The Carolina Panthers have an agreement to buy a public golf course near the new headquarters they’re planning in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The NFL team envisions the 1997 Hale Irwin design not as just a team amenity, but an opportunity to create stronger ties with the local community.

As Troon’s manager of environmental science, Brianne Kenny has brought non-golfers with a negative perception of golf to the course, and turned around their notions about the game. Her efforts, and similar ones around the country, seek to address some existing misconceptions about the game’s environmental and ecological impact.

The biggest obstacles to golf participation remain cost, time, concern about ability and a lack of people to play with. Here’s what some facility operators are doing to break down participation barriers.

While golf is an afterthought during a humanitarian crisis, the game plays a vital role in the Bahamas, where more than 60 percent of the gross domestic product is dependent on tourism, the most of any Caribbean nation. And several prominent companies within the golf business are helping deliver financial support through their Abaco 501(c)3 charities to provide relief for the people of the northern Bahamas. Pro golfers are also stepping up to lend support and here’s how you can help as well.

In an era when most teenagers would rather pick up a phone than a golf bag, youth caddying has been fighting to stay as relevant as it was in years past. However, organizations like the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy, Youth on Course Caddie Academy and the Western Golf Association’s Carry the Game advocacy group are helping to put more bags on more shoulders every year.