How Golf Lost the Millennials

[B.Ross]

because this topic won't (and shouldn't die) in watching in play w/ jimmy roberts last night, i learned of something that fascinated me that occurs at ted bishop's the legends club in Indiana.

they let golfers pay per minute. They didn't say what the charge was, and how that differs from a 9/18 hole round, but talk about a way to speed up play or a way to bring back the millenials.

i think this is absolutely brilliant. imagine youre out there slogging through what's going to be a 5 hour 18 hole round, but you don't feel right walking off after 14 holes because you've already spent your $80 on cart and greens fees. well what if instead you got to play for $25 cents per minute, so then you can walk off after how many minutes or hours you'd like, and you'd damn well try and play as fast as possible.

i'd love to see this idea brought to public facilities in the greater NYC and also the south florida areas, so i could experience it for myself.

has anyone heard of another place that does pay per minute? has anyone played anywhere that does pay per minute?

more importantly to this topic - does anyone see any fault in a pay per minute system w/r/t improving pace of play?

[Garland Bayley]

because this topic won't (and shouldn't die) in watching in play w/ jimmy roberts last night, i learned of something that fascinated me that occurs at ted bishop's the legends club in Indiana.

they let golfers pay per minute. They didn't say what the charge was, and how that differs from a 9/18 hole round, but talk about a way to speed up play or a way to bring back the millenials.

i think this is absolutely brilliant. imagine youre out there slogging through what's going to be a 5 hour 18 hole round, but you don't feel right walking off after 14 holes because you've already spent your $80 on cart and greens fees. well what if instead you got to play for $25 cents per minute, so then you can walk off after how many minutes or hours you'd like, and you'd damn well try and play as fast as possible.

i'd love to see this idea brought to public facilities in the greater NYC and also the south florida areas, so i could experience it for myself.

has anyone heard of another place that does pay per minute? has anyone played anywhere that does pay per minute?

more importantly to this topic - does anyone see any fault in a pay per minute system w/r/t improving pace of play?

There ought to be an app for that. One that measures your actual playing time while in a foursome. That way you wouldn't pay for the slow players in your group.

[Mike Sweeney]

.

[John Kavanaugh]

I'd join a 1$per minute club in a second if you had to play by the rules and pay $100 for every stroke you shot over par.   The sweetness of silence would be worth every penny.

[Sven Nilsen]

more importantly to this topic - does anyone see any fault in a pay per minute system w/r/t improving pace of play?

Per minute might be a little too much, but with 15,000 course in the USA, certainly 15 could give by the hour a shot and lets see how it works.

Somehow I think the thought that the slow group will be costing the faster group behind them money is not going to work out so well.  We already have road rage shootings when folks are only losing time.

[John Kavanaugh]

To many angry golfers want to change how the game is played to fit their lives rather than change their lives to fit the game.

[B.Ross]

To many angry golfers want to change how the game is played to fit their lives rather than change their lives to fit the game.

i don't think this could be further from the truth. if that's the case how come they've been playing golf in less than 4 hours across the pond for decades, where the 5 hour US round is a thing of the past 25-30 years? that's what i can't fathom here, the inventors of the sport play it quickly yet we are making excuses state side to keep the 4.5 hour + round alive. non sensical to me.

[Brent Hutto]

B,

I think you are engaging in a fair bit of wishful thinking and romanticizing the whole "inventors of the sport" idea. A lot of your second-hand impression of really brisk play in the UK is at a handful of specific, high-end clubs with a longstanding culture of playing quickly. Go to the English or Scottish equivalent of your typical $40/round inland USA course and I'd reckon you'd find the pace of play quicker but not hugely so, on average, in the UK.

There are plenty of guys right this minute traipsing around an uncrowded, elite private course somewhere in Pennsylvania or New York who will finish their rounds in 3-1/2 hours or less. And at the same moment there's someone slogging around a crowded pay-and-play course in Scotland in 4-1/2 hours.  The "inventors of the sport" have been dead for several hundred years, you know.

[JMEvensky]

To many angry golfers want to change how the game is played to fit their lives rather than change their lives to fit the game.

i don't think this could be further from the truth. if that's the case how come they've been playing golf in less than 4 hours across the pond for decades, where the 5 hour US round is a thing of the past 25-30 years? that's what i can't fathom here, the inventors of the sport play it quickly yet we are making excuses state side to keep the 4.5 hour + round alive. non sensical to me.

I'm guessing JK is talking about more than just pace of play.

[Carl Nichols]

The genie is out of the bottle. Golf is now a game of angry men.

I think it was the summers of 1983 and 1984 when my dad taught me (by example) how to deal with slow groups:  you start by standing with hands on hips in the fairway, then you do a little yelling, and then you hit into them.

