GBR Wednesday | Michigan Leads U.S. in Publicly Accessible Golf Courses
Connecting the dots across golf’s business, media, and professional landscape
Hello GBR,
I’m back home in Scotland for a visit. I’m lucky because home is slap-bang in the middle of one of the busiest areas in the country for golf courses.
Within a ten-minute drive from the front door are courses like Muirfield, North Berwick West, Renaissance Club, Gullane, Luffness New, and Archerfield. There are a few more, but you get the gist.
One thing about this area is that none of the golf courses are public courses (especially Renaissance and Archerfield). Visitors can and do play, but essentially, these courses are private members’ courses.
If I were writing this from somewhere in Michigan, the story would be different. In a new NGF report, Michigan comes out on top for the most public-friendly courses in the U.S.
The number of publicly accessible courses is important as the game continues to show positive growth, and Michigan is one of only five states that has more than 800 courses available for the public.
Elsewhere in today’s GBR, we look at the Indoor Golf Alliance’s new membership program offerings, Power Tee’s newest report on driving range turf maintenance, a really useful read if you are spending obscene amounts of money to keep your range looking good.
We also take a look at Zen Golf’s two Green Stages setup, which gave guests the chance to experience how tricky the greens were at Sawgrass during The Players, which showcased some new technology that will be available later this year.
Enjoy today’s GBR.
NGF REPORT SHOWS MICHIGAN LEADS U.S. IN PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE GOLF COURSES
Michigan has the largest supply of publicly accessible golf in the United States, with 748 daily-fee, municipal, and resort courses at the start of 2026, a total greater than the entire golf-course supply in 45 states.
The state had 868 golf courses overall, making it one of only five states with more than 800 courses, behind Florida on 1,290 and California on 963, and just ahead of New York on 830 and Texas on 825. According to National Golf Foundation data, 86% of Michigan’s courses are public, well above the national average of 72%.
The report said Michigan’s combination of temperate weather, natural scenery, central location, and the country’s longest freshwater coastline has helped it earn the label “America’s Summer Golf Capital,” with courses stretching from the Detroit area to Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula serving nearly one million in-state golfers while also attracting visitors from across the U.S. and Canada.
Golf’s annual direct economic impact in Michigan is estimated at about $3 billion, based on a recent NGF Economic Impact Study carried out for the Michigan Golf Alliance and its affiliated organizations. Nationally, NGF said golf generates about $102 billion a year in direct economic impact and noted that its state-level reports are used by legislators, tourism bodies, and industry groups to assess the game’s local footprint, with updated state summaries and wider data analysis also available to members.
INDOOR GOLF ALLIANCE INTRODUCES NEW MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMS
The Indoor Golf Alliance has announced a revised set of membership programs with options tailored to operators, suppliers, and prospective businesses, and annual memberships available with monthly payment plans.
The organization said its mission is to bring the industry together through education, information, community, and value, with the free IGA Community tier offering a weekly industry newsletter, research insights, public webinars, and industry announcements.
The paid Operator Member program includes vendor discounts, which the IGA said typically exceed the cost of membership, together with access to IGA University resources such as video libraries, playbooks, and templates, a private member community for indoor operators and advisers, conference registration discounts, adviser Q&A sessions, an IGA Member Facility badge, and directory inclusion.
The Business Partner membership adds promotional and commercial benefits, including a verified partner badge and directory profile, logo placement and links on the IGA website, discounted event and trade-show participation, members-only advertising rates, job-board postings, monthly newsletter inclusion for company news, one annual shared blast email, two press releases in IGA News updates each year, content on the IGA News page, social media support tied to press releases, and video links on the IGA YouTube channel. Business Partners also receive access to IGA University, invitations to webinars, access to moderate the IGA member community for structured industry dialogue, opportunities to engage with advisory councils, and eligibility to participate in webinars, subject to editorial approval. The IGA said most operators should be able to recover the full $500 annual membership cost through a single vendor discount, one pricing adjustment or one avoided operational mistake, and highlighted preferred vendor offers, including a Golf Genius package under which U.S. and Canadian operator members can receive a $500 round credit on the Golf Genius TM Flex Plan, offsetting the membership fee. Other listed offers include ProAgenda, Indoor Golf Shops, All Star Inflatables, KZG Golf Club Components, VioptIQ, and Northwestern.
