Golf on the decline?

EagleParBirdie, Gauging Golf and the Golf Blog have all posted articles voicing their concerns that the number of people playing golf is declining every year; perhaps millions in the US.

EagleParBirdie (EPB) states that "according to the National Golf Foundation, the core golfer today is someone who plays 8 rounds a year." This to me sounds pretty alarming considering that I, as a kid with my Dad when I briefly took up the sport, must have played 8 rounds in, at the most, six months.

EPB does not believe the problem is time, they argue the issue is purely financial; "a skateboard or even an Xbox 360 costs less than your average set of irons."

However mulligan, of the Golf Blog, does believe the problem is time and says he has the solution: "make a round of golf 6 holes. You can divide up 18 holes into 3 courses. People can finish in under 90 minutes."

This idea has attracted several comments and more ideas on the blog. Click here to view them. The main problems within golf people have highlighted are lack of etiquette, lack of quality instruction, poor golf course marshalling and, perhaps most humorously, as one person wrote: "Taking 15 practice swings on your putt. It's not going to help. take two, three, and then freaking putt the darn ball."

These posts all refer to an article from the New York Times published 21 Feb. Click here to read.

All these blogs have addressed a very significant issue within the sport and each have interpreted the problems and come up with their own thoughts and ideas. But most importantly, they have also allowed scope for people to agree or disagree and to suggest other ideas and concepts. The best place to look for solutions to golf's problems may well be in its blogging community.