The National Club Association and other key golf industry leaders convened on Capitol Hill on May 21, 2014, for the 7th annual National Golf Day (NGD) to educate lawmakers about the sport’s far-reaching economic, environmental and health-related impacts. As part of the WE ARE GOLF coalition, NCA was joined on the Hill by The PGA of America, the Club Managers Association of America, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and the National Golf Course Owners Association of America, among others.
Representing NCA at the event were President & CEO Susanne R. Wegrzyn and Vice President of Government Relations and General Counsel Brad D. Steele. Through productive meetings with prominent Senate and House members’ staff, NCA shared important ways that golf is “more than just a game,” helping to dispel misconceptions and provide important insights about the sport to the decision makers who will shape its future.
These meetings aimed to show that, despite the industry’s considerable $68.8 billion economic impact, it is misguided to consider golf an elitist sport, or one that excludes the everyday American. Indeed, many elected officials and their staffs were surprised to hear that the median green fee across the U.S. is only $26, and that eight out of 10 golfers play at public facilities. NGD representatives hoped to convey how the 15,000 golf facilities nationwide face the concerns of any small business, and therefore deserve the same protections and considerations.
In meetings with the chiefs of staff for Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), who serve on the Senate’s Small Business Committee, NCA was able to show these influential decision makers how the nearly 2 million jobs supported by golf in the U.S. are affected by small business issues such as the proposed changes to overtime regulations, immigration and visa policy, and the proposed minimum wage increase.
Sen. Enzi additionally serves on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP Committee), along with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), whose senior staffers also met with NCA on National Golf Day. These crucial discussions covered the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) continuing impact on private clubs, as well as difficulties presented by overreach of the National Labor Relations Board in decisions such as the new Ambush Election Rule and Specialty Healthcare rulings, which present labor unionization challenges to golf course managers.
NCA also met with the chief of staff for Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who serves on the Senate’s Budget Committee as well as the Joint Economic Committee. Golf’s growing economic significance and its increasingly large charitable impact were central topics to this meeting. Giving more than the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL combined, golf produces $3.9 billion for charities each year.
Finally, a meeting with the chief of staff for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the House Republican Conference’s Chair, shed light on how House leadership is dealing with major issues affecting the golf industry, including the shift in discussions away from repealing the ACA toward possible reform. The Save American Workers Act (SAW Act), which would change the definition of full-time employees under the ACA from 30 hours to 40 hours per week, and the Simplifying Technical Aspects Regarding Seasonality Act (STARS Act), which would clarify who may be classified as a seasonal employee under the ACA and whether those workers will cause the club to fall under the law, are two key bills that NCA is working to promote on Capitol Hill. Rodgers’ chief of staff reiterated that these bills are important measures in dealing with difficulties presented by the ACA.
Unfortunately, with Senate Republicans only permitted to offer nine amendments on bills in the Senate during nearly a year’s time (compared to House Democrats offering well over 100 in the same period), the state of affairs between the minority and majority party in the upper chamber continues to present obstacles to legislative action. The difficulty of this reality was echoed by many throughout the day with no clear solution in sight. Still, National Golf Day presents a crucial opportunity for NCA to protect our members and tell our story. And, once again, the event was a great way for us to work with our allies to ensure those who depend on golf are treated fairly on Capitol Hill.
Visit the social media hub at www.wearegolf.org/social-media/national-golf-day. Through May 31, be sure to use #NGD14 and tag @wearegolf on Twitter and Instagram to show your support.
