Big-Hole Golf
Fewer people are playing golf, which has the golf industry worried. One solution being proposed is to make the holes bigger. A lot bigger. 15 inches wide. The idea is that if the game is easier, more people will play. Although personally I don't think people are not playing because the game is too hard. I think they're not playing because it's too expensive. More details at wsj.com.
Comments
Too expensive, and too boring. I'm no great fan of Mr. Longhorn Clemens, but I agree with him on this one.
Posted by Richard Bos on 04/24/14 at 09:46 AM
A good walk, spoilt.
Posted by TheCannyScot in Atlanta, GA on 04/24/14 at 10:05 AM
Too expensive! The American middle class is shrinking both in size and earning power. A set of sticks has got to cost close to $1k now and green fees are ranging from $10 to $40 per round. Add in the frustration factor with putting up with snotty, know-it-all caddies and vous la! It just ain't worth it any more.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 04/24/14 at 10:14 AM
When will this trickle down to the miniature golf courses?
Posted by crc on 04/24/14 at 10:54 AM
The only physical activities not on life support are school sports and sex.
The type of people who played a lot of outdoor games ten years ago are now concentrating their efforts into work just to survive.
There's also the creepiness factor of being outdoors these days:
Some guys who had a semi-regular park-football game noticed a drone routinely patrolling the area. One of them asked authorities about it. City officials and police denied responsibility. When they contacted a reporter, he told them other people had asked and found it was in their best interest to forget about it, and it had come down from on high (publisher) that the newspaper wasn't to print anything about it.
A short time later, one of them noticed on his credit report that a company with a strange name had pinged his records. Cross-checking, all the guys who usually played had been checked. None of their friends or business associates who didn't play had been pinged by that company.
None of them are conspiracy theorists (well, Steve has strange ideas about what they put in hot dogs), but they stopped the games.
The type of people who played a lot of outdoor games ten years ago are now concentrating their efforts into work just to survive.
There's also the creepiness factor of being outdoors these days:
Some guys who had a semi-regular park-football game noticed a drone routinely patrolling the area. One of them asked authorities about it. City officials and police denied responsibility. When they contacted a reporter, he told them other people had asked and found it was in their best interest to forget about it, and it had come down from on high (publisher) that the newspaper wasn't to print anything about it.
A short time later, one of them noticed on his credit report that a company with a strange name had pinged his records. Cross-checking, all the guys who usually played had been checked. None of their friends or business associates who didn't play had been pinged by that company.
None of them are conspiracy theorists (well, Steve has strange ideas about what they put in hot dogs), but they stopped the games.
Posted by Phideaux on 04/24/14 at 01:02 PM
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Jefferson
Jefferson
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 04/24/14 at 01:26 PM
And, there is the water usage. Many news stories about water shortages in the southwest but places like Vegas still have golf courses.
Posted by aka_darrell on 04/24/14 at 01:36 PM
I'm getting to that age where the hardest thing to do in golf is to bend over to pick the ball up.
Posted by tadchem on 04/24/14 at 01:44 PM
"Make the holes bigger..." sounds like the punch line to a really sexist joke.
Posted by KDP on 04/24/14 at 04:06 PM
My wife is very adventurous and fun but she to this day has never allowed my to play "the back nine" 🐛 😝
Posted by BrokeDad in Midwest US on 04/24/14 at 05:13 PM
It is an expensive game. Just take a walk in the park for free, no frustration involved.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 04/24/14 at 06:58 PM
The only reason it is called "golf" is all the other 4-letter words were already taken.
Posted by Brian Graham on 04/24/14 at 08:03 PM
All the best park lands along the Humber river in Toronto are private golf courses. Hope they all go bankrupt.
A relative brags about spending a the least a grand a month on golf fees, he works in the film industry. No one else in the extended family golfs or cares.
A relative brags about spending a the least a grand a month on golf fees, he works in the film industry. No one else in the extended family golfs or cares.
Posted by Kehaar on 04/24/14 at 10:32 PM
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Category: Sports | Golf