POWER TEE RELEASES REPORT ON CUTTING DRIVING RANGE TURF MAINTENANCE COSTS
Power Tee has released a new special report, How Golf Facilities Can Dramatically Reduce Turf Maintenance Costs at Driving Ranges, available as a free download for general managers, golf course superintendents, course operators, and chief operating officers.
The report addresses the growing cost of maintaining grass tee lines as labor expenses, equipment use, turf recovery requirements, and water costs continue to rise, and sets out practical strategies intended to reduce the time, expense, and effort involved in managing those areas.
The report examines the often overlooked operating costs tied to traditional grass tee lines and outlines alternative approaches designed to cut mowing, divot repair, irrigation demands, and turf recovery cycles, while also looking at how modern range design and technology can improve efficiency and help protect turf. “Grass tee lines are one of the most labor-intensive and costly areas for superintendents to maintain,” said Martin Wyeth, chief executive and founder of Power Tee. “This report shows how facilities can rethink their range operations to dramatically reduce turf wear, lower maintenance costs, and free up valuable staff time for other priorities across the course.”
Among the areas covered are the hidden labor costs caused by turf damage on traditional tee lines, examples of facilities that have reduced range maintenance demands, strategies to lessen mowing and repair requirements, ways to protect high-traffic areas from excessive wear, and operating methods that allow maintenance teams to redeploy labor more efficiently.
JUNIOR GOLF HUB REPORT MAPS NEW COLLEGE RECRUITING LANDSCAPE
Junior Golf Hub has released its 2026 College Golf Report, a study based on an audit of more than 2,000 programs that the company says is intended to help junior golfers, families, and college coaches navigate a recruiting environment reshaped by NCAA rule changes and rising academic standards.
The report examines the impact of the House v. NCAA settlement, under which Division I men’s and women’s golf programs now operate with a nine-player roster cap, and argues that the reduced margin for error has increased the importance of targeted recruiting built around scoring and academic data. “The math of getting recruited has been rewritten in 2026, but the opportunity for dedicated athletes has never been clearer,” said Rogers Knick, founder of Junior Golf Hub. “While roster spots are more competitive at the top, our data provides a clear map to help players find where they actually fit.” Among the report’s main findings, Junior Golf Hub said the scoring average of a team’s fifth player is now the most useful benchmark for recruits assessing where they could make an immediate impact; that although nearly 30,000 golfers compete across all divisions, roster numbers narrow significantly over time, with more than 16,000 freshmen entering the system each year and overall rosters shrinking by almost 40% by senior year; that a GPA above 3.8 can be a significant advantage in securing places at academically selective institutions such as Stanford, Harvard and Columbia; that college golfers typically improve by 3.3 strokes from freshman to senior year; and that all 304 men’s and 274 women’s Division I programs can now be grouped into an eight-tier system based on team scoring and fifth-player metrics.
The report also says college golf remains a substantial source of opportunity, pointing to nearly 2,000 programs across the NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA and arguing that there is a suitable pathway for players across a wide range of ability levels.
ALLEGIANCE FLAG SUPPLY LAUNCHES GOLF GIVEAWAY TO SUPPORT FOLDS OF HONOR
Allegiance Flag Supply has launched “Honor on the Green,” a national giveaway tied to America’s 250th anniversary that will support Folds of Honor through a guaranteed $25,000 donation.
Running from March 15 to April 15, 2026, the campaign offers entrants the chance to attend a major championship golf tournament in Pennsylvania from May 11-17, with the prize including two week-long tickets and $5,000 toward travel and expenses. The initiative is intended to link championship golf with the broader anniversary year while supporting Folds of Honor’s mission to provide educational scholarships to the spouses and children of fallen or disabled service members and first responders.
“At Allegiance, everything we do is rooted in honoring this country and the people who defend it,” said Katie Lyon, co-founder of Allegiance Flag Supply. “As we approach America’s 250th birthday, we wanted to create something that brings people together around tradition and service, while directly supporting the families who have sacrificed so much.”
