Jack Nicklaus proposes the idea of 12-hole golf game
The 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus has proposed the idea of holding 12-hole-round events in order to shorten the duration of the sport, as it can trigger interest among the young in the United States.
Apart from his major wins record, he is also known for his beautifully designed courses all over the world.
The Memorial tournament, one of the biggest events on the PGA Tour, is currently set to begin at one of his prestigious golf courses, Muirfield Village Golf Club, from May 31, 2012.
This year, two special 12-hole events were organised at the course on the Labor Day weekend in order to encourage the local players to come and play a shorter version of the game.
In addition to that, the players were allowed to finish their game in 2.5-hour limit. Otherwise, every five-minute extra bracket cost them one stroke as penalty.
However, the traditionalists did not like the idea and it was highly criticised by that school of thought in the similar way as it happened at the introduction of T20 cricket.
Yet, Nicklaus sees it in a completely different way. He believes that the new format will allow the senior members as well as the families to make their way towards the course, as the new format does not consume hours while finishing the round.
"From the members and participants I spoke to, as well as the reports I received from the Club staff, it sounds like everyone had a lot of fun and enjoyed the concept," he said. "I truly delighted we got such a positive reaction. I was also pleased to hear
that not only did we have a large number of people participate, but we had such a large variety of players”.
"We had good players, as well as beginners, and we had a good mix of seniors and families. I heard there were a number of young players, who had taken up the game as juniors, but had then lost touch with it for whatever reason,” he added.
Nicklaus’s supporters say that the new format of the game seems a little weird in the start.
However, if it is analysed critically on the long-term perspectives, it is easy to understand that people will move to the courses to spend some quality time and complete their game in restricted timings.
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