Why Is Golf On The Decline?

[fundy]

I feel I’m missing something here

13th through 18th most likely

 

[Jacko_G]

Right.

I now don't even know what this thread is about anymore!!!

Either way I still say S L O W P L A Y is the biggest culprit!!!

 

[patricks148]

Maybe, but also backward clubs stuck in the 1970s are big offenders.

not for slow play though, wasn't golf faster then?

 

[howbow88]

Hiya !!!! Tough day at work. Glad to see no one really got my post. Sure I realise Panmure is obviously a fantastic place to go and play golf but my thoughts were supposing a person was thinking, about playing golf and saw the post on FB followed the link and read through Panmures website. No disrespect top them but as I said would this inspire someone to start to play? I think not. Well I'm sure NOT! Maybe those who post these sort of things on FB or elsewhere should maybe throw in the odd,

Hey guys look at this place!!!! Cracking course good test but not too difficult and an amazing price of £30! Highly rated food and good beer in the clubhouse.

See that makes you look!!!! Bet you all want to know where this is? Well so do I. These places are out there. I'm damn sure EVERYONE on here knows of these places. Maybe GM should do a year long piece on these places? This would make great reading, I think. Golf need to be attracting more people to play. Slow play? Nah don't get that. Golf is a four hour thing. Go to the match? To some that's an all day thing. In my opinion, Gm and others should be pushing the great places to play for reasonable prices. And places with a good clubhouse. My ex place has a cracking balcony that over looks the course and is full at the weekend. Things like this should be highlighted. These courses need the money and the publicity, especially now!!!!

This is what I'm on about. I have posted something like this a while ago. Golf should stop looking at the top end courses that we all would like to play eventually (hopefully) and show the people thinking about starting to play, where there are good places to play at cracking prices! And there are some cracking places for less than £30. I can reel off a few near me. Disley, Chapel, New Mills, Westwood. All these are stunning courses and all for under £30!!!!

You seem to be annoyed that Facebook's algorithms gave you an advert for a high end golf club? The chances are, this same advert would be unlikely to appear in the feed of someone who is only potentially interested in golf, but will go to someone like yourself who is very interested in golf, has visited higher end golf clubs before, fits in with a certain demographic, etc.

My local club has adverts like the one you suggest - 'come and play here, it's cheap and cheerful, etc.' I wouldn't say it works though

In terms of lack of interest, I would say that the lack of golf on terrestrial tv hurts golf.

 

[CliveW]

For those who don't like slow play or dress codes, have a look at this...

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

If I was on the golf course with her I would want to drag it out as long as possible

 

[Crazyface]

Sure slow play is a thing with players who play the game, I agree with this, but my OP was more aimed at why people aren't taking up the game.

 

[Crazyface]

You seem to be annoyed that Facebook's algorithms gave you an advert for a high end golf club? The chances are, this same advert would be unlikely to appear in the feed of someone who is only potentially interested in golf, but will go to someone like yourself who is very interested in golf, has visited higher end golf clubs before, fits in with a certain demographic, etc.

My local club has adverts like the one you suggest - 'come and play here, it's cheap and cheerful, etc.' I wouldn't say it works though

In terms of lack of interest, I would say that the lack of golf on terrestrial tv hurts golf.

Not annoyed at FB. The link came through from a site I follow called Carnoustie Country or something like that.

 

[patricks148]

Not annoyed at FB. The link came through from a site I follow called Carnoustie Country or something like that.

just as well Carnoustie didn't come up then you would complaining the not Living in Carnoustie was stopping people playing

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Sure slow play is a thing with players who play the game, I agree with this, but my OP was more aimed at why people aren't taking up the game.

I have no proof, this is purely my opinion but my feeling is that young people are less inclined to take up sport. When I was a kid the parks were full of kids kicking footballs around or playing cricket etc. It seems now kids are more interested in games consoles and smartphones.

 

[patricks148]

For those who don't like slow play or dress codes, have a look at this...

not bad, but she's no Laura Davies

 

[Mandofred]

I have no proof, this is purely my opinion but my feeling is that young people are less inclined to take up sport. When I was a kid the parks were full of kids kicking footballs around or playing cricket etc. It seems now kids are more interested in games consoles and smartphones.

This. I'm a retired school teacher/coach. The numbers going into sports (especially in the sports not "top tier" like cross country/track, golf etc) started going down by the mid 90's for the school system I worked with. There are just other distractions.

 

[Grant85]

I've never understood the clamour for dropping the number of holes to 12 to make a game that lasts around the 2 hour mark...
That game already exists
It's called 9 holes.
If someone can't or won't allocate enough time to play 18 then, simply play 9.
Costs nothing....

It does cost... because we have this culture where 18 holes is the norm. And also anything less than a par 70 isn't a 'good' course.

There's no 18 hole clubs that will offer a 9 hole membership, so you are restricted to a specific 9 holer. Generally 9 holers are designed specifically with budget in mind so the standard is often well below what a 'normal' 18 holer would get to, or there is a stigma attached to them.

I feel a 12 hole course that was properly designed as such would offer more than most 9 holers that are about today. And 12 is that bit more golf than 9 that people would feel it was more like a 'proper' round and not as much a compromise.

Would also require the governing bodies to change as they currently have rules that all competition golf counting for handicaps must be played over 9 or 18 holes.

At the very least there must be plenty of clubs with 2 courses who are struggling and could consider re-jigging one of their courses and seeing if there was interest for just a 12 hole membership, with competitions played over that number (obv handicaps would have to be calculated over the 1st 9 holes).

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

It does cost... because we have this culture where 18 holes is the norm. And also anything less than a par 70 isn't a 'good' course.

