On Sunday evening, Northeast Ohio Golf published an idea for consideration by the USGA to use the significant amount of TV money on-hand and soon-to-come to make the entry fees for its national championships much more affordable, and to cover the costs of travel for the players who qualify for these events starting in 2015.
On Monday afternoon, Tyler Riggin, the USGA Director for the Great Lakes Region, was kind enough to respond to an email notifying him of the story on the website and the petition that had been created.
Here is his reply:
Allen,
Thank you for sending your article my way. We are always looking for ways to bring the National Championships to a new level. These are trying times for everyone, let alone our golfing community where we have had one of the worst stretches for participation at the local level in a long time. We are looking at many different programs and initiatives to help get people playing more golf and one of those is to make the game more accessible and less expensive to play.
Again, thank you for your constructive criticism and ideas for change. I will forward this on to the proper individuals.
Please let me know if you have any questions or need anything at all.
Best regards,
Tyler Riggin
Director, Regional Affairs – Great LakesUnited States Golf Association
11855 Archer Ave.
Lemont, IL 60439
484-868-1252
TRiggin@usga.org
www.usga.org
It’s was great to see an understanding by Mr. Riggin of the intent behind the article, and a willingness to forward an idea that truly should be considered by the USGA’s Executive Committee.
But it only follows that the more players who show their agreement with this idea by signing the petition, the more seriously the USGA will take the suggestion in the next few months.
So if you haven’t done so already, please sign the petition here now.
And if you have signed it, please help spread the word to other tournament players you know via email, Twitter and Facebook, so the idea goes national!
