Tom Loeffler
Tom Loeffler is a sports columnist for connectmidmissouri.com and KRCG.
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To be sure, these are tough economic times for a lot of people and a lot of businesses.
Plenty of four-letter words have been used in the process.
But one four-letter word has been an ecomonic boom in Missouri --- golf. Yes, they do call it golf because all the other four-letter words were taken. But in this case, golf has been a very good thing for the state.
Last year in Missouri, a total of $888.6 million was generated directly from golf. When you add in the all the other peripheral businesses and benefits, Missouri's golf industry generated a total economic impact of a staggering $1.7 billion, supporting nearly 21,000 jobs with $485.1 million of wage income.
Show me the money in the Show-Me State.
"(The economic impact study) showed golf is very vital to the Missouri economy, and that it's one of the state's top industries," said Scott Hovis, executive director of the Missouri Golf Association. "I knew golf had a big impact on the state, but I didn't know it was this much.
"It was kind of an eye-opener."
To celebrate the game and its impact, Jefferson City Country Club will host Missouri Golf Day, starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
"We found out Nebraska had a golf day and we thought it was a great idea," Hovis said. "It's a great way to help promote golf in Missouri."
The event's special guests --- and these are special guests, indeed --- include:
* Gov. Jay Nixon;
* Joe Steranka, CEO of the PGA;
* Mark Passey, regional director of the USGA;
* and St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, president of the Gateway Junior Golf Foundation.
"It should be a great day," Hovis said.
After the special guests speak, starting at 9 a.m. in the Truman Room of the clubhouse, there will be a four-person scramble at 10:30 a.m., with all proceeds benefitting junior golf in Missouri.
From 9 a.m.-4 p.m. --- and all of this is open to the public --- free golf lessons from golf professionals around the state will be offered; there will be drawings for free equipment; and numerous golf companies will have booths, showcasing "the latest and greatest golf equipment being made," Hovis said. "If you want to buy something, you can do it right there."
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