I went to the USGA Museum in Far Hills, New Jersey, yesterday. The last time I’d been was a year and a half ago, while it was a construction site. Going back gave me a chance to see the finished product.

To no one’s surprise, the result is elegant, intelligent, and low-key. Golf isn’t baseball and this isn’t Cooperstown. There are no attempts to make the game bigger than what it is: The emphasis is on the champions and championships of the USGA, its trophies and artifacts—particularly old clubs, books, medals, and clothing—with a thoughtful examination of the game’s history, from the beginnings to the current “global game.” (And it’s always pleasant to walk into a room and hear the mellifluous tones of Peter Alliss, who is the voice-over on a number of good videos such as the story of young Francis Ouimet besting the likes of Harry Vardon and Ted Ray at the 1913 U.S. Open, the key event in launching America’s first “golf boom.”)

Wisely, the USGA did not make the Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History, as the museum is officially known, too big or saddle it with unattainable expectations, problems that hurt the World Golf Hall of Fame in Florida. But it was not an inexpensive undertaking. And while such exhibits are not built solely as money-making ventures (the USGA is supposed to do things like this, as they say, “for the good of the game”), it would be nice if more people dropped in. True, it was a nasty day, cold and rainy, and the museum was closing early to host a corporate event. But there were only two other visitors, two gentlemen even older than me!

Where are the fans of golf history? Are there any?

This isn’t meant to be an advertisement for the museum. I’m just curious if anyone cares about golf’s past. I do, having been in the business for 25 years and written about every possible aspect of the game. I’ve always loved that golf has a history, and a rich and interesting one at that. There are countless heroes and thrilling moments to be celebrated, plus a lengthy tradition of great writers, good books, compelling characters, selfless service, and on and on. (Not many good movies, though, a subject for later discussion.)

Golf isn’t perfect by any means. All the talk about how it teaches good values leaves me cold, and I’m not a big fan of the cosmic, karmic, or “life in microcosm” schools of thought, either. But it’s a great game, as those of us who love it know. But it’s also much richer than just the time we spend playing it, no?

So here’s my question: How can the game’s past help it have a brighter future?