NEXT DOORS {ahead of the curve} A NEW ERA FOR GOLF IN ARIZONA Tom Evans | Contributing Editor True story: Golf was originally going to be in the five “Cs” that define Arizona’s economy, but no one could figure out how to make the spelling work. OK, I’m joking. But only by a little bit. Golf has played an instrumental part in Arizona’s growth and development over the years, and still is one of the defining activities our state has to offer. But it’s almost 2019 now, and appetites have changed. As the world has gotten faster, many people who used to play the game frequently — myself included — find it more and more To understand the game’s future, look at what’s happened to the past 30 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | DECEMBER 2018

difficult to carve out four-and-a-half hours on any given day for a recreational activity, even one as peaceful and relaxing as golf. And golf courses have tough math to begin with. They require vast swaths of land and an extensive amount of water, have high maintenance needs and use a lot of heavy equipment. As society has changed, and golfers have changed, many golf courses have not been able to adapt. Many have even closed for good. But people still love the game. That’s why you see new ventures such as Topgolf opening up with a tremendous amount of success. They’re moving away from the QUIET PLEASE signs and reshaping the golf experience to make it shorter, more action-packed, and even to integrate it with music and entertainment. Traditional golf courses are taking notice. A number of them — the Arizona Biltmore, for example — have started offering more abbreviated golf experiences than just the traditional 18 holes. The Biltmore has run four-hole specials that come with an alcoholic beverage, for example, compressing the golf experience into less than an hour. And whereas an 18-hole course might never have marketed a nine-hole round in the past, shorter play experiences are now common at courses across the Valley. You’re even seeing the change play out on some of the Valley’s most famous tracks. Take the venerable Papago Golf Course, for example, where I played my senior Divisional Championship tournament in 19XX (none of your business; suffice it to say it was a long time ago). Anyway, the course has undergone a fits-and- starts restoration over the past decade which has resulted in fewer trees (which means less water usage); cleaned-up and refined fairways, greens and bunkers; new training facilities; and at long last a new clubhouse. The latter two upgrades are due to the course becoming the new home of the Arizona State University golf team effective this fall, as the ASU Karsten Golf Course is redeveloped. The newly revamped Papago — now a partnership Whether played at a traditional course ( opposite ) or a high-tech venue ( above ), golf remains a popular sport. DECEMBER 2018 | FRONTDOORS MEDIA 31