Monday, May 22, 2000
Youth flock to see Tiger Woods
in Germany
ALVESLOHE, Germany (AP) — Tiger Woods
may be a real ace for golf's future in Germany.
The American star helped draw 62,000 spectators
to the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open, about 20,000 more than the last
time the event was held near Hamburg two years ago.
“This year's tremendous, I've never
seen it like this. There's no doubt, it's Tiger-mania,” said
Brian Wolinsky, Titleist's sales manager in northern Germany,
who has been at the last six tournaments.
The crowds were filled with teen-agers and
children, who came to see an athlete who has become a staple in
German teen magazines and other youth-oriented media, even if
golf still ranks behind ski jumping and badminton in popularity.
In Germany, there are just 380,000 registered
golfers, most of them graying and wealthy. There are just five
public courses in the country. Private clubs charge initiation
fees of $10,000-$50,000, with yearly fees of some $1,500.
But at the Deutsche Bank, young people were
all over the Gut Kaden course, waving “Tiger” signs
and waiting to see their favorite golfer — perhaps the only
one they know by name.
“He's just the best — and he's
young,” said Simon Patzwald, 15.
“And he looks cool,” added Jury
Gebel, his friend.
Now the two youths, both soccer players,
say they want to take up golf after following Woods for two days.
That could be good news for golf's equipment
manufacturers in Germany, where growth remains steady at about
10 percent yearly, even after Bernhard Langer gave the sport a
boost by winning two Masters.
The market for golf goods is still around
$50 million-$60 million a year, a pittance compared to the United
States even in a country that is Europe's wealthiest.
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