There's no 18 hole clubs that will offer a 9 hole membership, so you are restricted to a specific 9 holer. Generally 9 holers are designed specifically with budget in mind so the standard is often well below what a 'normal' 18 holer would get to, or there is a stigma attached to them.

I feel a 12 hole course that was properly designed as such would offer more than most 9 holers that are about today. And 12 is that bit more golf than 9 that people would feel it was more like a 'proper' round and not as much a compromise.

Would also require the governing bodies to change as they currently have rules that all competition golf counting for handicaps must be played over 9 or 18 holes.

At the very least there must be plenty of clubs with 2 courses who are struggling and could consider re-jigging one of their courses and seeing if there was interest for just a 12 hole membership, with competitions played over that number (obv handicaps would have to be calculated over the 1st 9 holes).

Seriously, what is your obsession with 12 hole courses? Golf works perfectly well with 9 and 18 hole courses as well as par 3 courses and pitch and putts.

 

[Wolf]

I have no proof, this is purely my opinion but my feeling is that young people are less inclined to take up sport. When I was a kid the parks were full of kids kicking footballs around or playing cricket etc. It seems now kids are more interested in games consoles and smartphones.

Nails it 100% for me, I'll use my kids as an example apologies if I waffle (I haven't been out much ?)

I've got 6 kids and only 3 remain interested in sports. My oldest is 20 and used to love Badminton but she no longer plays as she has other interests now. My 14yr old lad absolutely no interest in sports at all he'd rather have a pair of headphones on killing someone on the latest CoD game than seeing any form of daylight. My 8yr old daughter has no interest in sport anymore which is a shame as she was doing fabulously as a budding gymnast but has decided already at 8 she prefers social activities like brownies because even in competition there was no real point as everyone was getting medals for taking part so when she was placing top 3 in large scale comps there was no sense of achievement so what was point her trying her best when everyone got the same reward.

That leaves my 9 Yr old lad who absolutely loves motorsports and races nationally in GoKarts, but realistically is that a viable social sport as kids become adults get if its not a profession ??‍
My 13yr old daughter who loves football both playing & watching but still gets stick for it at school because she's a girl & boys don't like the little blonde CB tackling them so can only play with like minded girls of which there is hardly any in her area, so her interest as a result is starting to wane.
Then there's my youngest she's 6 and has has a burning desire to play football but because of her age as a girl nobody is willing in the local area to let her play or try it out and school have told her girls play netball?.

Yet depsite all that I reckon by the time they all hit mid to late teens all ideas and interest of sport will be gone for them all, because its to easy to do things with latest tech at home than interact or exert themselves. Golf has no chance with the younger generation as they are currently and its going to start affecting other sports to more and more..

 

[Slab]

For those who don't like slow play or dress codes, have a look at this...

It messes with my head when someone is trying to promote ready golf/faster golf, yet it takes them fully several minutes just to explain how to play a single golf shot faster. This vid has that in spades

 

[Grant85]

Seriously, what is your obsession with 12 hole courses? Golf works perfectly well with 9 and 18 hole courses as well as par 3 courses and pitch and putts.

So why are we having a thread about golf being on the decline?

* Ultimately golf is becoming a smaller sport with less participation, less TV coverage, fewer courses and opportunities to be introduced to golf by friends and family.
* We are looking at potentially the European Tour folding and there not really being a route into elite golf on this side of the atlantic.
* Clubs are operating on a shoe string every year and it seems there are multiple closures each month. Some of these clubs have been around for 100 years.
* A lot of people who are playing don't want to join a club in the traditional sense, yet clubs carry on with their annual pricing structure.
* Clubs now don't have a budget to try anything pro-active that can make an investment and increase revenue as a %age of costs.
* It's being overtaken by other sports and activities and I'd imagine the number of youngsters taking up the game and playing as teenagers is probably as low as it has been.

If you think taking no action is fine as things are working 'perfectly well', then I think we should be very concerned for the decades to come about what golf may look like and the number of clubs that are still in existence.

 

[Wolf]

It messes with my head when someone is trying to promote ready golf/faster golf, yet it takes them fully several minutes just to explain how to play a single golf shot faster. This vid has that in spades

I didn't realise she was saying anything ??‍

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

So why are we having a thread about golf being on the decline?

* Ultimately golf is becoming a smaller sport with less participation, less TV coverage, fewer courses and opportunities to be introduced to golf by friends and family.
* We are looking at potentially the European Tour folding and there not really being a route into elite golf on this side of the atlantic.
* Clubs are operating on a shoe string every year and it seems there are multiple closures each month. Some of these clubs have been around for 100 years.
* A lot of people who are playing don't want to join a club in the traditional sense, yet clubs carry on with their annual pricing structure.
* Clubs now don't have a budget to try anything pro-active that can make an investment and increase revenue as a %age of costs.
* It's being overtaken by other sports and activities and I'd imagine the number of youngsters taking up the game and playing as teenagers is probably as low as it has been.

If you think taking no action is fine as things are working 'perfectly well', then I think we should be very concerned for the decades to come about what golf may look like and the number of clubs that are still in existence.

Yes golf has issues but the number of holes is not the problem.

 

[Orikoru]

I think there is something for everyone in golf, but a lot of people aren't aware of it because all they see is rubbish articles telling them golf is in decline because it's too expensive, stuffy, etc. In trying to analyse why 'golf is in decline' people are actually perpetuating the myths that put it in decline in the first place. If more was done to make people aware that there are courses out there where you can play nine holes, with no judgement, cheaply, and without a dress code, I really think more people would take it up.