Golf: Gamble pays off but golf not yet out of woods

Golf in Australia has never had a week like this. The generosity, or should that be the intelligent marketing strategy, of the Victorian state government brought Tiger Woods to Melbourne, creating a frenzy unlike anything seen in this part of the world for years.

It's all so far removed from Tiger's visit to New Zealand seven years ago, a visit ruined by bad weather, bad management, bad public relations, and an unenthusiastic government.

It was still the most watched New Zealand Open but the event was nowhere near what it could have been.

Melbourne has embraced Tiger, even excusing him for a major traffic jam on Thursday morning. Apart from the huge crowd size at the Australian Masters (21,000 is a squeeze each day at Kingston Heath), the most remarkable aspect of Tiger's visit is no one's complaining about spending taxpayers' money to enhance the bank account of the world's richest sportsman.

That's because Melburnians, the world's most enthusiastic sporting fans, appreciate the benefits of Tiger's visit. The state government's A$1.5 million investment (the tournament promoters paid the rest from sponsorship) is apparently going to generate around A$19 million worth of economic activity. The tickets, modestly priced at just under $50 a day, sold out quickly. About 35 per cent went to fans from other states or overseas. The state tax alone on what they spend on food, lodging and transport will more than cover the cost of the government's contribution to Woods' appearance fee. That's called good business.

Beyond the economics though, there's this intangible thing called promotion. As in New Zealand, and throughout the English-speaking world, the game in Australia has some real challenges. Club membership is falling and the once thriving Australasian PGA Tour is a shadow of its former self as it struggles to present top tier tournaments beyond the Australian Open, Masters, and PGA Championship.

So the hope is that Woods' appearance will put some spark into a lacklustre circuit, as well as attract converts to the game. But it's unlikely he'll make much real difference.

Because despite him being the most recognisable athlete in America, if not the world, the number of golfers in that country has actually declined during his years of prominence. The mass embrace of the game by African-Americans, hoped for more than 10 years ago, has not happened.

Woods' pulling power is the main driver of the rich television deal that underpins the multi-million dollar purses every week on the (US) PGA Tour. But unless he's going to play in Australia regularly, it's hard to see how a one-off deal like this can make a long term difference to the Australian Tour.

The best the Tour, and golf itself, can hope for is that the sport in Australia gets the best media coverage it's had in years. That can't be bad.