The Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association recently hosted their industry’s 2025 Legislative Kickoff presented by SRP. Golf was on full display with a spotlight on the industry’s economic, community, charitable, and environmental benefits during the policy panel that included Troon Golf CEO Tim Schantz and 2025 WM Phoenix Open Tournament Chairman, Matt Mooney. The audience was made up of state legislators, hoteliers, tourism leaders, business leaders and other stakeholders. In the event’s wake, the moderator of a panel discussion, Garrick Taylor, later appeared on KTAR to discuss golf’s scorecard of water conservation and economic benefits.
“Here’s the good news. The golf industry is already a good steward of our precious water resources,” he said. “In fact, these courses account for 2% of the state’s total supply. So, that’s a pretty good tradeoff for all the economic benefits that we get from this industry.”
Taylor explained that it’s not just about those who come here for the WM Phoenix Open or to play the world-class golf courses; the industry is a “job creator,” with more than 65,000 jobs driving $2 billion-plus in wages for local residents.
“When you’re measuring the economic impact of an industry in the billions,” he said, “That’s something you want to keep an eye on and make sure you continue to cultivate.”
The AAG is grateful for our strong working relationship with our tourism partners and leaders throughout the state to be able to spread awareness of golf’s deep impacts on our tourism economy.
