Shrink the game

[Thomas Dai]

I came upon this well written piece on social media written by a sometime contributor herein - https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/104a62_ff066b754d4b49da87419a80128f76f7.pdf
It seems to me to summarise many aspects of the state of the game rather nicely.
Atb

[Ally Mcintosh]

Bravo Ken Kearney!

[Mike Sweeney]

I played a winter golf round with someone who works at H. Smith Richardson GC, which is owned by the Town of Fairfield, CT. I have never played there, never seen it, and it is closed in the winter, so I doubt I will play it. Thus, I really have no agenda other than to point out the insanity of golf (people) - they are planning/striving for an $8.0 million new clubhouse in an area where there must be dozens of wedding facilities, and in the summer most "party" down on Fairfield Beach on Long Island Sound:


https://www.fairfieldct.org/hsrbc


And golf wonders why it is suffering....

[Niall C]

Bravo indeed !! Golf is a game and I'm genuinely happy some fortunate few make a living out of it in different ways, but we should never forget that they make that living by being there to serve the game rather than the game being there to serve them.

Niall

[Dave Doxey]

The big golf problem will solve itself.  The correction has already started...

[BCrosby]

Ken makes good points.  A corollary idea is that the game needs to get over the idea that new balls/clubs, rules changes and golf courses should, above all else, "please" golfers.

Bob

[Randy Thompson]

Couldn´t agree more with Ken and I have recently finished a renovation from sand green surfaces to grass and created surroundings for the corresponding greens. 5,000 yards more or less, par 68 and a gorgeous property that was hidden by large Eucalyptus trees and Pines. Bare minimum resources with interesting results that is creating a huge increase in membership. The problem is charging these types of projects what your worth in order to make a decent living.

[Tom_Doak]

Excellent piece! 

[Pete_Pittock]

Ran,
Need to pin this for a while.

[jeffwarne]

Bravo!

[Joe Leenheer]

Ken missed out on another reason golf is shrinking and that's the BIG time commitment (which he sorta covers with the desire of 6-12 hole courses...which all 18 holes course have built it).


My generation spends more time at home with family, our spouses work, children are far more active and require more parental involvement/shuttle services, and the speed of playing the game is getting slower and slower.


Golf's difficulty is both a blessing and a curse.  Future generations have a fading work ethic and require more instant gratification (a reason why Top Golf is booming...all reward and no risk in that experience).  They watch the game on TV being played at 7,500+ and don't understand that the majority of golfers shouldn't even smell anything over 6,000.


From an architectural standpoint, it seems the trend is moving in the right direction with increasing fairway widths being a popular move and weed/tree removal constantly on the forefront of many clubs/courses plans. 

[Don Mahaffey]

It’s a nice piece, but not exactly new news. It’s really up to those designing and building to show it can be done a different way. We always talk about doing it differently but it’s still a “play it safe” industry and defaulting to bigger and more expensive is the norm.
Let’s hope the next course at Sand Valley starts a trend, or at least a level of acceptance that we don’t have to design every course for Dustin Johnson

[Peter Pallotta]

...Let’s hope the next course at Sand Valley starts a trend, or at least a level of acceptance that we don’t have to design every course for Dustin Johnson

Or for Dustin Johnson at 6 years old, 12 years old, 18 years old, 30 years old, 58 years old, and at 80 (not quite the forward-forward tees then, but one back from those).  Maybe the kid should just suck it up until he's 30, and then kind of, you know, deal with it after that...

[Bill Crane]

In addition to the points mentioned in this thread, let's remember that golf is hard.  Really difficult most of the time which presents barriers to entry.   You need a serious interest in the game to become competent.


On top of that the game is really ritualistic.  You have to know the basic rules and the game has defined etiquette followed more or less depending upon the course being played.   The ritual must be intimidating to a novice.


Yet, those are some of the aspects of golf that I love and I believe draws many people to the game on a lifetime basis. That and our courses - playing fields that vary every day.  They are firm, soft, cold, hot, tees move up then back, the wind blows, the greens are soft, fast, dormant  etc etc.  A wise man - Princeton University grad, a Doctor and long time Springdale member told me he was glad he played golf instead of Tennis like his brother because every golf course is different and EVERY Tennis Court is the same.  And golf courses are different every day.


So, I have thought for years now that GOLF IS NOT FOR EVERYONE !   Maybe the current generation cannot appreciate the challenge,culture, traditions and history of our game until they get a little older.


While I am not against growing participation in the sport, let's not corrupt the essence of the game to grow it.  Top Golf is probably fun and hopefully will usher in new players who will transition to taking up the genuine game.  But it is not actually golf.  If I worked for Titleist or Callaway or was in mid-career as a Club Pro I might feel different. 


So, I would rather see the game shrink than become corrupted for the cause of profitable growth.

[jeffwarne]

So, I have thought for years now that GOLF IS NOT FOR EVERYONE !   Maybe the current generation cannot appreciate the challenge,culture, traditions and history of our game until they get a little older.


While I am not against growing participation in the sport, let's not corrupt the essence of the game to grow it.  Top Golf is probably fun and hopefully will usher in new players who will transition to taking up the genuine game.  But it is not actually golf.  If I worked for Titleist or Callaway or was in mid-career as a Club Pro I might feel different. 


