Article Re: Participation In Golf

[ThaSaltCracka]

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Why do you want more people to golf? As I said, I can't think of any reason why I would want more participation. What benefit would current golfers realize by new players taking up the game?

[/ QUOTE ]wow, thats pretty [censored] selfish.

[HDPM]

[ QUOTE ]
Why do you want more people to golf? As I said, I can't think of any reason why I would want more participation. What benefit would current golfers realize by new players taking up the game?

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Interesting question. I suppose I will start by discussing another game I like that is in bad shape because of a lack of participation. I like to play pool and billiards. Billiards just can't be found most places in the country. The playing field requires more space than a pool table and is more expensive. You need space and a maintained field. Granted, there is enoguh room in my house for a pool table and I have one, so that is easier, but because both pool and billiards are in bad shape here I can't go out and find people to play against or enter many tournaments. There isn't any decent place to play pool near enough to me to go on a regular basis. (Bars don't count, I am talking about decent places with the right equipment.) So I don't get to play as much as I want, and only get to play 3 cushion once in a while. There is one terrible table like 2 hours from me. If I am in Las Vegas there is one good billiard table in a public room. Once in a while in a different city I get to play. So the last time I got to hit a billiard ball on a good table was a year ago. And that is because the sport is dead here. The lack of participation means that I don't get to play as much.


Golf is in much better shape than that, but has some major problems. For now though enough people play so that there is a relatively wide range of courses. Expensive ones, cheap ones, public, private, etc... Because there are people who play there is good instruction. There is a good choice of equipment. There are tournaments if you choose to play in them. There is a lot of golf on TV which I enjoy watching. If participation declines there might be less of what I consider good.

Also, I have enjoyed what I got out of golf. I learned a lot as a kid caddying for rich guys. I learned a lot working at a public course with some rough around the edges people. I learned a lot competing in golf. I got a lot out of it for somebody without any talent who never won anything. Because of that I think the sport can be something good to do. And since I am not a misanthrope like Zeno, I think it is good if other people can derive some benefit from it. And I am not unselfish. if the only way I could play golf were to ban everybody else from playing, I'd say ban them. And sometimes I say that anyway slogging through a four hour abomination people think is a fast enoguh round. But golf is not a zero sum deal; there isn't a finite quantity of golf to go around. Well, maybe there is, in that real estate can support only so many courses, but we are not at the saturation point. However, golf can get priced out of many people's means if the courses are too expensive.

Anyway, those are some of the reasons I would like to see some things change in golf, which I have posted about elsewhere.