In the 1990s , a professional marketer was hired by the Virginia Tourism Corporation ( VTC ) to promote golf . He lasted six months before becoming a victim of budget cuts .

Then the state entered into an agreement with a golf-and-travel company . It went out of business .

There was an attempt to create a Sam Snead Trail . Unfortunately , Snead passed away before the project really got started .

In 2010 , the creation of a Virginia Golf Trail was announced , with Cannon Ridge in Stafford ( the town pledged $ 100,000 ) as headquarters for a trail that was to be divided into six regions .

Gary Schaal , former president of the PGA of America , and Deane Beman , former commissioner of the PGA Tour , were at the center of the project . What could go wrong ?

Nearly everything . No one from the VSGA , the Middle Atlantic PGA ( headquartered in Stafford ) or the National Golf Course Owners Association was aware of the concept , let alone endorsed it . Golfers would book trips through Schaal , providing contact information and giving him an easy database to market his golf interests in Myrtle Beach . Wary , few courses joined in . In January 2013 , Cannon Ridge folded .

The state since has seemed to shy away from proactive golf promotion .

Golf travel people would say a lot of attention has gone to wine . The Virginia Wine Board began fiscal year 2015 with $ 2.1 million from the state — primarily courtesy of 100 percent of the tax money from every bottle sold in Virginia — twothirds

of which it is authorized to spend on marketing and promotion .

According to the board ’ s marketing office , about 1.8 million people visit Virginia wineries annually , so it seems a worthy investment .

At the same time , Virginia golf proponents argue that golf constitutes a significant industry within the state , with an economic impact of $ 2.5 billion while employing 30,000 people . In the last report commissioned for the Virginia Golf Council ( 2012 ), hospitality / tourism accounted for $ 422.8 million in direct income .

They point out that , despite no marketing from the state , GOLF . com reported that Williamsburg was voted the third-favorite destination in the country by golf travelers .

They also estimate that $ 500 million in stay-and-play revenue passes through the Commonwealth into the Carolinas each year . What if Virginia worked to corral even 10 percent of that revenue ?

In 2011 South Carolina spent $ 13.2 million marketing golf . The return in hotels , restaurants , retail and other entertainment : $ 850 million . Myrtle Beach alone receives $ 1.8 million for marketing .

Ocean City , Maryland , an aggressive marketer , and Williamsburg have the same number of golf courses . Yet Ocean City processes 140,000 golf packages a year — five times as many as Williamsburg .

In North Carolina , golf marketing is a combination of some direct ads , primarily digital , combined with co-op partnerships , so it ’ s difficult to pull a specific dollar amount .

They wonder why tourism officials have been reluctant to grow golf — although some concede that they haven ’ t done enough to push the state . Tourism estimates that out

of 40 million visitors each year , less than one percent come for golf . The inference is that they ’ ve had bigger priorities . All of that may be changing . A VTC spokeperson says it markets “ heavily ” in Canada , and considers it fertile ground for tourists . The same can be said for the entire Northeast . If they stop in Virginia instead of North or South Carolina , Virginia gets their business , travelers save on driving time and get two extra rounds of golf , one on the front end of the trip and one on the back end . It ’ s a win-win .

VTC is printing 175,000 copies of a Virginia Golf Guide , to be distributed at trade shows . They ’ ll send out another 200,000 copies electronically .

It has improved its golf page at Virginia . org , making it easier to find packages .

The state has matching fund grants , where three separate entities — say a golf course , hotel and restaurant — pledge a certain amount of money for marketing and ask the state to match it . One golf promoter has received two grants in the last three years . He says there is renewed interest in promoting golf .

It won ’ t be easy . The VTC can only appropriate money it receives from the state legislature , money earmarked for specific items . However , the Virginia Golf Council , featuring leaders across every spectrum of the industry , gives those promoting Virginia golf tourism more lobbying power than ever .

Pen in hand , they are ready to co-author a new chapter in golf promotion , emphasis on “ co-author .”

Formerly of the Virginian-Pilot , columnist Jim Ducibella is a regular contributor to Virginia Golfer .

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