The US golf academy system and the twenty first century talent tourists! Future lines of research to understand this new golfing talent pathway

Abstract

This paper addresses the rapid growth, popularity, and structure of US Golf Academies. Specifically, we highlight a phenomenon from a non-US golfing community’s perspective; namely, that of the “talent tourist” (i.e., youth golfer) seeking to develop their playing skills and academic ability within a foreign talent pathway. With so much of these golfers’ futures at stake (e.g., large financial costs and time dedicated), there is a surprising lack of research attention paid to these academies’ talent development environments; for instance, their structure, position in the overall talent pathway, the quality of the approaches used, or reasons why golfers strive to enroll onto them. By addressing these issues, this paper will present the case for greater research interest and the development of more effective talent development pathways.