The Fire Pit Productions
The Fire Pit Podcast
INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE 2 – GOLF TO THE RESCUE!
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INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE 2 – GOLF TO THE RESCUE!

We started this podcast in April, not long after the country went into quarantine. And on April 18, we dropped episode two, a roundtable with industry leaders who provided perspective on the state of the game in the midst of a global pandemic. I was joined by the Presidents of Pinehurst and Kemper Sports, the owner of Forest Dunes, the manager of Goat Hill Park, and the CEO of an Irish-based travel company that customizes buddies trips.

If you go back and listen to it, it’s somber. It’s as if the group is in shock, and fair to say, they were scared for their business and had concerns for the future of the game. 

But if there was one common denominator, it’s that they all said that if they could get open, they had a chance. They knew that as long as they could get a set of sensible regulations, the game could ride a safe and responsible wave of opportunity all the way to the beach.

 And by June, or shortly thereafter, they were all open. And it’s as if golf is our only option for a safe outdoor activity. Mike Stachura of Golf Digest recently tweeted that Golf Data Tech reports rounds played in July were up 20-percent over last year. U.S. golf equipment sales reached the all-time greatest single month in retail sales since the company started tracking data in 1997, the year Tiger won his first Masters. As Stachura said in his tweet: “If it’s not nailed down, it’s selling.”

And so I got the buddies-trip of roundtables back together again to check in on the game and their business.

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The Fire Pit Productions
The Fire Pit Podcast
In the 25 years of covering golf, the development of the game, courses and the camaraderie that’s core to the culture, it was time for Matt to share some of the best stories he has heard around fire pits all over the world. From PGA Tour players, caddies, architects, avid amateurs and buddies-trip planners, Matt has forged relationships with some of the most colorful and influential people in the game. So grab a drink, a seat and settle in. We’re getting to the essence of one story per podcast. A narrative so deep and meaningful, you save it for a post-round fire pit, which is where no one is in a hurry for the night to end.