Leisure: Finding Their Swings

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More than 3,000 public parks and commercial tennis facilities have signed up for the Tennis Welcome Center designation. That gets them into the center's database and access to free marketing on the website. The only qualification is that the facility must offer introductory lessons taught by a licensed pro. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) alone is spending $4 million on the program, which also includes TV spots during this year's U.S. Open that will promote the site, and print ads in obvious places like Men's Health and not-so obvious places like Vibe magazine (to attract the hip-hop crowd, which has long avoided tennis). "If novices go out to a park and try to learn tennis on their own, they're most likely not going to stay with the game," says Kurt Kamperman, president of the USTA's community-tennis program. "The website makes it easier than ever to get the necessary instruction."

That may not be enough. After all, tennis lessons have been around longer than Martina Navratilova. A website adds convenience, but "standing alone, the Tennis Welcome Center program will have marginal impact," contends Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp Ltd. in Chicago. "What's missing is aggressive economic incentives like equipment discounts and free lessons." Jim Baugh, the former president of Wilson Sporting Goods who now heads up the Tennis Industry Association (TIA), says no tennis governing body can mandate price controls. But Web transparency can create local competition. Says Baugh: "If I'm a tennis club and I know that three or four other clubs will appear when a customer does a ZIP-code search, I'm now going to offer the most attractive package."

Golf is trying to create a similar online marketplace at playgolfamerica.com The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA), which is organizing the Play Golf America website and advertising campaign, is selling speed rather than price, given that the cost of a round has been declining anyway amid the surplus of courses. "The complaint we hear more than any other is that golf takes too much time," says PGA of America president M.G. Orender, who claims that more than 17 million adults have expressed interest in playing golf. "We're asking our Play Golf America members to get back to the basics--not only to offer the introductory lessons programs but also to offer nine-hole or even six-hole leagues, and couples and family leagues, so that people can manage their time."

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."