A surprising example was the placement of ball washers.

He asked, “Why are ball washers placed on the tees? If you are using a ball washer on the tee, you are putting with a dirty golf ball.”

And then there is the problem of maintenance.

As a golfer, would you rather take care of cleaning your own ball, or discover too late that your ball just visited a stinky ball washer?

Of course, we all like the ball washer available and clean, but weigh that against the cost. Oatis said the average cost of a ball washer is $500 per unit.

A relatively simple concept that can be used by all golf courses is rethinking the amount of fairway acreage and how these fairways are maintained.

There are many places a golf ball never goes. Conversely, the trend toward narrower fairways, especially in a popular landing area, impacts the pace of play.

These choices eliminate interesting options for the best player by reducing the odds in a risk/reward situation. The heavy rough is too difficult for us average golfers. I know I get tired wrenching my shoulders every time I try to dig a ball out of three-inch rough.

Cutting the fairways too low is neither cost effective nor good for the grass. My best days on the course are when the mower hasn’t been around for a while. This gal loves a fluffy lie.

Too many American golfers have bought into the idea that a great day of golf requires a course in perfect condition.

“What we see on television is not really good for us on the local level. What is done for a week at a tournament is just not possible or sustainable on a regular basis,” said Oatis. “In essence, we’re pampering our golfers and pampering our turf. That’s not helping the game.”

I like the idea of modifying the transition areas from green to tee and those mounds behind greens where only the worst of the worst shots go.

These areas could be converted to native grasses, or an even better idea would be to take a page out of the interstate highway program. It would be lovely to see a meadow of daisies or cosmos dancing in the sun.

The experts had nothing to say about this, but I am certain the golf industry would save a boatload of money if they took a couple of afternoons to fill in every evil bunker on the planet.

Please start with those high-lipped fairway bunkers.

Once again, I bellow from one of these pits of despair, “It is cruel to cause me the loss of yardage from the tee and then leave me with only a wedge to get out of this mess. It is a two-shot penalty. Knock it off, architects!”

I feel better — now back to story at hand.

Jonathan Gold of the PGA of America presented ideas to grow the game. Most of his concepts were targeted to the public golf courses.

Gold said it was important to think outside the box.

“What’s stopping you from having something like a 5k walk on your back nine at 8 a.m. in the morning?” he said.

The runners may not be aware of the golf course or even the game of golf.

Having this new demographic on the course could result in more players in the future. This is especially true if the course provides range balls and a practice putting green to allow the runners a chance to hit a few golf balls.

This summer, the Country Club of Whispering Pines hosted a disc golf tournament that was laid out on several of the golf holes. I happened to be there and was amazed by the number of players and how many different kinds of discs there are.

Every course has its down times. Be generous with the junior golfers in your area. Let them play for free or at a deep discount. It will pay off in the long run. Even better, discount the parent or guardian.

Gold concluded with, “At the end of the day, we need golfers. It is our revenue source, it is our revenue stream. The more golfers we have now, the more success the game of golf will have in the future.”

At the annual Fall Gala for the First Tee of the Sandhills, Carolina Ha spoke to the crowd.

She came to the First Tee because she was supposed to get involved in a sport. She signed up reluctantly, believing golf was really dumb. She discovered how difficult and addicting our game can be.

She is hooked for life.

Contact Betsey Mitchell at bets4golf@gmail.com.