What’s Wrong With Pro Golf These Days?

Posted by John

October 7, 2008

The stats aren’t good for pro golf these days. Viewers just aren’t showing up for tournament broadcasts. Tiger Woods certainly is missed, but if he’s all that stands between the success or failure of the tour, then it’s in real trouble. Good old boy Tim Finchem seems to be playing his hand like too many other league commissioners – sell more advertising and schedule more tournaments. Seems to me that golf fans are choking on the meal he has prepared.

Can you blame us. It’s hard to make sense out of the game these days. Technology seems to be more important than technique. All the players are beginning to look the same. It seems like personality has been bred out of all but a few pros. There must be 15 up and coming stars who have won a single tournament and that’s it. You can’t blame them if that’s all they want. You can make a very nice living for yourself on tour these days without ever having to win.

Are the stars of old really bigger than life just because they’re history? Arnie, Jack, Gary, Lee and Tom – just to name a few – could really put on a show. Each was unique. Or at least it seems that way. Sometimes I’m not sure if they were better or if there were just fewer really good golfers. The guys today can certainly score, but it just doesn’t seem to be exciting. Maybe that goes back to my first point that Finchem has just brought us too much golf.

Or maybe the public is getting sick of more overpaid sports stars. After all, the $10million first prize for the FedEx Cup is a bit much, particularly when you watch your meager life savings by comparison melt away day by the day. The FedEx Cup come across as very contrived and the format has never created much excitement. All VJ had to do this year was not disqualify himself in the last tournament to get the jackpot. Now that’s nail biting drama for you. And there’s also the fact the world isn’t very much fun right now. Do I want to see some overpaid athlete have a coronary because their 15 footer lipped out while I’m watching my retirement disappear.

Maybe we’re just tired of watching guys play a game so well that’s so hard for the rest of us. Are they that much better, or is it because they have full time coaching staffs of 12 analyze their every move. I mean how many strokes could I take off my game if I could practice 8 hours a day with the world’s best teachers and state-of-the-art video analysis.

Maybe the courses are too similar. There’s too many holes that are driver wedge. How do they hit their wedges 140 or more yards anyway. Some of the new young sluggers are making a decent living out of three clubs – driver, wedge, putter. Are the new hybrids too easy for the pros? I remember when they outlawed computer controlled breaking/accelerating of individual wheels on race cars – it was too easy for the drivers. Maybe golf’s ruling bodies should look at cutting back on some technology for the pros, while allowing us weekend warriors to keep it.

I think the game has gotten too costly and too hard to play for many amateurs. Every year as many golfers leave the game as take it up. After you’ve had your ass kicked for so long, is there any joy in watching pros make it look easy?

Somewhere, something has gone awry. If you know what it is, please tell me.