Since 2007, Folds of Honor has awarded nearly 73,000 scholarships to military and first responder families across the United States. “It’s allowed me to be financially free and just focus on finding how I want to give back to the world,” said scholarship recipient Stephen Federicoa. “And that is a precious gift.”
INRANGE WORLD TOUR RETURNS FOR THIRD SEASON
The Inrange World Tour, the range-golf competition run by London-based technology company Inrange, will return for a third consecutive season, expanding across 18 countries and more than 90 venues in the Inrange Partner Network after the company said participation increased 4.5 times last year.
The new season begins this month with a pre-tour qualifier in Myrtle Beach, before the main competition opens on May 1 with Round 1 played on a digital version of Le Golf National, host venue of the 2024 Olympic golf event and 2018 Ryder Cup. The tour will again use monthly six-hole contests played on digital versions of leading courses, but Season 3 will introduce several new elements, including algorithm-based divisional scoring designed to create performance-based groupings with promotion and relegation, an invitation-only Elites tier for top players identified through Inrange’s radar network who will compete for a share of $30,000. In addition, a team-play component is available linked to the Solheim Cup, in which players will represent either Team Europe or Team USA across three rounds that also count toward a collective result.
The season will also feature Bernardus Golf, this year’s Solheim Cup venue, which Inrange said is currently being scanned into its software. “We’re changing the conversation around what range golf looks like,” said Ian Blunt, Inrange’s programme lead and global brand manager. “For decades, it’s been limited to just practice, which fundamentally ignores the competitive spark that’s built into every golfer. Our goal is to get players game-ready, and then give them the platform to actually prove it against their peers—both locally and internationally.”
ZEN GOLF AND TWO12 RECREATE TPC SAWGRASS PUTTS
Guests visiting the Morgan Stanley Fan Experience during The Players Championship were able to face the same putting challenges as Cameron Young and the rest of the field faced, thanks to what Zen Golf and TWO12 Events described as a world-first activation built around two 12-foot Zen Green Stages.
The two greens, placed side-by-side and pre-loaded with the actual green slopes for the tournament pin positions on holes 16, 17 and 18, allowed guests to attempt three breaking putts based on the exact gradients, ball positions and daily hole locations used on the Stadium Course, before receiving assistance on subsequent attempts from Zen Eye, an overhead projector and augmented-reality system due to launch in summer 2026 that made its public debut at the event.
The activation projected putting lines, ball position, distance, and PGA Tour average make percentages onto the surface while the stage adjusted beneath players’ feet to match the real slopes, with prizes awarded to those who holed two or more putts, and the twin-stage layout allowed two participants to play at once. “This first-of-its-kind experience absorbed fans directly into the challenge of THE PLAYERS tournament in a world-first activation,” said Steve Bauerle, chief executive of TWO12 Events, while Morgan Stanley chief marketing officer Jess Schnurr said the experience was designed to bring clients and fans “closer to the moments that define the tournament.”
Zen Golf founder Nick Middleton said the system allowed guests to “stand over the very same putts” and experience a version of the pressure faced by players during the championship. The activation was the latest collaboration between Zen Golf and TWO12 Events, which also worked together at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, and Middleton said further tournament-based experiences are planned in the United States with new Trackman integration and additional Zen Eye features in development.
CALLAWAY APPAREL UNVEILS SPRING 2026 PATRONS WELCOME COLLECTION
Callaway Apparel, developed by Perry Ellis International, has launched its Spring 2026 Patrons Welcome Collection, a limited-availability range that will be worn by Callaway Apparel ambassador Max Greyserman as part of his official scripting.
The company said the collection is designed as a seasonal tribute to the colors, flavors, and visual references associated with this point in the golf calendar, combining those motifs with Callaway Apparel’s Chev logo in a line intended to reflect both spring golf and the brand’s established identity.
“Our Patrons Welcome Collection is about more than apparel, it’s about channeling the charm and pageantry that make this time of year so meaningful for golf fans,” said Oscar Feldenkreis, chief executive of Perry Ellis International. “We’ve paired the technical innovation Callaway Apparel is known for with designs that reflect our passion for the game.” The assortment includes polos, T-shirts and layering pieces, with highlighted items including the Azalea Gingham Polo, which combines a traditional gingham pattern with a floral overlay inspired by azaleas and southern landscapes, the Pimento Mini Print Polo, which references a familiar golf-course food staple, and the Signature Chev Micro Print Polo, which uses a repeating version of the Callaway logo in seasonal colors.
