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Why Join the USGA

Everyone has their own reasons but I decided not to renew. The anchoring ban put me over it. They took a non existent problem and blew it way out of proportion. I'm frustrated with rules being made because of how the uber minority is able to play the game.


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I've had the basic membership several years now. Before I joined I called with a question and they returned my call with the answer. The gentleman was very polite, answered my questions. Decided it was a good organization and now support them.
 
caribbeanknight said:
So I go out to the mailbox and find I have a letter from the USGA and I am asked to join their membership. The price isn't bad and I get a free hat and a rule book but what's the point? Who has joined and are you glad you did? Are there any perks when I show up at my local course or if I travel for a week of golf? I never considered myself USGA membership material but I am open to the thought now that its been presented to me. I would love to hear from others who joined and are glad they did as well as others who joined and quit after one year.
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Member since the mid 80's.

The money is spent on many things beyond what I've seen mentioned here. Besides rules maintenance and course rating, handicap maintenance, a lot goes into promoting the game.

A lot is spent on equipment testing and approval.

They also put a lot of money and effort into turf research. Those fast greens we play on now would have been impossible to maintain 25 years ago. Greens were skinned down for PGA tournaments, then it took weeks of care to bring them back to health again. Now they can be skinned down and brought back easily most of the time, and even many munis are running faster than the most posh clubs of 40 years ago (the last year I worked there, my home course was kept between 10 and 11, unheard of 30 years ago for a municipal course).

The USGA does a lot more than most people realize, yet all we ever hear mentioned is their terrible dictatorship on the rules. Too bad some people don't do some research before they rant (and while you're at it, do some research on rules history and maybe you'll understand it better).
 
I dont disagree with much of your post, but I think you are giving a weebit too much credit in this area.

Fourputt said:
They also put a lot of money and effort into turf research. Those fast greens we play on now would have been impossible to maintain 25 years ago. Greens were skinned down for PGA tournaments, then it took weeks of care to bring them back to health again. Now they can be skinned down and brought back easily most of the time, and even many munis are running faster than the most posh clubs of 40 years ago (the last year I worked there, my home course was kept between 10 and 11, unheard of 30 years ago for a municipal course).
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Thainer21 said:
Im well aware at what they do. I just think that you gave them too much credit. There are other associations/institutions out there that do far more than the USGA does.
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You can't just make a blanket statement without qualification. I don't doubt that there are others who help fund such research. My point is that that a significant percentage of USGA income is put back into such programs. I never tried to say that they were the driving force behind it, only that contributions to such programs are a significant part of their budget.

People think that they have all this money to just fritter away sitting around a table figuring ways to piss people off. That's just so much bull.
 
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