Opinion & Analysis

The new era of golf “meet-ups”

Published

7 years ago

Sep 24, 2019

A group of like-minded people getting together to share in a passion or hobby is not a new concept—think swap meets or car shows, but golf has been fairly slow to adapt to this culture beyond a few pockets of individuals. I’m willing to acknowledge that golf is famously known for “buddy trips” to far-flung destinations and bucket-list courses. But in those cases, many of the people involved know each other before the trip and have been with the same group of people for years, even decades.

In the new age of social media the idea of meets up in golf has evolved quickly, whether it be with the goal to play a specific course—both public or private thanks to some clubs seeing it as a way to potentially recruit new members from a target audience, or in other cases using specific equipment like hickories or persimmon to enjoy golf as it used to be.

In the bomb and gouge era we could make the argument that golf for the highest of skilled players has become a bit homogenized, both recreationally and at a professional level. The idea of an equipment roll back to increase shotmaking and produce a more exciting “product” has been growing in the realm of speculators, and even with some pros including Adam Scott. Where the feet hit the ground, it’s an even bigger topic of discussion, especially when it comes to architecture and how the next wave of courses will evolve, but that’s a different subject.

This brings us to a little pocket of the golf ecosystem that caught my eye a few years go—players who shun the concept of “modern” technology and play with retro gear. It’s a growing trend and we are seeing it evolve a lot of different ways, including the <14 movement with half sets. What makes getting into this style of golf so easy, is you can find older clubs from the persimmon era almost anywhere for very little money; yard sales, swap shops, Goodwill Stores (we have a thread on finds here: Post Your Goodwill Finds) even just from family and friends. I searched everywhere to see what people were finding and where, before I started to really track down clubs, since I truthfully had no idea what I was looking for. But all good things come to those who wait, or at least are searching almost every day.

With these newfound connections thanks to social media, like-minded people have been organizing events with great popularity over the last few years. Not to put the cart before the horse, but even here at GolfWRX we have discussed the idea of a full-blown gear junkie meet-up to celebrate all things that make WRX so unique.

What made my recent trip to Sweetens Cove so interesting was how more than 20 people from around the country came together to just play golf and enjoy the day. People from all different backgrounds and ages with one goal: to play a great golf course with old wooden drivers and irons not designed with forgiveness in mind. It felt like we had all stumbled on a little piece of perfect golf community, and that’s still the best way I can describe it: community.

This is what the new era of golf meet-ups has done, create a glowing sense of community that embodies one of the things golf should really be about: friends—even if they are new friends coming together to share an experience, no matter how or why you choose to play.

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Ryan Barath

Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

5 Comments

Ryan

Sep 25, 2019 at 8:30 am

The r/golf subreddit has a meet up type thing going on periodically. It gives people a chance to meet up with others and play a course or two in a state of choosing. Its really cool. On the equipment side of things, I bought a set of 1979 Apex II heads for $30 off eBay. I took out the X100 Dynamic Gold shafts from an older Nike set of mine and put them in those heads. I game those right now and love them. I hit them as good and as far as my newer set of Nike blades.

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rex 235

Sep 24, 2019 at 9:58 pm

Ryan-

Those irons in your photo are 1964 Walter Hagen Haig (Diamond) Ultra irons, a great find.
They’re the ones which Ben Crenshaw had Wilson/Walter Hagen base his Walter Hagen Crenshaw Grind iron model on 20 years later. Though the ’64 irons were RH/LH, the Crenshaw Grinds were RH Only.

In fact, those iron remakes from major Golf Equipment companies in the ’80s-MacGregor Colokroms, ’69 ’71 Wilson Staff Dynapowers, Hogan Decades, Walter Hagen Crenshaws) were unashamedly RH Only.

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Tanner

Sep 24, 2019 at 7:52 pm

Great and timely article for me. My son is new in town and it would be so great for kids in their 20’s and 30’s(young professionals as they are called these days) who play golf easily meetup. There’s no or very few golf meetups on meetup.com nationally. There was a golf singles site that I once viewed. But, often they go dark or the sr crowd attends these events. If anyone has any ideas or there are web sites out there for young golfers to connect and share a beer – would love to hear about it, especially in coastal NC. Cheers!

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ML

Sep 24, 2019 at 2:05 pm

This is a tremendous article. Not dissimilar to the experience I had at the Winter Park 9 in Orlando. Was a totally different feeling than any other I’ve had on a golf course in my lifetime. Relaxed, fun and community.

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Brian

Sep 24, 2019 at 1:12 pm

Great article, Ryan! I’ve only played golf for a few years, and to be frank, the “New Age” community you found and wrote about is what brought me to the sport.

Having grown up several places abroad and having a background in soccer, soccer was a way for me to form a community and to communicate without even knowing the spoken language – all I needed was a ball, and before I knew it, I had a group of new friends without ever even making a formal introduction. We’d kick it – literally – for hours.

I hope the future of golf continues to grow in this fashion, and similar to your experience at Sweetens Cove, I’ve found most enjoyment in the rounds I’ve played using old sticks alongside some fun people. Cheers.

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Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

6 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.

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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

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Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.

If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.

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Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie

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2 weeks ago

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On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.

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