Via Shutterstock.

Via Shutterstock.

Since our nation’s highest elected officials on both sides of the aisle can’t seem to stay off of a golf course long enough to pass legislation, a casual observer might infer that golf enjoys a pretty swanky reputation in Washington. Apparently not enough of one, because golf’s principal lobbying group is set to hold the eighth annual National Golf Day on April 15 on Capitol Hill.

We Are Golf announced the date in a release today. The lobbying group formed in 2009, in part as a response to the government blocking disaster relief funds from being used to rebuild golf clubs in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. They tend to target the House Finance and Ways and Means committees when they visit the Hill. Their message, presumably, is that government handouts are bad unless they’re for a sport where an estimated 79 percent of players have a net worth over $100,000.

The organization is a coalition of golf’s largest bodies, including the PGA Tour and the National Golf Course Owners Association. Their mission is, in the words of administrator Steve Mona, “to ensure laws and regulations that impact the golf industry are fair and appropriate.”

Golf is a $70 billion industry, according to We Are Golf’s own projections, and that’s not including what the group deems “many environmental and fitness benefits.” We Are Golf has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars per year since its inception (including $120,000 last year) to show Congress how desperately the sport needs public assistance, and National Golf Day is their biggest annual push.

It seems likely there will be some celebrities in tow this year. In 2014 We Are Golf brought golfing legend Jack Nicklaus to Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of more tax breaks for his sport. (Nicklaus has an estimated net worth of
$280 million
.)

So come out to Capitol Hill for National Golf Day on April 15, the one day all year in golf when the highest score wins.