So, I would rather see the game shrink than become corrupted for the cause of profitable growth.

Amen.


The question is, after all the recent and proposed attempts to change golf to appeal to "potential" golfers, will there be any "actual" golfers left.

[Thomas Dai]

As a follow-up to his splendid piece entitled "Shrink the Game" here's a Podcast with Ken Kearney - well worth a listen - https://www.golfersjournal.com/podcast/tgj-podcast-55-shrink-game-ken-kearney/
atb


Here's a link to the original article - https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/104a62_ff066b754d4b49da87419a80128f76f7.pdf

[Tom_Doak]

I would rather see the game shrink than become corrupted for the cause of profitable growth.

Amen.

The question is, after all the recent and proposed attempts to change golf to appeal to "potential" golfers, will there be any "actual" golfers left.

I am curious how many here know of people who have quit golf -- or play less -- because it has been spoiled somehow by attempts to grow the game.


The only way I can think of that being true is that slow play is due in part to courses jamming more people out there than are able to keep the pace moving.  And slow play is not doing anything for the game, apart from making money for some courses.


With the coronavirus rules, I played by myself [with my wife walking] at Crystal Downs yesterday, 15 minutes behind a twosome in a cart.  I waited on them on some holes, and played eleven holes in 1:40.  If it wasn't an hour's drive each way, I would do that again today.

[Will Lozier]

With the coronavirus rules, I played by myself [with my wife walking] at Crystal Downs yesterday, 15 minutes behind a twosome in a cart.  I waited on them on some holes, and played eleven holes in 1:40.  If it wasn't an hour's drive each way, I would do that again today.

I'd say it would be worth it! 


That does remind me of about 1/2 of the 50 or so rounds I played at Bandon while a caddie...with my wife walking along reading, taking pics, or just taking in the scenery and air! Of course we lived on property in employee housing!

[John Kavanaugh]

With the coronavirus rules, I played by myself [with my wife walking] at Crystal Downs yesterday, 15 minutes behind a twosome in a cart.  I waited on them on some holes, and played eleven holes in 1:40.  If it wasn't an hour's drive each way, I would do that again today.

I'd say it would be worth it! 

Not for his wife.

[Sean_A]

I would rather see the game shrink than become corrupted for the cause of profitable growth.

Amen.

The question is, after all the recent and proposed attempts to change golf to appeal to "potential" golfers, will there be any "actual" golfers left.

I am curious how many here know of people who have quit golf -- or play less -- because it has been spoiled somehow by attempts to grow the game.

The only way I can think of that being true is that slow play is due in part to courses jamming more people out there than are able to keep the pace moving.  And slow play is not doing anything for the game, apart from making money for some courses.

With the coronavirus rules, I played by myself [with my wife walking] at Crystal Downs yesterday, 15 minutes behind a twosome in a cart.  I waited on them on some holes, and played eleven holes in 1:40.  If it wasn't an hour's drive each way, I would do that again today.

I have purposely pulled back from golf to a certain degree. The cost and culture seems to have passed me by. I play probably half as much as I did 10 years ago after I dropped my local membership.

Ciao

[Thomas Dai]

More 9-hole courses, more par-3 courses, more pitch-n-putts, more municipal putting greens please. Simple golf on the face of it, less land usage and lower cost too, but if done well, maybe with the inclusion of a few quirks and idiosyncrasies, still challenging and plenty of fun and fun for all generations.
Atb

[John Kavanaugh]

More 9-hole courses, more par-3 courses, more pitch-n-putts, more municipal putting greens please. Simple golf on the face of it, less land usage and lower cost too, but if done well, maybe with the inclusion of a few quirks and idiosyncrasies, still challenging and plenty of fun and fun for all generations.
Atb

That sounds like a pre-covid strategy.

[Thomas Dai]

More 9-hole courses, more par-3 courses, more pitch-n-putts, more municipal putting greens please. Simple golf on the face of it, less land usage and lower cost too, but if done well, maybe with the inclusion of a few quirks and idiosyncrasies, still challenging and plenty of fun and fun for all generations.
Atb

That sounds like a pre-covid strategy.

Or maybe post-Covid?
Time will tell.
Atb

[John Kavanaugh]

Post-covid golf needs to become more exclusive with greater spacing. Thus more expensive.


Of course if people who are members of 5 clubs trim that down to 2 clubs the money will be the same.


The reality is that most of us no longer need golf as an excuse to get outside and enjoy time with people who we trust. Simple pleasures like fire pit clubs are popping up all over the country.

[Tom_Doak]

More 9-hole courses, more par-3 courses, more pitch-n-putts, more municipal putting greens please. Simple golf on the face of it, less land usage and lower cost too, but if done well, maybe with the inclusion of a few quirks and idiosyncrasies, still challenging and plenty of fun and fun for all generations.

The coronavirus will probably be the last nail in the coffin of municipal golf in the U.S.  With lots of towns and cities on the verge of bankruptcy, and the city workers' pension funds severely under-funded, surely they will sell the golf course to an operator instead of keeping it?


Thomas, I love facilities like those you mention, but they only seem to work as an adjunct to a bigger facility, or they have a very difficult time breaking even, except maybe in vacation spots or in small towns where the elders are happy to support them as a municipal good.