What Will Golf Be Like When Tiger Retires?

Long before Tiger Woods became more renowned for his moves off the golf course than he is for his actions on the course, I pondered the day that golf would be without its top star.

We’ve seen prolonged absences of Woods from the game, beginning with his dad Earl’s death in 2006 and then, a couple of years later when he was out following surgery. His latest hiatus wasn’t that noteworthy because of duration, but more because of the salacious circumstances surrounding it.

If there’s one topic that’s nearly as popular as Tiger’s magnificent game, it’s talking about him when he isn’t playing, but that doesn’t help with television ratings when he isn’t around or PGA Tour events where he isn’t in the field.

What would happen if Woods just wasn’t playing anymore, or at least not on a regular basis? It’s a question that the golf industry should be asking itself now.

Back before he became associated with porn stars, I often wondered if Woods would stay in golf on a regular basis past the age of 40, a milestone that will take place in just over five years. At the time, I wondered if he would be spending more time with his family or perhaps, concentrating on a design career.

Whether recent events have changed all that is uncertain, but no matter – it’s all just personal theory anyway. Still, Tiger being gone from the scene on a more permanent basis is a possibility that should not be forgotten as he moves closer to his 40th birthday.

It’s too easy to think of Tiger’s retirement or whatever you want to call it as a challenge that’s exclusive to the PGA Tour, which will certainly feel the effects. However, Woods brings an unprecedented focus to the game that has trickle-down benefits for the golf industry.

The good news is that a more permanent absence from the game likely won’t dwindle participation numbers because core golfers will always play.

Growth of the game is the main concern and, while Tiger’s lure may not be what it was for junior golfers when he first broke in, the profile he has brought to golf will be difficult to replace in the quest for new players.

What’s especially disconcerting is that the baby boomers are approaching retirement age and while they may have more time to play, they may be limited in their participation due to fixed incomes in many cases. Also, will somebody who’s 70 in five years time be playing the same number of rounds 10 years after that?

That makes it important to not only draw juniors into the game, but also newbie 30-something golfers who are about the same age that Woods is now.

This is a topic that’s been touched on several times on GNN, but it may also be time to market the game to Canada’s multi-cultural population to continue growing the numbers.

In a game that has touched on this topic for many years, is it time for golf as a whole to start actually listening to women in order to get more females into the game?

Will the introduction of laser technology and computer data, things already available, help juniors better relate to the golf swing and the game?

Say what you will about Tiger’s escapades, but good boy or bad boy, and sometimes the bad boy image is much more interesting to people, there is no denying the profile he brings to the game. Some may deny his influence on golf at the grassroots level, but stop and listen to some of the conversations at your place of employment this week.

While we should be trying to reap the benefits of his return to golf, his absence from the game should illustrate that it’s time to start thinking about the day he isn’t there on an ongoing basis.

That day may come sooner than you think.

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