Erik,
Part of the charm of golf has been that we all play the same game with pretty much the same equipment. One reason I think that golf is losing its charm for a lot of people is that the game they see on TV is miles away from the game most of us play. As has been said on this thread, the gap between the pros and a club golfer has never been greater. As the game becomes more high tech and more about power and speed it leaves the grass roots further and further behind. You break that charm you are talking about.
I was playing the other day with very storied amateur who plays off plus numbers. His best drive of the day left him 80m into a par 4. Three groups later a young amateur who is about to turn pro drove the green. Pro golf used to be great to watch because of the variety of player types. Pavin beat Norman in a US Open because the game had balance between power and finesse. It's just all power now. It's a shame that the best courses are being made obsolete but it's just as sad that pro golf has become one dimensional and boring and Tiger aside the ratings reflect that.
Brian, please don't take anything I write as picking on you. About the only good thing I can think of about being old is that it gives those with inquisitive minds and decent memories better perspective.
First of all, the vast, vast majority of golfers don't think of golf in terms of "charm". Such quaint affectations are limited to relatively few people, even in this Discussion Group.
Second, the assertion that we all play the same game with pretty much the same equipment is but a fantasy. I played the Scarlet course at Ohio State the day after the NCAA final round circa 1975 with the same set up and as a 2 or so handicap, I didn't break 90. I was a better player during the 1978 Columbus District GA Open at Muirfield Village and I only pared the par 3s (didn't break 90). The avg. golfer played a vastly different game than the top players then as well as today.
As to equipment, I have several friends who have spent $hundreds for club fitting and $4-5k+ plus for equipment. I read somewhere that when Tiger played Nike clubs, that the irons were actually Japanese forgings stamped with the Swoosh, each costing upwards $5k. I can replace every club in my bag for $500. One of my +handicap friends has a shaft in his driver costing $700+ I doubt that there is a single pro in the top 10 tours who plays anything similar to what is my bag.
I agree that the gap between the club golfer and the elite is increasing. I play a lot of golf with many different people and have yet to hear, "Man, I am losing my interest in the game because DJ, JT, Bruce, or Rosie are so much better than I can ever be". I remember when big JohnD was knocking it out of the world how everyone was captivated. Nothing has changed.
I have lost some good golf friends over the years and the cause of quitting the game permanently has nearly always been economics after lost jobs, divorces, higher costs of living, family commitments, and for physical reasons (theirs or their golfing companions). Again, outside of this DG, has anyone heard just one person say, "well, Jordan has such a superior short game/Justin just hits the ball too far, that golf has lost all of its charm for me".?
I officiate 5-10 state and national qualifiers of various age groups each year. There is a humongous range of abilities and strength at all levels. Not surprisingly, some of the US Junior Am aspirants hit the ball as far or farther than the US Open competitors who have toned their swings down. There are always handfuls of college players who hit the ball a country mile.
The number of entries and the level of competition at every level has never been higher. If top level golf is declining, I don't see where that's reflected. TV ratings? How's Tiger's return and the unprecedented reaction play into this? Golf has become too one-dimensional in favor of distance, but we'll set that aside to watch a guy who hits it longer than ever. This makes sense?
If we want to understand the decline in golf participation in the Western World, first study economics and the impact of declining discretionary income in the cohorts that tend to play the game. Look at the Baby Boomers whose fixed-income investments have been decimated by political priorities favoring debtors. Uncertainty is poison to golf, a game which has extraordinarily high fixed expenses and requires considerable optimism from its various constituencies.