There are dozens of things golfers liked more about Golf 15 years ago than what they like about Golf today.
OK, maybe there is not that many things different with Golf in the early 2000s but there are enough to make someone ask why Golf changed.
Pace of Play
20 years ago, a golfer could walk up to the counter of any public golf course and in 20 minutes be on the first tee box getting ready to start a leisurely 4 hour round of golf.
Today, that same golfer would have to call around a week in advance to see if there was an open tee time. Even after going through all of the advance tee time reservation that golfer would show up at the golf course only to be told the golf course is backed up and they are running about 30 minutes behind on starts.
Why has Golf allowed this to happen?
One of the reasons more than likely has to do with the non-golfer clerk behind the desk in the pro-shop is not going to know why the golf course is crowded. Or, has been trained by the non-professional golfer manager, to tell golfers asking why the golf course is overbooked…“It’s just one of those days.”
The actual cause for the slow pace of play is usually related to one or more groups of golfers on the course are holding up the those behind them.
In an attempt to generate more revenue by allowing for more Green Fees to be booked per day golf course management is partly responsible for today’s 6 hour round of golf. Increasing sales would be a smart move in a Retail industry, but for GOLF…not so good.
25 years ago most public courses I played used a 10-12-minute tee sheet. This means the tee times for Foursomes of golfers were scheduled 12 minutes apart. Many private golf clubs used a 15 to 20-minute tee sheet. Back then, four golfers would seldom bunch up with the group in front of them on the golf course unless there was some sort of very unusual incident on the course that would stop the pace of play.
Today, I have seen 8-minute tee sheets used as the norm on most public golf courses and in a few cases, where the population of golfers is very dense and the number of golf courses is fewer, they will use an “unofficial” 6-minute tee sheet. Add to the misery that today many golf courses allow for fivesomes and in a few cases, sixsomes to play…well, you can see that Golf has really changed over 25 years.
Shorter time between tee times means more green fees can be captured each day. Smart financially, but not helping new golfers experience how golf should be played. More delays are experienced on the golf course today as a result of “Tee Box Rage”. Tempers heat up as the wait between golf shoots increase. The result is not only to make the pace of play even slower but also pushes many golfers to question why they are playing golf at a golf course that allows for a slow pace of play. Many more golfers are asking themselves why they are wasting their time playing golf.
I’m certain there are studies showing just as many golfers are leaving Golf as there are Golfers beginning to play. Anyone who has played golf frequently over the past 25 years knows dozens of people who stop playing golf due to the slow pace of play. I am one of them and find it sad that Golf has allowed things to get so bad that the mentors of Golf are leaving the game and sport.
UnTucked
20 years ago, going to the golf courses was a chance to dress up in the latest golf fashion. Golf apparel in the early 2000s was very comfortable. The manufacturing of microfiber clothing for Golfers made playing in the heat of the summer and cold of the winter more tolerable.
Today, it is hard to tell who are the golfers on the golf courses and who are part of the maintenance crew. Why has Golf allowed this to happen?
Dropping the standards for dress codes at a golf course…or not enforcing a dress code…was another change golf made in an attempt to shore up revenue. Come one, Come All, is the motto of most golf courses. If a golfer had the funds for the green fee, and what the golfer was wearing to play golf was legal, the golf course ushered them out to the First Tee.
Many say this helps golf bring in more new golfers. The question then was…at what cost?
Granted, what a golfer wears does not make the golfer. But is that really true?
The golf attire issue is still being debated at golf course management meetings and there seems to be data showing that the change Golf made to make the game more casual is also resulting in many golfers leaving the game. And, many of those leaving were spending a lot of money at golf courses and on golf apparel. Is Golf really benefiting from this change?
Come See Me When You Can Hit a Draw
Golf instruction has changed over the years as well. Back in 2000, a golf instructor would work hard to get a student to sign up for a series of golf lessons. This was because a true golf instructor knows that it takes a long time to learn to hit a golf ball effectively.
