A couple of weeks ago we shared with you what SCGA was planning in terms of rallying public opposition to the "Public Golf Endangerment Act" [AB 672 - Garcia; D-Bell Gardens], a bill we termed the most damaging piece of anti-golf legislation in a generation.
As promised, that campaign launched yesterday.
Among the opening salvos of the campaign: An scga.org homepage takeover, a full member email blast, social media mentions, and GHIN app & Club Official Digest ad placements, all linking back to a dedicated landing page enabling those so inclined to type in a home or golf club address and be taken straight to their Assembly Member along with mock letters that can be copied and pasted straight thereinto. Support messaging will continue through January across all SCGA communication vehicles and include a ground campaign at key at-risk facilities. Should the bill either pass out of the Assembly by the end of January or be reframed as a 1-year bill, SCGA Governmental Affairs and Communication & Marketing will continue the campaign for as long as the bill lives.
SCGA has communicated with various industry partners and allies across the state to solidify and coordinate messaging. They have been encouraged to use SCGA's educational materials, talking points, and marketing collateral.
For more information, visit SCGA's dedicated landing page. If you have not already, take a few minutes to utilize the tools available to contact your local representative and voice your thoughts on the bill.
Those of you who follow these Governmental Affairs Updates know that this campaign is an outlier. Most of what we do is nuanced and educational - inside politics as it were. The fact that we're sounding loud alarm bells and encouraging a massive public response is indicative of just how serious this moment is for the California golf community.
This is not about housing, affordable or otherwise. It's about the fact that golf and only golf is being singled out among all other park, recreational, and open space activities for dismemberment. There is no principle more powerful in politics than whose blood is in the water. This Public Golf Endangerment Act (AB 672) puts golf's blood in the water in a way that all but guarantees more focused assaults. The line between the 22% of the state's golf stock directly affected by the bill and the other 78% is a short and straight one. Those with strong stomachs can click here to read the Act.
Again, for more information visit the landing page on scga.org.