30th anniversary: Milestone for Inside Golf

Inside Golf Newspaper celebrates a milestone this month with 30 years of covering the NW golf scene. In 1988 Bob Marlatt published the first issue of Golfing in Washington with McCormick Woods Golf Course on the cover – it was mailed out to 10,000 golfers. Steve Turcotte came on board as a contributing writer for the 2nd issue and in 1990 the name was changed to Inside Golf Newspaper.

The 80s was a pivotal decade for golf: Jack Nicklaus no longer dominated the game and Arnold Palmer’s heyday was long over but the popularity of golf was on the rise and television was providing more coverage. Golf was growing and it was a good time to start a regional golf publication. In the beginning Inside Golf was produced using paste-up boards and halftone black and white photos, color photos had to be sent out for color separations, it was very labor intensive. Today the paper is 100% computer generated.

The golfing landscape has been continuously evolving throughout the years as we’ve seen many courses come online while others have closed their doors. As competition for golfers increased, many older courses were forced to improve their drainage and some have extended their yardage just to keep pace with the modern distance that golfers now hit their clubs. Equipment has seen major improvements too as club shaft technology, perimeter weighted clubheads and ball technology have had a big impact on how we play the game today.

Golf equipment wasn’t the only thing that has changed over the years, the equipment used to maintain courses has improved as has the knowledge in agronomy and course construction – the grass is healthier and the greens are faster then any time before. The internet has also had a huge affect on the game, not only in the way we make reservations but the overall availability of information about everything related to playing golf.

Inside Golf is the oldest golf publication – since 1988 – in the Northwest and has free distribution at golf courses and driving ranges throughout Washington and Oregon. It’s been a great ride and we are anxious to see what the future of game and our place in it has to offer.