s abundantly clear that there are wonderfully positive stories of success, innovation, passion and entrepreneurial spirit that are going untold. So part of the goal of The Q – the new communications platform of the NGF — is to better share these stories and the vibrancy of golf.

It’s an evolution and an approach that our co-founder Herb Graffis, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame for his various contributions to the golf business, would be proud of.  Graffis extolled the recreational, social, environmental and economic virtues of the game. He also knew how to tell a great story.

It’s why the NGF GOLF 100 is a natural fit for The Q debut. The list of the Top 100 businesses in golf aligns perfectly with the NGF’s mission and its unique positioning as the lone trade association with an influence that stretches across all verticals of the industry.

The NGF GOLF 100 is a celebration of the great companies in the game. It’s a recognition that golf may be particularly unique in the number of different and diverse brands that contribute to the economy. Do any other sports have such a broad array of meaningful businesses serving both the consumer and trade markets?

We’re excited about the impact of the NGF GOLF 100.

We’re excited to expose The Q to a broader audience: NGF members as well as those working in, or interested in, the golf business itself.

And we’re excited about what’s to come: new research projects, compelling feature stories and insightful interviews, all driven and supported by the kind of data that only NGF can provide.

Welcome to The Q.

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