Today, many instructors seemed defeated at the attitude of new golfers who have little patience in not being able to hit a golf ball like a professional after a 30-minute lesson. As a result, Golf instructors will overbook their lesson calendar knowing that many of the students will not show up. This makes for an eventual back up in golfers waiting on their golf lesson.
The instructor has no choice but to shorten the time frame they have to teach someone how to play golf. This leaves their students spending more time waiting on their lessons only to get an abbreviated lecture or demonstration of what they should be doing to play golf. This leads to students being confused which leads to frustration and ultimately leads to them developing bad swing habits…and the list of bad development of golf skills goes on to the point the student just does not go back to get lessons.
The ultimate result from some golf instructors’ lackadaisical golf instruction methods is more golfers, with very bad golf skills, are being unleashed on already crowded golf courses.
It is good for golf to have so many golfers seeking help with their game, but not good for golf when golfers are only showed how to improve their game in 15 minutes.
Short Story: A few years ago I signed up for an hour lesson with a former ‘Mini Tour’ golf professional only to be lectured, after 15 minutes of instruction, on swing path theory and then told..“Come back to see me when you can hit a Draw.” How does that help golf?
You Want How Much for that Driver?
If there is anything that stayed the same for the past 25 years it is the high cost of Golf. Quality golf equipment has always been expensive. I’ve always have wondered why this happens.
When you step back and look at Golf and what someone has to go through to play the game, the cost of the equipment might be the number one reason there are not more people playing golf.
When you look all of the things golfers have to pay for before they even get on the golf course it would prove the cost of playing golf is far out of reach of most of the population of the world. Even in the developed parts of the world, the income someone would have to have to play golf makes playing golf for many a Non-Starter.
Having gone through the years it has taken me to get to where I am comfortable playing golf I look back at the quality of golf clubs as being a huge factor to what makes me comfortable. Playing with unfitted golf clubs, the wrong weighted putter, and the wrong golf ball all made a huge difference.
However, it was, and still is, a very expensive process I have gone through that most people would not be able to afford. And…I am just one of the hundreds of thousands like me who has gone through the exact process of spending a lot of money to be equipped to play “Comfortable” Golf.
I hate to think of how much I have spent over the past 45 years of playing golf. Four decades of equipment changes, golf schools, golf attire, country club memberships, golf vacations, golf tournaments, rounds of business golf and the bills for the after golf refreshments..not to mention the funds I shelled out on the occasional side betting I may, or may not, have been involved with partaking.
Shot In The Foot
Yes, golf has changed over the past 25 years. As I look back at the changes it is easy to see the changes made to Golf were reactions to other changes being made outside of Golf. In many ways, Golf shot itself in the foot.
The trickledown effect from a bad economy and from a recession resulted in many of the first changes Golf made. Cutting operations budgets on golf course maintenance to overcome the slow down in golfers playing golf. Raising Membership Fees and Green Fees in an effort to raise revenue.
The business executives who got caught spending authorized funds to play golf with government officials did not help the image of golf. As a result, the number of rounds of Business Golf nearly stopped.
Finding a Wayback Machine
There was…and still is…a lot at stake in the Golf Industry. To lessen the risk of Golf taking even more hits in its image as a fun and enjoyable activity, maybe the leadership of Golf needs to look for…or develop a…Back to the Future ‘Wayback Machine’ that would take us all back to the day before there was a guy yelling ‘U Da Man!’ after every drive by John Daly.
Or maybe go back to the day before a guy named Eldrick Tont Woods said...’Hello World!…and announced he was turning professional’.
Of course, I would want to go back to November 2004 to watch Fred Couples sink a $300k birdie putt to beat Tiger Woods on the fifth extra hole in The Skins Game.
You just have to wonder were Golf would have been today if it had just stayed the course and not fall from grace of so many golfers who really enjoyed playing golf.
No question Golf will and would change. However, there is a question…Did it have to change to what it changed to?
I’m Not sure hitting golf balls from a multilevel indoor driving range is the right direction Golf should go.
Let me know how I can help.