The Spring 2026 Patrons Welcome Collection is available now through select pro shops and retail stores.
LOS ANGELES GOLF CLUB WINS TGL TITLE AS TIGER WOODS RETURNS FOR FINALS
It’s hard to believe, but TGL completed its second season yesterday evening, with Los Angeles Golf Club beating Tiger Woods’s Jupiter Links Golf Club 2-0 in the best-of-three finals at SoFi Center on Monday and Tuesday, giving LAGC the SoFi Cup in front of owners Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams.
The final also marked Woods’s first competitive appearance at TGL this season and his return to SoFi Center, after he ruptured his left Achilles tendon in March 2025 and underwent further back surgery in October. LAGC’s Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Sahith Theegala, and Collin Morikawa will share $9 million in prize money, while Jupiter Links — Woods, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Kevin Kisner, and Akshay Bhatia will receive $4.5 million for finishing second.
Boston Common Golf earned $2.25 million, Atlanta Drive Golf Club $2 million, The Bay Golf Club $1.75 million, and New York Golf Club $1.5 million, with the league’s total $21 million prize fund unchanged from its inaugural 2025 season. The conclusion of Season 2 also leaves TGL entering an important offseason, with its initial two-year media-rights agreement on ESPN platforms now expired. Audience figures for the finals are due later this week, with Season 2 matches averaging 463,000 viewers before the championship round, down from a full-season average of 498,000 in Season 1. David Rumsey, Front Office Sports.
LIV GOLF CONFIRMS SOUTH AFRICA RETURN FOR APRIL 2027
LIV Golf has confirmed that LIV Golf South Africa will return from April 22-25, 2027, at The Club at Steyn City, following what the league said was a debut event this week that attracted more than 100,000 fans.
The announcement was made before Sunday morning’s final round during a press conference featuring South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie, LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil, Southern Guards GC general manager Richard Glover, and Steyn City Properties chief executive Steven Louw. LIV said the event had quickly become a leading stop on its calendar, with good crowds across the first three days and a final day featuring a leading group of players.
“Our return to South Africa in 2027 is a proud moment for LIV Golf,” O’Neil said, adding that the inaugural event had demonstrated the country’s golf culture, player base, and fan support while delivering economic impact and community engagement. McKenzie said the event showed South Africa’s ability to host international sport while supporting tourism, hospitality, creative industries, job creation, and future athletes. Louw described extending the event through 2027 as a significant milestone for Steyn City, while Glover said the atmosphere this week had shown the depth of local support for elite golf and the importance of South Africa as a stop on LIV Golf’s global schedule.
MIURA INTRODUCES PI-402 IRONS WITH THINNER CHROMOLY FACE AND REVISED SOLE DESIGN
Miura has introduced its new PI-402 irons, a players-distance model that builds on the PI-401 launched five years ago by combining a cast 8620 steel frame with a high-strength SAE 8655 chromoly steel face insert to increase ball speed from a relatively compact head shape.
Priced at $350 per club and available from 4-iron through gap wedge at 48 degrees, the PI-402 uses a constant-thickness face measuring three millimeters, which Miura said is 0.6 millimeters, or 17%, thinner than the previous version and produces gains of 2-4 mph in ball speed along with more consistent distance across the face. The chromoly alloy incorporates nickel for toughness, chromium for resistance, and molybdenum for resilience under stress, while a TPU plate in the back cavity is intended to preserve feel despite the thinner face design.
Miura has also revised the sole, drawing inspiration from the Kissaki, the tip of a traditional Samurai sword, with a shape designed to improve turf interaction across a range of attack angles through heel and toe relief, leading-edge relief for steeper swings, a maximum sole width of 22 millimeters, and bounce progressing from 11 to 16 degrees through the set. The center of gravity has been pushed lower through a 35-gram tungsten bar positioned low in a chamber within the cast frame, accounting for roughly 12% to 14% of head weight, a structure made possible by the cast-body construction supporting the thin full-face insert.