Reports of Tobacco Sales, Sponsorships, and Policies at Professional Golf Tournaments Free

Introduction

Cigar use is associated with increased risks of cancer and heart disease, including from secondhand smoke (SHS).^1,2 Cigars also remain a cultural symbol inextricably tied with celebration, including relationships between cigar use and golf, as golf courses remain places where smoking cigars are frequently acceptable.³ Cigar promotions in golf magazines, such as Golf Digest, and cigar-sponsored golf tournaments contribute to use, with companies advertising, promoting, and selling products on golf courses.⁴

As no research has examined attitudes toward cigar use on golf courses, our research examines how golf professionals think about cigar and other tobacco use, including policies and sales, on golf courses.

Methods

We identified a convenience sample of 85 professional golf tournaments, including LPGA (21), PGA (43), and Senior (21) PGA tournaments in 2022. Eligible participants, including a head golf professional and managers at golf courses, were recruited through phone calls followed by emails with the survey included. We collected data on reported tobacco use policies on courses, including beliefs about health effects, selling tobacco products, signage, littering, enforcement, cigar sponsorships, and willingness to change policies. We analyzed frequency distributions and cross tabs. The research was exempt from IRB review, and participants gave signed consent to participate.

Results

We received complete surveys from 13 golf professionals, including 10 head golf professionals, 1 assistant golf professional, and 1 general head course manager (1 participant did not answer this demographic question). Respondents represented 13 different courses that hold PGA, LPGA, and Senior tournaments, and 10 different states across the United States. All respondents agreed that cigarette and cigar use can cause serious medical diseases in people using such products. All respondents agreed that e-cigarettes can cause similar harm except one who did not know. All also agreed that SHS exposure to cigarettes and cigars can cause serious medical diseases in people who do not smoke.

The majority (54%) indicated that their courses did not have a policy on tobacco use. Respondents indicated that the majority of those with policies covered cigarettes, cigars, and e-cigarettes, but did not cover smokeless or chewing tobacco. Those reporting a policy indicated that they had no enforcement mechanism but relied on “common courtesy.” Only one golf professional indicated their course had signage on where tobacco use was allowed.

While most respondents (77%) indicated that their club did not sell cigarettes, 69% indicated they sold cigars, and none sold e-cigarettes. The majority (54%) said they allowed or sought cigar sponsors for tournaments. Almost all (92%) said they had not received complaints about SHS exposure from cigarettes or cigars. Littering on courses was considered a problem by approximately one-half of respondents.

When asked if they would change their policy, none indicated that having youth not see cigarette or cigar smoking on the course was a reason, and a minority (23%) indicated that protection of nonsmokers from SHS or avoiding littering (31%) were reasons to change their policy.

Discussion

This survey is the first to examine attitudes toward cigar use and sales at PGA-sponsored golf clubs. While the golf professionals all agreed that tobacco use causes serious disease, the majority said their clubs did not have a policy on tobacco use, and only one reportedly had signage indicating where smoking was allowed. Respondents also felt that few of their clubs would change their policy for any of the proposed reasons.

While cigars are not safe alternatives to cigarettes,¹ health concerns related to cigars may be deemed less important by many PGA professionals, perhaps due to cultural traditions. For instance, while only three golf courses sold cigarettes, eight sold cigars, despite the fact that cigar littering was considered a problem for many.

Currently, most states have comprehensive indoor smoke-free laws that include worksites.⁵ Such policies are often adopted in outdoor settings because of SHS exposure, especially with children present. Multiple cities have expanded state restrictions to outdoor areas, including parks, beaches, and sporting events.⁶ Outdoor smoke-free policies have successfully helped reduce SHS, reduce litter, and send clear messages to youth that limitations on outdoor smoking are the norm, not the exception. In contrast, the PGA states that spectators can smoke cigarettes and cigars at PGA events.

While some states exempt golf courses from outdoor smoke-free laws, cities have begun to ban smoking on golf courses which may vary depending on ownership (private or public) and by local municipality. For instance, private clubs in North Carolina are exempt from most SHS regulations. Even among PGA-sponsored clubs in our survey that appeared to have a policy, lead professionals indicated they were rarely enforced or had signage.

Research on smoke-free policies at outdoor sports clubs shows that the presence of children influences smoke-free policy implementation and compliance.⁷ While the PGA junior league holds tournaments for youth around the United States,⁸ the golf professionals in our study did not view youth seeing cigar smoking on the course as a reason to change their policy. Many professionals indicated their clubs even allowed cigar sponsors for charity tournaments, indicating a disconnect between research and practice.

The PGA Championship Spectator Guide includes a smoking policy that prohibits tobacco products near buildings but allows use on grounds.⁹ The PGA leaves it up to individual courses to decide on their tobacco policy. Given close ties between cigars and golf, it appears unlikely that the PGA will change their tobacco policies soon. One survey at an LPGA event showed that 73% of respondents supported tobacco sponsorship; the 11% that opposed sponsorship cited negative health consequences and negatively influencing youth.¹⁰

Some limitations exist, including we did not retrieve each club’s policy but relied on senior golf professionals who were presumably aware of policies. Future research can examine all published policies. While a minority of club professionals ultimately responded to the survey, we did have participation from all levels of professional golf and across multiple states. It is likely that those not participating have less interest; thus, our findings may overemphasize those with actual policies.

Our research indicates serious gaps likely exist in PGA-sponsored golf clubs across the United States when it comes to tobacco use and SHS, particularly cigars. Given that such tournaments are frequented by millions of spectators annually, that youth are major targets for professional golf, and that serious diseases occur from combustible tobacco, such gaps are unacceptable.

Funding

No external funding was collected for this research.

Declaration of Interests

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Author Contributions

Selena Kleber (Conceptualization [equal], Data curation [equal], Formal analysis [equal], Investigation [equal], Methodology [equal], Project administration [equal], Resources [equal], Software [equal], Validation [equal], Writing—original draft [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), Remi Philips (Conceptualization [equal], Data curation [equal], Formal analysis [equal], Investigation [equal], Methodology [equal], Project administration [equal], Software [equal], Validation [equal], Writing—original draft [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal]), and Adam Goldstein (Conceptualization [equal], Data curation [equal], Formal analysis [equal], Funding acquisition [equal], Investigation [equal], Methodology [equal], Project administration [equal], Resources [equal], Supervision [equal], Validation [equal], Visualization [equal], Writing—original draft [equal], Writing—review & editing [equal])

References

Author notes