Finding Their Swings

The PGA's plan has doubters too. "It's a stab in the dark," says Casey Alexander, a research analyst who covers the golf industry for Gilford Securities in New York City. "Even if the p.r. does reach a new audience, Play Golf America doesn't change any of the problems that crop up once you get to the golf course." These include matters of etiquette — How many practice swings can I take?--that can intimidate new players. Alexander says the course owners, not the golf pros, must run the reforms. Ron Drapeau, CEO of Callaway Golf, the $814 million Big Bertha manufacturer that will imprint playgolfamerica.com on its advertising, says any strategy is better than none at all: "It can't be put on one group's shoulders. Look, we're going down some blind alleys, and we're going to make mistakes. But I'm excited, because for the first time in golf's history, we at least have something."

Some experts contend that no amount of marketing can boost golf and tennis. Like basketball in the late 1970s, they say, the sports need a rivalry like Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson to capture fans' imagination. After all, tennis peaked in the 1970s, when John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg played epic matches. That's why tennis recently revamped the pro tour to create the U.S. Open Series, which will try to build rivalries by forging a six-week summer "season" that links tournaments. Golf sales hit a 15-year high in 1997, when Tiger Woods arrived on the scene. TIA president Baugh is more optimistic: "An Andre Agassi or a Jimmy Connors is icing on the cake. You can't count on that." He points out that exercise walking is the largest participation sport in the country. "There are no big-time professional walkers kids are looking up to," Baugh says. But unlike tennis and golf, walks don't cost a thing. And you don't have to swing.