The U.S. Golf Association has brought back
Golf
Journal after a 17-year break, in partnership with
USA Todaycontent-marketing subsidiary, Golfweek Custom Media and digital-publishing platform BlueToad.
USGA members now
receive monthly digital editions of Golf Journal through BlueToad. Golf Journal’s first digital edition was launched in April.
The print magazine publishes
quarterly and is reproduced digitally. Circulation is 385,000 USGA member households.
Greg Midland, USGA’s editorial director and editor of Golf Journal, said this
makes the magazine the third-largest golf publication in the U.S., after Golf Digest and Golf Magazine.
The fall edition features illustrations of Tiger Woods.
Golf Journal includes interviews, podcasts and video content with industry experts and professionals, such as first-person columns, celebrity Q&As, photo essays, spotlights on venues,
archival photos and other golf history content.
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The USGA stopped production and distribution of Golf Journal in 2003 after 55 years of circulation.
“The relaunch of Golf Journal came from a confluence of factors,” Midland told Publishers Daily.
“First, there was the opportunity to
produce a high-quality, thoughtful publication that would help fill a significant gap in the media landscape. We also sought a more regular, direct link between the USGA and our members,” he
said.
The team working on the magazine includes USGA staff, vendors and freelance writers.
Golfweek Custom Media is the printer of programs for the PGA Tour
and LPGA, and a client of BlueToad’s digital platform for over a decade.
“While print is still an important part of the Golf Journal identity, the monthly digital
editions provide enhanced value for USGA members that have patiently waited 17 years for the return of the magazine,” stated Mike Hagmann, president of Golfweek Custom Media.