Golf Needs To Listen, Not Talk
August 25, 2010 by Ian Hutchinson
The consensus among hockey folks who I knew when I was closer to that game than now is that this week’s World Hockey Summit in Toronto will accomplish little, if anything of consequence.
That’s not unlike Canadian golf’s version of a summit that took place over five years ago in Toronto that led to the Play Golf initiative, which eventually hit a wall with nothing salvaged from the wreckage.
If there was one good thing that did emerge from that summit, it was that this country’s numerous golf associations were willing to work together to grow the game, which was a big step considering the squabbles of the past. The bottom line is, however, that Play Golf failed as an initiative.
That’s not to say that golf’s leaders and associations are void of innovative ideas, but when it comes to selling the game, the temptation to exclusively decide how to sell the merits of the game is a case of the converted preaching to the unconverted when the focus should be on listening instead of talking.
Perception is reality and whatever obstacle has stood in the way of newcomers getting into golf must be dealt with in order to sell it to the masses, even if our first reaction is to defend and protect a game in which we’ve worked, played or both for years.
As tragic as it was, most of us within the game understand the two-stroke penalty assessed to Dustin Johnson for grounding his club in a bunker on the 72nd hole of the recent PGA Championship that took him out of contention for a three-way playoff.
Do the people we are trying to sell the game to fully understand that or the DQ of Jose de Jesus Rodriguez from the Canadian Tour’s Seaforth Country Classic last weekend for failing to sign his card after tying a course record with a 61? How about Jim Furyk being ineligible for The Barclays for tardiness at a pro-am?
From the outside looking in, signing a scorecard or being late for a pro-am seem like trivial offences that lend credence to the belief by many that golf is a stifling game with rules police hiding behind every tree, even though we know that’s hardly the case in recreational play.
It’s recreation and fun that golf needs to be promoting, but so often, the lines are blurred between competitive golf and the just-for-fun stuff that appeals to somebody just getting into the game.
Although United States Golf Association regulations on equipment apply to competitive golf, the much-publicized controversies over wedges and hot drivers the past few years might have the neophyte golfer thinking that somebody will be checking what’s in his/her bag at the first tee.
The fashion police may be pushing aside the rules official behind that tree in the minds of some people, who see golf’s stifling nature extending to dress codes, even though those have softened the past few years. However, golf is still seen as a country club sport for the elite.
You can go ahead and argue that all you want, but the point here is not what’s right or wrong. It’s image.
The fact is that, according to statistics, Canada’s population growth is going to be based entirely on immigration by 2030, particularly in large centres such as Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal and if people from other cultures see golf as being exclusive in any way, the game will stagnate.
Do you lure immigrants who may have never played the game – not to mention women and juniors – by telling them how great it is from our perspective or do you find out what would make golf interesting for them?
That’s why it’s time to start listening instead of talking. Golf has an image problem that needs fixing if it is to draw the masses and the first step in initiating them into the game is getting them to the game in the first place.
The biggest story right now in golf is the Tiger Woods scandal, divorce and the deterioration of his game and, like it or not, many people, either consciously or subconsciously, feel golf is guilty by association.
Of course, that’s unfair.
It’s also unfair that golf as badly in the ratings as Tiger’s game. It’s also not fair that young stars such as Johnson, Rory McIlroy and so many others aren’t getting the attention they deserve because of this obsession with Tiger.
It’s wrong, but it’s reality and perception is reality.
Until golf discovers what the image of the game is among those it is trying to attract, the game will not grow significantly.
It’s all about listening instead of talking.
Ian Hutchinson is a veteran Canadian golf writer, whose history in the game includes an extensive background with Canadian golf trade publications. A golf columnist with Sun Media, Hutch is also a regular contributor to publications and websites in Canada and the United States.
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Perception is everything… couldn’t agree more. Many clubs are just not welcoming. The vast majority of golfers and especially new golfers are getting into the game for fun and an escape from lifes business. They really don’t care about a two stroke penalty for grounding your club – they are just enjoying an afternoon with friends. I will likely be condemmed as a heritic for saying that.
We are currently working with a couple of clubs that are being challenged to attract new memebers the whole thing is the “perception” of a members club not beeing welcoming and friendly.
We need to listen to what they are saying they want… then deliver it… We can operate a Club that response to the needs of the competitive golfer and still serve the majority that are just out for a fun afternoon.
It seems to me that the same things that kept people away from the game five years ago continues to do so today. As you said perception is reality and once again it seems people view golf as the rich man’s game. Right or wrong golf has made its own bed and right now it’s not very comfortable to lie in. Remember affordable green fees before $100.00 + rounds became the norm, remember new metal drivers (Taylor Made) $99.95 before the days of the $600 driver, remember full sets selling for under $1000 not $10,000. Not to say that prices do not need to increase but did they increase to fast, did we put the game out of reach for many people because of price? Maybe!!
What about the game itself, is it fun to play? Have we made courses easier to score on and have fun at or have we put them out of reach of the average player by building 7000 + yard monsters designed to eat you up if you are not below a 10 handicap. Would golf not be more appealing to the masses if you could make the occasional par or maybe even a birdie once in a while rather than the doubles, triples and beyond that most players have grown accustomed to shooting on these modern monsters? We all know these scores are not fun even if we tell ourselves we never shoot them we certainly have played behind someone who has. Was it Fun? A group of Ontario Golf Professionals experimented years ago with handicapping the game by distance rather than score and I remember it to be very successful and a lot of fun. Everyone shot closer to par and even made the occasional birdie regardless of age or their overall ability by playing from the appropriate distance or yardage for their game. Why not utilize this same concept for the everyday player; you never know it might just make it fun again?
Why not make the game fun, affordable and accessible again for the masses? Do we have to always play on these incredibly manicured courses that cost millions to maintain? Do we have to play with conforming clubs that really make no difference to our games? Do we have to wear the traditional attire that is not part of our normal wardrobe? Do we have to continue to suffer through these rounds of shooting 120 on courses designed for the PGA Touring Pro? I would say that if the answer to these questions is yes than we will continue to travel down the path we are currently on with very little or any change at all or if we decide that the answer is no, we may just find out that a change is exactly the accelerant that is needed to get the fire going as it once was for the great game we call golf.