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Can Minnesota golf courses find the next generation of players? I MinnPost Page 2 of 8 <br />The market overbuilt for a demand that eventually petered out. The economic downturn in <br />2oo8 didn't help either, especially for young people with limited funds. <br />"Golf costs money and takes a lot of time," Minnesota Golf Association communications <br />director W. P. Ryan says. "It's what young people don't have a lot of." And the new sheen that <br />Woods imprinted on it couldn't hide the fact that golf retained multiple stigmas: expensive <br />dues, stuffy dress codes and a WASPy aura. <br />, AIElll 111 iC' IIU <br />C11101111C uZTS <br />Golf clubs wanted to fight those stigmas. From <br />daily -rate courses to exclusive, members -only <br />clubs, they are loosening their ties, slashing their <br />prices and trying to find ways to keep the pipeline <br />full. "I don't know that anyone has figured out <br />how to get 18- to 34 -year-olds playing just yet," <br />Ryan adds. But many are trying. <br />Deer Run Golf Club is among those. The privately <br />owned course in Victoria focuses on a user- <br />friendly, high-quality experience, but with daily <br />rates instead of expensive monthly dues. <br />"Country club membership just doesn't have the same cachet to younger people that it once <br />did," Deer Run general manager Tom Abts said. "Clubs have to recognize that they need to <br />change, but that's difficult because older members like the status quo." <br />Though Deer Run's target membership, influenced by its location just south of Lake <br />Minnetonka, is affluent professionals about 40 years old living in the southwest metro, the club <br />is making big strides to appeal to people across the spectrum. <br />Abts says his courses aren't intimidating like some other clubs. Their golf and beverage carts <br />are spacious and new, and golfers can relax at an in-house pub stocked with craft beer and <br />whiskeys. Perhaps their most intriguing change was Abts' introduction of "FastPlayFriday," <br />which encourages speedier play and means people don't have to take a huge chunk of their day <br />to finish a game. <br />They also haven't ignored marketing. Their ads are splashed with cheeky slogans that riff on <br />cultural and social memes like "Fairway to heaven" and "Welcome to the real Magic Kingdom." <br />It's not just the daily -rate courses fighting for younger folks. <br />http://www.minnpost.com/twin-cities-business/2015/04/can-minnesota-golf... 4/22/2015 <br />