Golf courses need to shrink now
The thing about golf is that it is a sport that goes the distance in beating the aging syndrome.
The aging syndrome is a thing that plagues certain kinds of game. It is opinionated that curling is a prime example – wherein the game loses its aura of majesty and allure for the masses that
worship it and follow it “to whatever end”.
Games, like democracies, phase out. They lose popular appeal with the masses. The formidable fan base that a sport has had loses following and evaporates to the dark danker corners of our
conscious memories.
We may as well be optimistic and say that that is not what is happening to golf. But that would be rather close-minded of us now would it not?
Golf, as any other sport may experience, loses appeal. There is a growing trend amongst people, some of whom had been ambitious diehard fans of the sport, to think better of it and join the
fast growing haters club.
As trendy as playing the sport had once been, we would not be getting ahead of ourselves to say that it is trendier now to lose interest in the game and pick up alternative hobbies.
If it was not a hobby at all, which is cause for concern because there are more hobby-careerists in golf now than there ever were in the past.
Why is that? Is it the “Tiger-Woods-is-leaving-us” fear? May as well be true because to some, since the days of Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods has been the only phenomenal face of the game.
Some would argue that he has been more popular than Jack Nicklaus himself because Jack, unlike to the member so golf’s various societies and circuits the world over, is fairly little known.
On the other hand, Tiger Woods is, like the aforementioned face of the game to people, such as yours truly, who do not know the game (nor care to know of it) but still do recognise Tiger when
they see him.
Other sports deities, such as Mohammad Ali or Michael Jordan, serve to elaborate the point in contention further.
There is altercation that the appearance of Rory McIlroy has shattered the fears of Tiger Woods retiring from the sport. But that argument is not well founded considering the young gun is
unknown outside of golf.
There are other reasons as to golf’s dwindling popularity, or the fairly low ceiling its popularity can possibly reach relative to other sports like cricket, basketball and soccer).
It is just too expensive to pursue (the $50 greens of the US Golf Association notwithstanding). And it takes up too much time. Plus the greens are getting way too long for the average player
to compete in.
If we do not have 12-hole as well as the 18-hole traditional ones, things may crumble.
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