Arizona’s Golf Industry Prefers Standard Time Over Daylight Saving Time

Scott Yates, a Denver-based entrepreneur and writer, is one of the country’s so-called Daylight Saving Time activists,” who is pushing to “lock the clock.” In this way, people in Arizona and across the country will stop the twice-a-year tradition of switching between Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time. Several states have passed a bill to abolish DST to prevent the disruption in circadian rhythms.

Of all the U.S. states, Arizona seems to have no problems regarding time change because its clock is already locked on Standard Time. This is why Yates wants to make the state of Arizona a “role model,” although there are a total of 18 states that have passed measures locking the clock on Daylight Saving Time.

Yates believes that there is one group that supports the bills over and over again. The golf industry has been promoting the expansion of DST since then. Among its earliest advocates includes an English builder named William Willett because he wanted golf players to play later in the day. After the U.S. standardized Daylight Saving Time with the Uniform Time Act of 1966, the golf lobby has earned a whopping $400 million in revenue for their industry.

However, the Uniform Time Act has also allowed states to opt-out of Daylight Saving Time. This is why Arizona could return to permanent Standard Time even though other states are pursuing permanent Daylight Time. The only difference is that countries that want to keep DST are not currently allowed under federal law. Meaning, it requires an act of Congress like the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act.

Arizona seems like to opt-out of Daylight Saving Time because, according to Gregg Bach, public information officer for parks and recreation at the City of Phoenix, “Golfers can play an early morning round when it’s cooler and still get to work by 8 or 9 a.m. as opposed to playing later in the evening after work when it would be much warmer.” Even Yates also said that its geographical positioning justifies Arizona’s choice of Standard Time.