Sunday’s Wall Street Journal published and article titled: Golf’s Big Problem: No Kids are Joining the Game. In it, author Matthew Futterman decries the lack of youth participation in golf based on a National Golf Foundation report showing a 24% drop in the number of golfers aged 6-17 from 2005 to 2008. Ok. What is the big deal? Fine, there was a 24% drop from 2005 to 2008. What was it from 2000-2004? Did it go up? If the number of youth golfers is resting at 2.9 million (down from 2005’s 3.8million), what was it in 2000? 1995? 1956? Is there data? I’m sure there is, but I can’t get to it since you would have to pay for it. (being “homeless” and all…you know…) It would have been nice if Mr. Futterman had included some numbers because it adds something: perspective and context. Without either of those things, his conclusion is meaningless. Is it just a bump in the road? If the 2000-2004 numbers shown growth from like 500,000 to 1.8 million, then 2008 is still ahead of the game, perhaps the 2005 numbers were artificially inflated? The unfortunate dilemma is YOU DON’T KNOW. He could have had the numbers, but decided not to add them, because, well, who would ever let data get in the way of their conclusion.
It would be nice to see how these numbers were taken. Did the NGF take surveys of local course starters? Are they counting the numbers of golfers signed up for official youth tournaments? Is it some kind of extrapolated number like an exit poll on election night? Without a basic understanding of how the numbers were developed, they are just what they are… numbers.
MF goes on to give some reasons as to why he thinks this large drop occurred. Of course I don’t agree with many of those either, so attacking one-by-one:
MF reason 1: Golf courses are too long.
Ok. Seriously? His example was of a 450 yard hole. Only an idiot would have an 8 year old tee off from the tee box. A hole like that makes most beginners (or hackers) cry no matter what their age is. Most “family oriented” courses I’ve seen had a set of “junior” tees (pair of monuments imbedded in the fairway) about 150 yards from the hole which allows Mommy and Daddy to tee off from their tees and allows Junior to tee up when they hit their approaches. If there is a dogleg hole? But the tees in the middle of the dogleg. Your course doesn’t set junior tees? Have your kids tee it up from the 150 yard marker. Simple. As they get older they can go from playing the holes as par-4’s (@ 150), to par-3’s, then slowly move back from there. There is no reason a 12 year old boy can’t play from the senior or ladies tees. Heck in Europe, there are no men’s or ladies’ tees. The tees that you are allowed to play from are based upon your handicap.
Back tees: 0-10
Middle tees: 11-15
Front tees: 16-25
If you have an index higher than 25? Hit the range. They don’t want you tearing up the course. Imagine if something similar was enforced here in the US at a local muni on a Saturday in July. Loads of pissed off duffers who think they can hit 300 yard drives consistently.
BTW- His solution is short sighted. Make a shorter course? No. Make the existing course shorter. Big difference. Besides, there are plenty of executive courses if a regulation course is too much.
MF reason 2: You need to make the game easier
Stop. The game is easier. With perimeter weighted cavity backed irons, hitting the ball is easier than ever. My 1st set of clubs (at age 16) was a mismatched set of muscle-backed Northwestern Irons with Permission woods. Yeah. And that was not that long ago. He suggests that golf should follow tennis in creating smaller courts, partner with colleges to make more intramural teams (more opportunities), etc, etc.
As a former member of the USTA (hey their Mid-Atlantic office was in the lobby of my apartment building), the quick start program is great- don’t get me wrong. But I don’t think that golf needs to copy it. Unfortunately, golf programs in High Schools aren’t as prevalent as tennis programs. I think it is due to a) costs of competition (greens fees, etc) and b) lack of participation due to team sports. Do you really think that a school system or High School athletic director is going to put money into a golf program for 8 students and take it away from a revenue producing sport such as football, basketball, or wrestling? No. Let’s be honest. As a nation, we would prefer our youth to be playing team sports rather than individual ones. I know it is called a golf “team” but c’mon. Really. My High School had a golf team. There were 10 golfers on it. Most of them didn’t actually compete because they couldn’t get through nine holes in under 60 strokes. At least they got to practice….
I don’t think making partnerships with colleges making IM programs or a “no-cut” rule for High Schools (which most golf programs have anyway just to get numbers up) is the way to go. You first need better understand the market (getting to it…wait for it….).
MF reason 3: Golf takes too long- more short-course facilities need to be built.
Jeez. Really? Parents don’t have 6 hours to spend with their kids? Obiously MF never had a daughter who played softball at a high level (travel ball), or a son who played AAU basketball because spending entire weekends traveling to and watching tournaments is soooooo much shorter than a 6 hour round at a muni. Again, the great thing about a golf course is that you can adjust it to fit your needs. If you want to make it a family outing, let mom or dad (if they are learning too) use tees from the fairway (tee up the driver, then tee up the 5-iron from the fairway) in order to move things along and enhance the experience. We don’t need short course facilities for golf to move forward- we need golfers to forward think.
An overlying theme of the article is that golf needs more kids aged 8-18 to be come involved in the sport in order for it to survive. With that premise, he seems to forget something. Most kids age 8 and up start their sports careers in team sports. Baseball. Basketball. Football. Soccer. Hockey. There is a reason for this. Team sports build character. Not to say that a solo sport can’t (USGA’s great 1st Tee commercial), or doesn’t, but 8 year olds need to make friends, learn to play nice with others, learn how to lead others, etc, etc. Golf can do this too, but team sports are able to reach more kids at the same time. Golf is something that most athletic people take up after their team sports days are over (High School, College, or Professional). I played a grand total of 3 round of golf before my 22nd birthday. 1st round at age 16, 2nd at age 18, 3rd at age 21. Why? I was a baseball player. High School, American Legion, College (Div 1), and Semi-pro after college. Most of my friends followed a similar path. Whether they ran track, played hoops, football or whatever. Golf (and tennis) were sports we didn’t really pick up until after we were pretty much done competing in other sports. That is why golf is a “game for a lifetime”. The demographic I want to see is the participation of the 18-35 year old golfer (male and female). That demographic will determine whether golf grows or dies.
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