# How Did Golf Get To This Point?



## Golfbum (Oct 14, 2006)

I came across this article and I agree with the points the author makes. 



Point of no return
How did golf ever
get to this point?
Written by Alistair Tait 

There are times in this game when you just have to shake your head and ask: How did we ever get to this point?

Here are some questions that baffle the hell out of me:

How did we ever get to the point where . . . Four and a half hours is an acceptable time for a round?

Watching the Ladies European Tour event in Dubai recently, I heard former LET player Diane Barnard say that 4 1/2 hours was pretty normal for a round in professional golf. If only that were true. That seems quick in these days of five- and even six-hour rounds.

If only the authorities had acted way back when, then perhaps 4 1/2 hours would be considered excessive rather than the norm.

How did we ever get to the point where . . . Someone was worth $100 million per year because of his ability to hit a golf ball?

That’s the total figure Tiger Woods reportedly earns every year for being the best. Crazy. Absolutely crazy. 

We have soldiers, police officers, nurses, firefighters, paramedics and other life-saving personnel who will never come close to that sort of money. Yet society thinks nothing of the money Tiger earns. Have we got our priorities wrong?

How did we ever get to the point where . . . Sponsors think $20 million was worthy of one tournament?

That’s the sum Jumeirah Golf Estates will stump up in 2009 for the Dubai World Golf Championship: $10 million for the tournament and another $10 million bonus pool for the European Order of Merit. I guess when you can sell luxury homes for upward of $1 million, then $20 million over five years is nothing. But why do sponsors insist on spending so much? If I were a shareholder in Jumeirah Estates, I’d be saying why $20 million, why not $10 million? It’s not as if the Euro Tour were going to say no.

How did we ever get to the point where . . . Sponsors had to stump up appearance money to pay to players?

Tiger reportedly earns $3 million for turning up at some events, notably in Dubai and Germany. Yet other players - B actors, if you like - also benefit from appearance money. Why? I can see the value Tiger adds to an event, although I can’t see $3 million’s worth. But I can’t understand the justification in paying money to many other players who add little to tournaments. P.T. Barnum wasn’t wrong when he said there was a sucker born every minute.

How did we ever get to the point where . . . Top golf professionals moan about having a hard life?

To listen to some players talk about the pressure of big-time golf, you’d think they had the same stress as the aforementioned emergency personnel. I sometimes have to stifle a laugh when golf pros talk about stress or how hard tour life is. Most of us would have a constant smile if we could play golf for a living and make the money even average players earn.

How did we ever get to the point where . . . Bunkers were preferable to grass?

Watch the tour pros and most times they want approach shots to land in bunkers rather than the rough. Bunkers used to be hazards. Now the top players seem to make automatic pars. Yet they often dread finding grassy lies around the greens.

How did we ever get to the point where . . . Walking was considered strange?

Carts instead of walking? When did that sneak up on us?

How did we ever get to the point where . . . Water has to be everywhere?

I blame the Swilken Burn on the Old Course at St. Andrews. From that first water hazard sprung courses with water on all 18 holes. There’s nothing worse than standing on a succession of holes where water is the main defense. Boring!

How did we ever get to the point where . . . Clubs need palatial clubhouses?

I’ve played courses where all the money seems to have been spent on making sure the clubhouse is like the mansion you’d find in “The Great Gatsby.” Give me a place to change my shoes, somewhere to get a sandwich and a beer and I’m happy. Any club that needs thousands of square feet of expensive real estate is either making a statement or trying too hard.

How did we ever get to the point where . . . $500 was an acceptable green fee?

You need more than $500 to play Wentworth in England, and about that for Pebble Beach. They’re good courses, but $500? Nor are they alone. There are other courses charging the proverbial arm and leg just to hit a small white ball around. Strange thing is, there’s no shortage of people willing to pay. 

Old P.T. Barnum would have had a field day with golfers, huh?


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## Jamin21 (Jun 7, 2007)

Very well written. I can't count the number of times I've thought about some of those very questions myself. And not just when it comes to Golf either.


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

I agree in wonderment with all your questions, but I guess it's just the way of the world.

I think the simple answer is, the popularity of the game has been a double edged sword, causing good and bad aspects...

That popularity has caused golf to become an item marketed to those who are willing to pay higher prices for vistas and exclusivity, or to play courses designed by famous people.

The popularity has caused local courses to stuff as many tee times as possible onto the course to keep up with higher maintenance costs. On the other hand, it has also created a boom in golf course design and construction.

Next, the popularity of the game has made golf a marketing tool that sells products to the masses, even some who don't play the game. Tiger Woods and others are such well known athletes that their faces are familiar to people who have never held a golf club in their lives. I remember Anna Kornikova, who never won a tennis tournament, being the most marketable face of tennis. Granted, she is a beautiful girl and probably could have sold just as many products if she had been a model instead. The "why and how" is a matter for the product manufacturer to decide. Golf is a hot vehicle from which to sell the product because it represents a lifestyle that is attractive to so many people.

Note - That $100,000,000.00 figure is far below what Tiger won in tournaments. Corporate America is the only one to blame.

Lastly, since manufacturers are willing to pay those higher and higher dollars for PGA Tour players to endorse their products or appear in their advertising, that familiarity plus winning a tournament now and then, (actual golfing credibility helps), makes tournament sponsors want those players in their field. That's another viscious cycle. A few years ago, Tiger skipped Doral and the sponsors commented that crowds were down 15% over the week.


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## mkoreiwo (Jan 8, 2007)

As long as the masses support it, thats the way it will be. entertainers/sports figures get what they do because we support it. I agree 100% with the article. The only way to change this sort of thing is by withdrawing support, but as long as we give our money up, they'll keep taking it. As to walking and round time - agreed again. I walk whenever I can as long as its "allowed" - yeah - isn't it a riot - some places won't even allow you to walk!


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## white_tiger_137 (Mar 23, 2006)

> We have soldiers, police officers, nurses, firefighters, paramedics and other life-saving personnel who will never come close to that sort of money. Yet society thinks nothing of the money Tiger earns. Have we got our priorities wrong?


Economics. Now the rest of us mere mortals have something to shoot for. Which means people will be shelling out big bucks for equipment, lessons, etc. Wrong, probably. But understandable.



> How did we ever get to the point where . . . Walking was considered strange?
> 
> Carts instead of walking? When did that sneak up on us?


Lazy Americans. 




> How did we ever get to the point where . . . $500 was an acceptable green fee?


When enough people decided they were willing to pay $500.



> Watch the tour pros and most times they want approach shots to land in bunkers rather than the rough. Bunkers used to be hazards. Now the top players seem to make automatic pars. Yet they often dread finding grassy lies around the greens.


Picture perfect sand is predictable.



> How did we ever get to the point where . . . Sponsors had to stump up appearance money to pay to players?


Agred. That is total crap.


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

white_tiger_137 said:


> Picture perfect sand is predictable.


True... I wonder whether Jack Nicklaus and his people who help with the Memorial Tournament will use the rakes with the wider placed teeth again this year. The larger furrows really threw the pros for a loop last year and yet, that's how sand was maintained many, many years ago... or every weekend if they ever had to play most public courses. :cheeky4:


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