Red, White and Blue

 Golf is really changing!!!   The other day I went out to play on an old golf course that was recently redesigned by Jack Nicklaus. It is a champion style golf course so I wanted to play from the forward tees which are now White. No problem.   All the guys in my foursome said that's the right distance for us, now.

Without any comment or shame, we all played from the forward tees, which were White. We all remember  in the old days there were only three tees, Red ( women), White ( member) and Blue ( champion).  The front tees, Red, were only played by the women. In  new golf course design the forward  tees  are  presented in a way so anyone that plays from this tee will not feel downgraded.

 When they redesign or build a new golf courses they change the color of the forward tees from Red (women only tee) to white, green, yellow or any other color but red as way of continuing to attract people who can not hit the ball as far but still wanted to play a championship course.

Is golf changing???  ....maybe

GET RID OF THE WORD PAR IN GOLF

In order to encourage  more average people to try playing golf, I suggest the following. Get rid of the word .... PAR....

 Golf is a wonderful game. It  is a test golf your individual skills against a golf course. You don’t have a play against a competitor, you can just enjoy the game by improving your own skills. You could argue that keeping score is one of the problems because really who cares what your score is, if you’re enjoying playing.  But, people are driven to keep score. Plus, they want to compare themselves each round_to par for  a given hole.

 Par….. everyone who starts the game regardless of skill level wants to know what the par is for the course. Why Is that? The average golfer in their entire golfing life will never shoot par. Therefore,  the average golfer  should  drop the  par comparison and change to picking a Personal Goal for each hole. Now each person can compare improvements to their own per hole Goal.

  People are constantly complaining that “ golf is such a hard game”.  I think this statement, helps people rationalize why their score it’s so high when compared to par.    On the other hand, I think this statement creates a mindset that keeps people from continuing to play. According to the PGA,  the number of golfers has declined not  because of a drop in the number of new golfers starting the game but  because more existing golfers drop out than new golfers start  the game.

I’m suggesting that the word PAR be dropped and replaced with, GOAL. The scorecard should show the personal goal of each player for each hole.  Start by really getting your head around the fact that par doesn’t exist.  "What’s my goal  for this hole", that’s what has meaning for me.

 For example, the par on the hardest hole on the golf course that I play is a 4. My wife, who is a beginning golfer,  should have a goal of  9 or 10.  Some of the  purists would argue that she should not be playing golf if her goal  is so high. It’s easy to think this way, if you don’t own a golf course or if you’re not the PGA who is trying to  increase the number of new players. 

             ...     PG2  ...    Personal Goal Golf  

 Set your personal goal, then try to beat of meet your goal.

HALF STROKE SCORING UPDATE

Changing the golf scoring system is one idea that might generate more interest in the game of golf. The time needed to play 18 holes is the most serious drawback for attracting new players and retaining current players. In recognition of this, time to play problem, currently there are some courses promoting 12 hole golf tee times.

In addition to 12 holes, I'm suggesting that expanding the scoring rules for great shots would create additional fun and interest. The original idea of a half stroke, came from picking the easiest shot in golf, eg. a shot that is less than one ball diameter distance from the hole.

New suggestion... Why not reward a half stroke for some specific exceptional shots. For example, half stroke for holing out of a sand trap, count only half stroke for a ball that was holed from longer than 100 yards off the green, and a half stroke for a hole-in-one. These could be standard half stroke shots that are included as a part of the rules of the game.

In addition, during a fun round with your buddies, you could have other shots that are awarded only a half stroke instead of counting a full stroke. For example, sinking a putt longer than 40 feet, a ball that hit the flag stick,etc.

The game needs to attract and retain more golfers.

 Would an upgrade to the scoring system help?

Golf Courses Shorter Than 18 Holes

I've always thought that golf is a great 12 hole game, an okay 14 hole game and 18 holes is just too long. I have a suggestion which I think will increase the amount of golf played and not require any additional investment by golf courses. The major complaint of golfers, particularly by the family oriented golfer, is that it takes too much time. The suggestion is to establish an atmosphere that encourages playing less than 18 holes by re-orienting the course into three 6 hole segments.

For more than 10 years, I have talked to my friends and some golf professionals about the concept of playing less than 18 holes. Without support and encouragement by recognized golf professionals, the concept was not accepted because it broke with tradition. In the last couple of years Jack Nicklaus has proposed 12 hole rounds including penalty strokes if the rounds were not completed in a specified time limit. In other words, the time required to play an 18 hole round of golf is just not conducive to the current time scheduling for most women and men.

For example, six holes could be played in about an hour and a half. On the other hand, if people want to play 12 or 18 holes they can do that. In order for this to work, there needs to be a change in the attitude of golfers and a modification of the score card for the golf course. In other words, the concept of 12 holes would not change anything that is currently offered. It would just add a new dimension to golf. It's a way to address the single most serious cause of the declining number of golfers, it is too time-consuming for an 18 hole round.

We need a few golf courses and professionals to take a leadership role in creating change. One of the first questions most non professional golfers ask is, what happens to the handicap system. With computers the scoring could easily be adjusted on a hole by hole bases instead of just accounting for 9 or 18 holes structures.

season is over

The question about the half stroke is, how many people got to benefit from this new concept in golf scoring during the golf season? I am not sure that the idea for changing the scoring system in golf is easily accepted by most golfers. Golfers need time to incorporate the idea of change into their game. This year there were two tournments where the 1/2 stroke was used with exciting results. In 2009 there will be more.

It is easy to understand and easy to use. Therefore, it should catch on.

The half stroke is an idea that will require some time to gain acceptance. The other day in the Wall Street Journal there was an article which discussed the hardest shot in golf. Interesting not everyone agreed . Some thought the long bunker shot , others thought a down hill ball position requiring a long fairway wood , for sure not a 100% agreement.

If you looked at the reverse of the question. What is the easiest shot in golf. I think there would be 100% agreement that the 1/2 stroke is the easiest shot because everone can make this shot 100% of the time.

A real life confiration happened in this years US Open when in the final day with the outcome still in doubt Tiger hit his ball in the cup with the front of his putter. He was only the distance of a "1/2 stroke from the hole".

1/2 STROKE WORKS

The concept of the 1/2 stroke was finally tested in a real outing. The premier was held at the
Moorings Country Club in Naples, Florida. The very first person in the world to register the 1/2 stroke was Shelia Bettendorf. It was an exciting occasion because it allowed Shelia to win the tournment
by ...guess ...... you are right .. 1/2 half stroke.........