PINEHURST, N.C. – The USGA unveiled its new U.S. Open brand platform on Saturday at its annual meeting, and along with it, a breakdown of where the money goes. The organization that governs the game knows that a healthy U.S. Open is vital to the overall health of the USGA, and in turn, golf in this country. Now they want everyone else to understand that too.
The bottom line: The U.S. Open generates $165 million in revenue annually, or about 75 percent of the USGA’s total revenue.
That money funds, among other things, the 13 other national championships the USGA conducts annually.
“Virtually everything we do loses money,” said USGA CEO Mike Davis in a media roundtable at Pinehurst.
During a packed afternoon session at the Carolina Hotel, John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s senior managing director of championships, put up a pie chart that broke down the revenue. It costs $80 million to conduct the U.S. Open. Then $15 million goes back to the players in amenities such as hospitality and travel expenses for amateurs, with $12.5 million into the purse. The rest of the money, roughly $70 million, is invested back into golf.
Bodenhamer then broke down that $70 million: The USGA spends $10 million annually on the U.S. Women’s Open, about $25 million in other Open and amateur championships, $10 million in golf course sustainability and another $25 million in grow-the-game initiatives like LPGA-USGA Girls Golf and The First Tee.
“If (people) actually knew that the third week in June funds all this stuff that actually goes back and helps the average golfer,” said Davis, “they probably would root for the U.S. Open to do a little bit better financially. We don’t want to bastardize the event, but we want to do well with it.”
‘From Many, One’
The U.S. Open’s stature and identity has been under fire in recent years. Whether it was overblown or merited doesn’t really matter at this point. The chorus of complaints often drowned out what was actually worth celebrating. Players mostly complained about setup. Money too.
The USGA’s desire to take courses to the edge, along with that Dustin Johnson ruling at Oakmont, made controversy king, and Golf Digest’s opus of anonymous gripes from last year even included talk of a boycott by players.
To help ease tension and create stronger dialogue, the USGA hired longtime PGA Tour player Jason Gore as its first senior director of player relations. But they didn’t just talk to players. The USGA took a deep dive in surveying stakeholders from every area of the championship, including 1,150 fans.
One area that kept coming up: The U.S. Open is the fuel behind everything that you do. Tell that story.
After Bodenhamer laid out what the championship means for the game as a whole financially, Craig Annis, chief brand officer of the USGA, revealed the championship’s new platform. For the first time, the U.S. Open has a 12-month campaign that isn’t tied to a specific venue.
The USGA partnered with Culver City, Calif.-based Zambezi to develop a campaign centered around the line “From Many, One.” It’s a twist on “E Pluribus Unum,” and focuses on the “Open” portion of the championship. Nearly 10,000 players will try to qualify for the U.S. Open. From the field of 156, one will lift the trophy.
“By every measure it’s the most open championship there is,” said Davis, “and we’ve been steadfast in saying we want less than half of the 156 players to be fully exempt.”
The new campaign features the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, reminding viewers of the event’s history and significance, but also the stories of aspiring journeymen with longshot dreams of competing June 18-21 at famed Winged Foot.
The campaign has a gritty feel to it. Fans fall for the beat-the-odds story of the firefighter who makes his way in as much as they do the household names.
Even the font choice of the print ads evokes a go-to-battle mentality.
Commercials surrounding the new campaign featuring Oscar-nominated actor Don Cheadle began airing on Fox Sports during the NFL playoffs, NCAA basketball games and NASCAR races.
Fewer courses hosting
Annis said the USGA’s massive data collection also revealed that “people wanted to see the U.S. Open played on fewer courses more frequently.” Bodenhamer brought up a point Nick Price, a USGA board member, once noted that resonated with many on staff: “It’s important where players win their major.”
“When we brought Jason in, we sought thoughts from players,” said Bodenhamer. “Where do they want to go? Why would we not ask players that? Where do they want to win?”
It’s an area Bodenhamer said the organization is still exploring.
None of this, of course, will help with the next set-up squabble. But perhaps the USGA’s latest efforts at transparency will encourage a more big-picture point of view from all sides.
The USGA’s total revenue for the year was $211 million, including the U.S. Open. Media rights, which includes the 12-year multimedia deal signed with Fox that began in 2015, represented 54 percent of the total revenue at $114 million.
With $165 million in annual revenue from the U.S. Open, Davis was asked at the roundtable, why not drastically bump up the purse?
He noted that while it’s important to stay competitive with other big events, for every additional $1 million that goes toward the purse, it takes away from those areas that lose money, such as girls’ golf or the upcoming championship for disabled players.
“I’m not sure there’s ever a right or wrong to it,” said Davis. “It’s a balance, because we only have so much money.”
