Gordon with Isao Aoki and Gordon's son Thomas at the Senior British Open, 2003, played at Turnberry.

The pace at which golf is generally played may be one of its many attractions; it is also one of the key elements hurting its growth in many parts of the world, most particularly in Asia. The nature of the game is social, but with average rounds taking more than five hours to complete, there is a real danger that the pleasures to be derived from competing in good company, in the grand outdoors, on (often) beautiful terrain will be lost to the next generation, who live in an age of immediate gratification and low tolerance.

There are a number of factors that have contributed to the present malaise, and concern; for example, too many televised professional stroke play tournaments, courses that are too long and too difficult, the widespread licensing and use of the USGA Handicap System, golf carts and (in Japan) 'perimeter' golf cart tracks, a disturbing ignorance of basic golf etiquette and numerous alternative forms of reasonably priced entertainment.

Let me elaborate.

1. The opportunity to view top class professional golf, and to be able to follow favourite players on a weekly basis, can be entertaining for those who understand competitive golf, and yet (Major championships aside) the tedious 72-hole stroke play format, the absurdly slow pace at which they play and the generally unappealing personalities on display seem to be a turn-off for the majority of the golfing population. Viewing figures, which are extremely difficult to verify, are believed to be very low, indicating, perhaps, that something is wrong with the product.
2. Developers of golf courses usually have dreams of creating the next Augusta National, or, in any event, constructing a 'championship' venue of at least 7,000 yards and par 72. The brain-washing of these (often) well-intentioned entrepreneurs began in the 1950s with Robert Trent Jones' sales pitch and formulation of what should be, in his view, a 'championship' lay-out. Unfortunately, no-one seems to have resisted the tidal wave of mediocrity which has produced, in the main, un-walkable 'real estate' courses that less than 10% of the golfing population can break 95 on.
3. The USGA Handicap System has many elements to be admired, and many must agree because it is licensed to the governing authorities of more than twenty five golfing nations. Unfortunately, its scientific approach requires players to hole out every time they play, and post scores for peer review. A quick round of foursomes, or better-ball match play with pick-ups when a player is out of a hole? Forget it. Every round becomes a 'competition round', and when four ball is the commercially manipulated format in the region, be prepared for five hours plus on the course.
4. Not only do golf carts delay play, they also adversely impact the sociability of the game, defeat one of the principal components of golf - exercise, and impair the player's likely appreciation for what the architect has created. Delaying play is caused in two ways, first, because it is impossible to be ready to play the subsequent shot after the usual conveyance along paths and zig-zagging across fairways and rough, as opposed to walking, when a player can think about the next stroke and take account of the variables as he approaches the ball, and second, the common requirement to stay on paths for part, or substantial part, of the hole and run backwards and forwards deciding on the club selection. In Japan, there is also, on occasion, the dreaded 'perimeter cart track' creation which requires either the player or his caddie to develop Olympian athleticism to retrieve and return clubs, and play the stroke within a reasonable time-frame. Bring back bag-carrying caddies, or, at least, pull-carts that will permit the player to enjoy the walk, effect the shortest route and enable him or her to be ready to play upon arriving at the ball.
5. Basic golf etiquette encourages golfers to play at a reasonable pace, which includes being ready to play when it is their turn and recognizing that when they are losing ground they should invite the group following to play through. Nothing unreasonable with those elements of courtesy to others, and yet, somewhat despairingly, they are evident as exceptions rather than norms.
6. Golf, for most, is pursued in leisure time. There are more demands on, and alternatives for, this valuable time than ever before. If golf is, or perceived to be, too expensive, too inaccessible and too time consuming, customers will go elsewhere in a heartbeat, and once lost these people are very hard to convince to return.

No need to labour the point, I suppose, though let me finish by highlighting one aspect of golf in Japan that will ensure the game's continued demise in an otherwise mature and enthusiastic golfing nation; the half round break. It may be partly economic and partly cultural, but it runs counter to nearly 250 years of golfing pleasure (18 holes became the standard in 1764) and the sooner it is removed from all club operational manuals, the better it will be for all.

Gordon G. Simmonds, September 2004

p.s. The final of the British Amateur Championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews in June took about five hours to complete; and no, the match was not played over 18 holes.

The protagonists, Scotland's Stuart Wilson, the eventual winner, and Lee Corfield of England, may have had a clear course in front and behind them, but with several hundred spectators to contend with and rewards such as entry to The Open Championship and The Masters on the line, their no-nonsense approach was admired just as much as the quality of their sub-par golf