• by Michael Shields , June 1, 2004

When commercial financier Rafael Martinez became hooked on golf several years ago, he naturally started picking up golf magazines. When the Dominican-born, self-made executive went looking for editorial he could relate to, he was disappointed.

"He noticed two things right away," said Gregory DL Morris, editor in chief of The Green magazine. "There was page after page of breaking down your swing. Plus, all these publications are lily-white."

These magazines were not representative of what Martinez and his colleagues were seeing when out golfing. "Nobody out there was speaking to me," Martinez said.

So, two years ago, he decided to launch a magazine targeted to people like himself, a self-described "Dominican kid from Washington Heights," who had achieved a certain level of business success--and had also developed a strong passion for golf and the finer things.

As of yesterday, the first issue of The Green magazine could be found on the shelves of major book retailers such as Barnes & Noble and B. Dalton. The first cover scores with a shot of renowned golf-lover Michael Jordan, 3-iron in hand. Sportscaster Ahmad Rashad is lined up for next month.

The Green, published by the Martinez-funded Vision Media & Communications, will be more than the typical golf magazine, instead celebrating the "Scotch and Cigars," side of golf, according to Morris--while infusing a multicultural perspective. Martinez compares the book to the upscale-celebrating "Cigar Aficionado."

"The magazine will be affluent, but accessible," Morris said. "It should feature well-balanced, very intelligent coverage. Even for the middle class, there is a certain aspirational lifestyle."

In addition to lots of anecdotal evidence demonstrating a need for such a publication, Martinez and his team cite a survey from the National Golf Foundation, which found that affluent African Americans, Latinos, Hispanics, and Asian Americans played more than 64 million rounds of golf last year. "Multicultural participation (in golf) is sizable," The Green President Ina Samuels-Martinez said. "We determined that it is a viable source. Is the market there? Yes."

Samuels-Martinez said that this market has boomed over the past five to ten years. Although most certainly helped by the influence of a certain prominent African-American golfer, this also reflects a rise in a wealthier class of minorities in the business world. "People of color are more prominent in boardrooms and on Wall Street," she said.

While the Green promises to cater to this changing world of golf enthusiasts, it faces stiff competition in the publishing arena. The new title, which will launch with a bimonthly circulation of 100,000, enters a crowded golf category in which some longtime publishers are struggling.

Through the first four months of 2004, Golf Digest and Golf Magazine are each down 7.4 percent in ad pages. Smaller, lifestyle-focused titles like Golf for Women (+2.7 percent) and Travel and Leisure Golf (+4.3 percent) are exhibiting modest growth, albeit from a much smaller base.

The toughest part of Martinez's quest to launch The Green has been to convince cynical Madison Avenue that the world needs another golf magazine. "They want to know whether you will be around next year," he said. "And they want to know, 'Does it look good on the coffee table?'" For issue number one, he has convinced high-end advertisers such as Bentley and BMW to jump on board.

In addition to golf-focused content, the first issue reports on such subjects as fine watches, luxury cars with room in the trunk for golf bags, and several golf-and-spa travel destinations.