I don't think this is a new phenomenon.  And as much as I don't like truly slow play, thankfully I unlearned those lessons.

[Garland Bayley]

The genie is out of the bottle. Golf is now a game of angry men.

I think it was the summers of 1983 and 1984 when my dad taught me (by example) how to deal with slow groups:  you start by standing with hands on hips in the fairway, then you do a little yelling, and then you hit into them.

I don't think this is a new phenomenon.  And as much as I don't like truly slow play, thankfully I unlearned those lessons.

I remember the church pastor hitting into the group in front in the 60s, because of their slow play.

[Jud_T]

I played in 2:00 today in the dreaded US of A.  Fortunately I didn't have to play through any Millenials...

[Carl Nichols]

I played in 2:00 today in the dreaded US of A.  Fortunately I didn't have to play through any Millenials...

Walking or riding?

[Jud_T]

I played in 2:00 today in the dreaded US of A.  Fortunately I didn't have to play through any Millenials...

Walking or riding?

Riding.  Even if I actually had game I don't think I could comfortably walk Kingsley in that time at my age and weight.  I believe the guys who did the Hundred Hole Hike did though.

[Max Sternberg]

All this talk about FootGolf, Top Golf, and the 15" holes and little is said about SpeedGolf. Given all the complaints about timing and more demanding and exciting alternatives (5k's, etc), it seems like SpeedGolf would be an easy way to keep millennials in the game throughout the busiest times in their lives. Even the busy young executive with a growing family can afford to sneak away for an hour or two to workout on the golf course just as they would otherwise do in the gym. I know SpeedGolf is fairly popular in the northwest but I am curious why it hasn't expanded beyond there and much more curious why golf course operators and other industry leaders have ignored it and focused on the novelty alternatives that are not going to bring actual golfers back to the golf course to play an actual game of golf.

Sure the scoring and thus the objective is slightly different, but SpeedGolf is very much "golf" while FootGolf and Top Golf are at best only partially within that category.

[Pat Burke]

All this talk about FootGolf, Top Golf, and the 15" holes and little is said about SpeedGolf. Given all the complaints about timing and more demanding and exciting alternatives (5k's, etc), it seems like SpeedGolf would be an easy way to keep millennials in the game throughout the busiest times in their lives. Even the busy young executive with a growing family can afford to sneak away for an hour or two to workout on the golf course just as they would otherwise do in the gym. I know SpeedGolf is fairly popular in the northwest but I am curious why it hasn't expanded beyond there and much more curious why golf course operators and other industry leaders have ignored it and focused on the novelty alternatives that are not going to bring actual golfers back to the golf course to play an actual game of golf.

Sure the scoring and thus the objective is slightly different, but SpeedGolf is very much "golf" while FootGolf and Top Golf are at best only partially within that category.

I do not disagree with your thought....BUT.
EVERY move to "grow the game" seems to be about making it easier.
Do we really think having to actually be in decent shape is going to attract more??
How is everyone going to get a trophy then?

 

[Paul Gray]

To many angry golfers want to change how the game is played to fit their lives rather than change their lives to fit the game.

Restore John, not change. And restore manners at that.

[archie_struthers]

 


Some clubs are doing a great job  recruiting younger players . Philly Cricket seems to have a model program for a private club .  Lots of good players enjoy it there and recruit others .  It seems they are pretty serious golfers in general , and its not just a family thing.  Price and quality of product seems to drive their business model. They aren't afraid to give them a good value.

As to pace of play , it has to be a culture thing , and certain designs lend themselves to quicker play . Subtle difficulties around the greens don't slow down the less talented players like water and lost balls . Lots of the older classics play fast due to this !  It's hard to move anyone on a penal design .

[Dan Herrmann]

"The wealth and earning power of the Millennial generation, also known as Generation Y, is eroding day by day during the Obama presidency.  The magnitude of this erosion is nothing short of startling for those Americans born in 1983 or later.

A lackluster at best job market is making for scarce opportunities for many Millennial college graduates.  This, in turn, is pushing back their opportunities to earn and subsequently save, while at the same time increasing their debt load -- a lethal financial concoction, indeed."

Could it be as simple as that?  (No money = no golf)



Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/10/the_millennials_an_economically_lost_generation.html#ixzz3BR8yqJSR
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[Mat Poade]

This discussion brought up the point about golf being good exercise. I recently had to get a new running watch which included a HRM built into the watch strap. I decided to test it on the course for 9 holes, I was unusually wayward to start, but I found it quite interesting that i walked 4.15km on a course that only measures just over 3100 for the 9 i played. Apart from a couple of holes green to next tee walking is minimal.

http://www.mapmyfitness.com/workout/796933913

Mat