On April 19 the WALL STREET JOURNAL ran a feature article on the troubles of the golf business. The projected golf boom in the ‘90’s never happened and during the last few years, golf has even gone backwards. Why? Well, the WALL STREET JOURNAL contends that the main reason is that golf is difficult and the courses are too challenging. Sure, the Tour players are tearing apart difficult courses, but they’re the best players in the world. Most modern courses are built to impress very good players, not help average golfers.

Is golf too hard? Golf is certainly harder than it looks, but it doesn’t have to be as frustrating as it is for many people. Most people think that their swing is their problem and so they are always tinkering with it. Usually their problem is making poor contact with the ball – not swing flaws. Golf is difficult because the club head is so far away from the players’ hands – the longer the club, the more difficult to make solid contact. Golf club manufacturers have been lengthening clubs in pursuit of greater distance, though usually at the cost of making poor contact. But some new golf equipment is much easier to hit: the big headed drivers and 7 woods for example. 

As for golf course design, I think the WALL STREET JOURNAL is correct; most new courses are too difficult. Even most older country club courses are too tough for their members, but the club green committees are usually run by low handicappers who don’t care about the needs of the typical member. And obviously a difficult course leads to slow play. I don’t believe golf should be rushed, but slooow play can be really frustrating. A course layout should be interesting with a variety of holes, pretty views, plenty of risk/reward situations, and not too penal – a “friendly” layout. 

Speaking of friendly, not only should the layout should be friendly, the whole golf operation should be friendly. Too often golf courses are staffed with arrogant golf pros and other unfriendly personnel.

I believe that a golf club should be an isolated paradise. I’m not a utopian and am distrustful of utopian planned societies, but I do believe that everybody deserves to spend time in a place that is beautiful, friendly, fun, relaxing, has good food and drink, and not spoiled by rude people. That should be the mission statement of the golf industry.