In the 1960’s golf took a close second in popularity of American’s, to “Americas Past-time,” baseball. Those two sports ruled television and radio sets all over the place. Now, those to sports seem to be fading as fast an evening sunset. Why is this? Why has football and basketball now become more entertaining to an average viewer than America’s most pure sports? In my opinion it’s a direct reflection of today’s high pace society. People now days do not have time to follow a four-day golf tournament, they’d rather sit down on a Sunday for just a few hours and watch the Packers play the Vikings.
To football’s credit, they have marketed their sport extremely well. They do a very good job of appealing to the younger generation’s eye. Unlike golf, which is viewed as a patient, methodical sport, it’s harder to market to this generation. Gambling is another reason that football is strides in from of other sports. In the article, “Why Pro Football is the Most Popular Sport in America,” Randy Inman explains, “football is a great sport to gamble on because the games all take place within 2 days which makes your bets easier to keep up with.” (para. 3) If you think about it from an editor of a newspaper that is trying to boost their readers, more times than not, you would see football on the front page instead of golf. When is the last time you saw two golfers collide a full speed causing a collision? How about never? A wide receiver getting crushed by a massive, out of control, freak athlete is astronomically more entertaining than an out of shape 5’ 9” sack of bones hit a ball in to a tiny hole. That’s just the way it is and from what I can see its not changing anytime soon. In 2003, 6.1 million children for ages 5-17 participated in golf, the following year, 4.4 million. Since then it’s been declining even more. Without the interest of young people golf will have no future. Golf could end up in the same boat as tennis. Since 1975, tennis has dropped in participates from 34 million to 1.3 million.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
What Happen to Golf?
In the 1960’s golf took a close second in popularity of American’s, to “Americas Past-time,” baseball. Those two sports ruled television and radio sets all over the place. Now, those to sports seem to be fading as fast an evening sunset. Why is this? Why has football and basketball now become more entertaining to an average viewer than America’s most pure sports? In my opinion it’s a direct reflection of today’s high pace society. People now days do not have time to follow a four-day golf tournament, they’d rather sit down on a Sunday for just a few hours and watch the Packers play the Vikings.
To football’s credit, they have marketed their sport extremely well. They do a very good job of appealing to the younger generation’s eye. Unlike golf, which is viewed as a patient, methodical sport, it’s harder to market to this generation. Gambling is another reason that football is strides in from of other sports. In the article, “Why Pro Football is the Most Popular Sport in America,” Randy Inman explains, “football is a great sport to gamble on because the games all take place within 2 days which makes your bets easier to keep up with.” (para. 3) If you think about it from an editor of a newspaper that is trying to boost their readers, more times than not, you would see football on the front page instead of golf. When is the last time you saw two golfers collide a full speed causing a collision? How about never? A wide receiver getting crushed by a massive, out of control, freak athlete is astronomically more entertaining than an out of shape 5’ 9” sack of bones hit a ball in to a tiny hole. That’s just the way it is and from what I can see its not changing anytime soon. In 2003, 6.1 million children for ages 5-17 participated in golf, the following year, 4.4 million. Since then it’s been declining even more. Without the interest of young people golf will have no future. Golf could end up in the same boat as tennis. Since 1975, tennis has dropped in participates from 34 million to 1.3 million.
We’ve become accustom to the era of the super star. Super stars rule basketball and football. In golf there’s only one person that is marketed as a super star, and of course it’s Tiger Woods. With Tiger’s latest antics the game has turned even more people away because everyone sees him as the face of the sport. All sports have multiple dominate athletes, except golf. If you asked a typical sports fan to name the top five golfers, they would struggle to name and besides two or three. If you ask the same question about basketball they could name more than likely over ten.
As much as hate to say it golf is a game of failure. Its always been that way. In golf you count you’re strokes and aim low. In other sports you strive to get the highest point total. To go along with our fast pace so society, people want instant results and instant gratification. In golf you don’t get that. Even to be an average recreational golfer you most discipline yourself to become better. Many people could golf one round and not hit one good shot. But in basketball even the worst player could make 50 percent of their just shots, shooting around by themselves. “Time” may be the biggest killer of golf. In our lives we just struggle to find the time to spend over two hours to walk around a course but shooting around in the drive way or playing catch with a football can take less than a half an hour.
