AboutGolf® – a 19-year-old golf company that has become the world leader in indoor golf simulator technology – and its CEO, Bill Bales, have launched a unique golf commentary web publication, TheNext500Years.com www.thenext500years.com
The Website’s primary mission is to speak to the golf establishment through essays, stories and editorials that openly discuss golf’s challenges and what the game’s future holds.
“Some of these entries are very serious, some humorous, some cynical, some directly critical, always G rated, always with a point to make, and always from the heart” Bales says. “In some cases the presentations are made to allow the reader to draw his or her own conclusions, and in some cases opinions or conclusions are drawn for the reader. Some of the articles point out problems that we all need to ponder and some offer solutions.”
“With a growing list of worthy contributors we hope here to provide random but meaningful commentary on the game of golf, its future, and maybe a few attempts at insights into the game of life,” stated Bales’ in his maiden entry titled, appropriately, “The Next 500 Years”. “Here’s to hoping the next 500 years becomes the age of enlightenment in golf.”
Believing in and supporting the Website’s mission, numerous unpaid members of the golf media and other golf-industry types have already submitted contributions. There are neither advertising nor revenue sources on TheNext500Years.com, and AboutGolf conspicuously avoids promoting itself or its products. The site is not intended in any way to compete with for-profit golf publications. In fact, media members are encouraged to volunteer their views on the site, perhaps using it as a forum they might not have in their own regular outlets.
“For anyone that has a passing interest in golf or is a part of the industry, regardless of their level of involvement, TheNext500Years.com is a must read,” states Terry McAndrew, the publisher of the well-known Web Street Golf Report and a weekly columnist on TheNext500Years. “The daily content is one of a kind.”
The site – which Bales promises will evolve over time and grow in sophistication as it finds its balance – is predicated on the fact that the first 500 years in golf’s history have provided golfers with a lot from which they should be able to draw conclusions about how to improve and grow the game.
“We hope the dialogue offered in TheNext500Years.com will prompt golfers, and the industry, to seriously think about ways we all can make the game of golf even better for the next 500 years,” Bales says.
TheNext500Years.com www.thenext500years.com