Why golf is declining in America | The Economist
- 5 years ago
Golf traces its origins to 15th century Scotland but it was in America starting in the 1890s that it really came into its own.
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The country is by far the world’s biggest market for golf, home to about half its players and courses. Golf adds about $70 billion a year to America’s economy.
In 2006 some 30m Americans were golfers. But since then golf has hit a rough patch.
And it is now struggling to attract a new generation of American players. In 2013, 160 of the country’s 14,600 golf facilities closed, the 8th consecutive year of net closures. The number of players has fallen to around 25m.
Why are fewer Americans playing golf? There are three main reasons.
First, golf’s calm pace may no longer fit in with modern lifestyles. It can take more than four hours to play
a full round of 18 holes. And disappearing to the golf course for half the weekend is not compatible with modern attitudes to child-rearing.
Second, while golf may have managed to shake off some of its elitist image, America’s troubled economy is once more making it a pursuit of the wealthy. Middle and lower-income golfers have seen their pay packets shrink, hurting membership numbers at mid-range golf courses. Some public courses have been closed by local governments making spending cuts.
Third, golf has become harder to play. Since the 1990s golf-course designers have taken to building longer, tougher courses in order to put golfers and their equipment to the test. The sport’s growing difficulty and its 200-page rulebook make it a tough sell to new players.
In the past stars have had the power to reignite interest in the game. Tiger Woods drew an unprecedented number of newcomers to the sport. But he fell from grace and no new star has emerged to take his place.
Instead, in a bid to renew golf’s appeal, faster, easier versions of the sport are being invented. Foot golf, a hybrid of football and golf and top golf, which involves hitting gold balls onto huge, coloured targets in outdoor sports bars, are two experiments.
Will they succeed in reviving the sports popularity? That, as a golfer would say, is a long shot.
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The country is by far the world’s biggest market for golf, home to about half its players and courses. Golf adds about $70 billion a year to America’s economy.
In 2006 some 30m Americans were golfers. But since then golf has hit a rough patch.
And it is now struggling to attract a new generation of American players. In 2013, 160 of the country’s 14,600 golf facilities closed, the 8th consecutive year of net closures. The number of players has fallen to around 25m.
Why are fewer Americans playing golf? There are three main reasons.
First, golf’s calm pace may no longer fit in with modern lifestyles. It can take more than four hours to play
a full round of 18 holes. And disappearing to the golf course for half the weekend is not compatible with modern attitudes to child-rearing.
Second, while golf may have managed to shake off some of its elitist image, America’s troubled economy is once more making it a pursuit of the wealthy. Middle and lower-income golfers have seen their pay packets shrink, hurting membership numbers at mid-range golf courses. Some public courses have been closed by local governments making spending cuts.
Third, golf has become harder to play. Since the 1990s golf-course designers have taken to building longer, tougher courses in order to put golfers and their equipment to the test. The sport’s growing difficulty and its 200-page rulebook make it a tough sell to new players.
In the past stars have had the power to reignite interest in the game. Tiger Woods drew an unprecedented number of newcomers to the sport. But he fell from grace and no new star has emerged to take his place.
Instead, in a bid to renew golf’s appeal, faster, easier versions of the sport are being invented. Foot golf, a hybrid of football and golf and top golf, which involves hitting gold balls onto huge, coloured targets in outdoor sports bars, are two experiments.
Will they succeed in reviving the sports popularity? That, as a golfer would say, is a long shot.
Daily Watch: mind-stretching short films throughout the working week.
For more from Economist Films visit: http://econ.st/2F6DWQL
Check out The Economist’s full video catalogue: http://econ.st/20IehQk
Like The Economist on Facebook: http://econ.st/2F7ejiJ
Follow The Economist on Twitter: http://econ.st/2F6SsIo
Follow us on Instagram: http://econ.st/2F9Xsfc
Follow us on Medium: http://econ.st/2F9NWck