In a Hole, Golf Courses Experiment With 15-inch Holes 405
Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "According to the National Golf Foundation, golf has lost five million players in the last decade with 20 percent of the existing 25 million golfers apt to quit in the next few years. Now Bill Pennington writes that golf courses across the country are experimenting with 15 inch golf holes the size of pizzas to stop people from quitting the game. "We've got to stop scaring people away from golf by telling them that there is only one way to play the game and it includes these specific guidelines," says Ted Bishop, president of the PGA of America. "We've got to offer more forms of golf for people to try. We have to do something to get them into the fold, and then maybe they'll have this idea it's supposed to be fun." A 15-inch-hole event was held at the Reynolds Plantation resort last week featuring top professional golfers Sergio García and Justin Rose, the defending United States Open champion. "A 15-inch hole could help junior golfers, beginning golfers and older golfers score better, play faster and like golf more," says García, who shot a six-under-par 30 for nine holes in the exhibition. Another alternative is foot golf, in which players kick a soccer ball from the tee to an oversize hole, counting their kicks. Still it is no surprise that not everyone agrees with the burgeoning alternative movement to make golf more user-friendly. "I don't want to rig the game and cheapen it," says Curtis Strange, a two-time United States Open champion and an analyst for ESPN. "I don't like any of that stuff. And it's not going to happen either. It's all talk.""
Re:Nothing to do with hole size (Score:4, Informative)
In many places, it is known as the sport of the "white old mens club" (figure of speech) or the 1%, because of the restricted club memberships, expensive green fees, and huge variation in equipment costs, which can be in the thousands of dollars for a single decent club.
Except most public course have fees that are $20 per person, maybe $30 if you get a cart, and a decent set of clubs will run you a couple hundred dollars retail. Sure, if you want to play at places like Pebble Beach or Augusta National it will cost a ton of money (if you even have the handicap to get in), but there are many golf courses out there that are very affordable.
Re:...news for nerds.. (Score:4, Informative)
While putting does not require much strength, doesn't driving (i.e. long distance shots) require a lot of upper body strength equivalent to olympic sports like javelin and discus throw?
I don't golf much, but in my experience, no. It just requires leverage and precision. When I was at a big law firm, I would sometimes play in "scramble" golf tournaments, where bad golfers (like me) teamed up with good golfers (3 or 4 to a team), and you took everybody's best shot. In one of these tournaments, I won the overall prize for best drive (this was against a number of lawyers who golf a lot). I do not have any special upper body strength, and certainly no skill. I just happened, that one time, to strike the ball just right so it flew straight, and flew a long way. And it was a one-off thing. Most of the rest of my drives didn't even go the right way. I doubt you will ever see a noob accidentally make a one-off farthest discus or javelin throw.