Colin Anthony
6 May 2008
Johannesburg — THERE is a rather odd trend in the global world of golf at the moment.
In the US, where the golf industry is by far the world's biggest, the game is in what can only be called a recession.
The number of golfers is falling and courses are closing all over the country. Yet in the rest of the world, particularly in developing countries, the game is flourishing.
Ever more golf resorts are opening and more people are starting to play the game.
Two of the game's greats, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, are extensively involved in designing and developing courses. Gary Player Golf Course Design "has lent its expertise to nearly 200 courses across four continents", according to his website.
Nicklaus Design has almost 100 courses under construction, and has already built 300 around the world.
Other superstar golfers are quickly moving into this field, which is so lucrative because the supply can't keep up with the demand.
Many of the new developments are in the east -- as economies there grow and more people move into the middle- income bracket, more people are taking up the sport once reserved for the rich.
The early "Asian Tigers" such as Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea have already established golf industries that are growing. Now countries such as India and China are producing more golfers and building more courses.
The same is happening in SA. While the development of new golf courses has come to a virtual standstill in Western Cape due to an overly suspicious provincial government, in Gauteng it seems that every time my phone rings it's another marketing person promoting another new golf resort.
And everywhere I turn there are ever more newcomers to the game. People I have barely met ask me if I can organise lessons or quiz me on the intricacies of becoming a member of a golf club.
Why, then, is interest in the game in the US falling away? And is it a cause for concern here in SA?
Some of the reasons doing the rounds include the length of time it takes to play, plus the fact that courses need lots of water and are so expensive to maintain.
Yet I believe there are other reasons, ones which are not inherently a problem for golf as an industry -- after all the game has been played for hundreds of years and will continue to be played for hundreds of years.
First, it has to be remembered that when Tiger Woods hit the scene, he attracted a vast number of new golf fans, especially in the US, and many tried to become golfers themselves.
Around the same time the US was experiencing one of its longest periods of economic growth. Many people who could not afford it previously suddenly had money and signed up.
The advent of the golf resort also brought a flood of new golfers. Non-golfers bought into the lifestyle aspect of such resorts and decided they might as well play the bloody game since they lived in a golf resort.
In other words, around the time Tiger burst on to the scene with his first Major victory in 1997, there was a golfing boom in the US. That industry is now going through its "bust" period.
All those new players, watching Tiger Woods on TV making the game look so easy; all those newly moneyed, thinking they should play the "rich man's sport". It was a match made in heaven, or so they thought.
What they hadn't realised was quite how difficult it is to learn to play this game.
For a few lucky beginners, it seems to come easily and naturally (and may their fingers turn into fishhooks and their armpits itch forever). For most, it is a struggle. First, just getting the ball up into the air seems to be inordinately difficult. Once this feat is achieved, however, they start realising the game just gets more confusing and exasperating the more you learn; and they raise the white flag of surrender, probably after slicing their umpteenth ProV1 into water.
To become a regular golfer with a respectable handicap takes years of struggle and practice. It is only those who truly fall in love with the game who keep at it.
Anthony is golf correspondent.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