With the future of golf seeming to fade, another killer is the prices. Not only the outrageous prices but the equipment required for golf is through the roof. One single club can cost upwards of $500. In this area for a slightly above average green fee it cost about $15 for nine holes. Not to mention will cost from 6 to 10 dollars. As a golf course, they must charge these prices to make up for the lack of revenue due to the decrease in golf popularity.
Technology has innovated the sport of golf greatly, as it has all sports. According to Geoff Shackelford how authored the book, Future of Golf, “PGA (Professional Golf Association) Tour driving distances increased a foot per year from 1968 to 1995 thanks largely to subtle technological improvements, better athletes, the advent of practice, and better instruction.”
(26) Technology can possibly be the beginning of an evolution to bring the game of golf back to where it once was. With newly designed clubs and balls, player’s confidence can be boosted due to the control and distance of each shot.
In closure, golf is a struggling sport that needs to be revamped by the youth of today’s society. Golf may never be able to surpass the overwhelming popularity of football in America but golf is a wonderful hobby to inhabit and should be enjoyed by all who have the patience and interest. According to one of the best golfers ever golf is easy. “Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing”, Ben Hogan.
To football’s credit, they have marketed their sport extremely well. They do a very good job of appealing to the younger generation’s eye. Unlike golf, which is viewed as a patient, methodical sport, it’s harder to market to this generation. Gambling is another reason that football is strides in from of other sports. In the article, “Why Pro Football is the Most Popular Sport in America,” Randy Inman explains, “football is a great sport to gamble on because the games all take place within 2 days which makes your bets easier to keep up with.” (para. 3) If you think about it from an editor of a newspaper that is trying to boost their readers, more times than not, you would see football on the front page instead of golf. When is the last time you saw two golfers collide a full speed causing a collision? How about never? A wide receiver getting crushed by a massive, out of control, freak athlete is astronomically more entertaining than an out of shape 5’ 9” sack of bones hit a ball in to a tiny hole. That’s just the way it is and from what I can see its not changing anytime soon. In 2003, 6.1 million children for ages 5-17 participated in golf, the following year, 4.4 million. Since then it’s been declining even more. Without the interest of young people golf will have no future. Golf could end up in the same boat as tennis. Since 1975, tennis has dropped in participates from 34 million to 1.3 million.
We’ve become accustom to the era of the super star. Super stars rule basketball and football. In golf there’s only one person that is marketed as a super star, and of course it’s Tiger Woods. With Tiger’s latest antics the game has turned even more people away because everyone sees him as the face of the sport. All sports have multiple dominate athletes, except golf. If you asked a typical sports fan to name the top five golfers, they would struggle to name and besides two or three. If you ask the same question about basketball they could name more than likely over ten.
As much as hate to say it golf is a game of failure. Its always been that way. In golf you count you’re strokes and aim low. In other sports you strive to get the highest point total. To go along with our fast pace so society, people want instant results and instant gratification. In golf you don’t get that. Even to be an average recreational golfer you most discipline yourself to become better. Many people could golf one round and not hit one good shot. But in basketball even the worst player could make 50 percent of their just shots, shooting around by themselves. “Time” may be the biggest killer of golf. In our lives we just struggle to find the time to spend over two hours to walk around a course but shooting around in the drive way or playing catch with a football can take less than a half an hour.
With the future of golf seeming to fade, another killer is the prices. Not only the outrageous prices but the equipment required for golf is through the roof. One single club can cost upwards of $500. In this area for a slightly above average green fee it cost about $15 for nine holes. Not to mention will cost from 6 to 10 dollars. As a golf course, they must charge these prices to make up for the lack of revenue due to the decrease in golf popularity.
Technology has innovated the sport of golf greatly, as it has all sports. According to Geoff Shackelford how authored the book, Future of Golf, “PGA (Professional Golf Association) Tour driving distances increased a foot per year from 1968 to 1995 thanks largely to subtle technological improvements, better athletes, the advent of practice, and better instruction.”
(26) Technology can possibly be the beginning of an evolution to bring the game of golf back to where it once was. With newly designed clubs and balls, player’s confidence can be boosted due to the control and distance of each shot.
In closure, golf is a struggling sport that needs to be revamped by the youth of today’s society. Golf may never be able to surpass the overwhelming popularity of football in America but golf is a wonderful hobby to inhabit and should be enjoyed by all who have the patience and interest. According to one of the best golfers ever golf is easy. “Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing”, Ben Hogan.
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