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Brave new links Your Take: How to improve golf in the 21st Century
Posted: Sunday April 11, 1999 01:24 PM
CNN/SI asked users to take a look at the game they love and suggest how it could be improved. Here's a look at your responses... Golf is a great game but on most courses there are too many very slow and/or inconsiderate golfers. People need to be aware of the common courtesies of golf and -- especially on public courses -- not act as if $50,000 is riding on each putt. This is a game for all to enjoy and waiting five minutes on each shot because the group ahead of you is a hole and half behind the group ahead of them must be stopped. The development of more courses is a partial solution, but I think strict enforcement of speed of play must be a part of any real solution. I guarantee that if I was ever kicked off a course for playing slow I would either never play there again or make sure I played faster. Either way, the group behind me would have a much more enjoyable round. -- David Fordham, Denver, CO As an assistant superintendent on at a private country country club I have seen many changes in golf first hand. I feel that the surge of new clubs has to be slowed down, because making clubs that "supposedly" improve your game only hurts the sport. More courses need to be built that express the beauty of golf and place more emphasis on shot making. The longer courses that have holes that can be reached in two shots (par fives) need to be limited. I love courses that are tight, have long rough three plus inches, and have hazards that come in play. -- Darren S Graf, Waynesboro VA Tranquility is the product of virtue. Golf -- as one its traditions -- demands honesty as a virtue. In return -- almost Zen-like, -- those who play are rewarded at various times during and after the actual playing with a sense of that tranquility and are compelled to play again. Change? Change nothing. -- Motts Thomas, Claremont, CA Like any sport, golf should require a certain high level of physical fitness. I would like to see golf played with speed and more skill. The changes I would like to see: 1) Players running instead of walking leisurely; thus, scoring a round of golf would include points for completion time (the shorter time, the lesser strokes/points are added to a player's score; this will require conditioning, endurance and fitness of all golfers attempting to win championships. 2) Golfers have too many clubs. They should be allowed to use a maximum of three clubs. With today's technological advances, this is possible. Limiting the number of clubs will allow the players to carry their own clubs while running the course on their rounds. It will also force the golfer the improve/enhance their skills given the limited club selection. 3) Use only match play. You lose -- you're out. Golfers must play well each round or else. Medal play gives the golfers too much room for error. I know its radical but its exciting and demanding. -- Jess Pimentel, Vancouver, BC I would allow the pros to wear shorts. I personally do not like to see these guys sweat to death! -- Buzz Ballard, Bolt, WV I would make the professional courses more challenging, so they rely more on skill and not on great clubs. For example, make holes that go out 100-150 yards and then make 90 degree turns to the pin. -- Ted Greivenkamp, Cincinnati, Ohio There are only two things I would do to improve the sport in the 21st Century: have less tournaments, and add more Players Championship type courses. The 1999 Players Championship will go down as one of the best tournaments I have ever watched on television. Why? Because it great to see the players struggle against such tough conditions. Watching the players try to make in on the green on 17th hole was true sporting television. Cutting down the number of tournaments will insure more of the top names will play in a higher percentage of tournaments. Why would they? The PGA could increase the total winnings for remaining tournaments. I'm suggesting perhaps hold them on biweekly basis. Unless we can incorporate contact into the sport I have no other suggestions. -- Steven Martin, Aylmer, Quebec Instead of human caddies who always just get in the way and require 10 percent of the winnings, why not use robots? Or better yet humans dressed as robots (if the technology just isn't there yet). Also add cameras in odd places to enhance the experience of watching golf to make it more like actually playing. Experiments could include VisorCams or Spectacle Cams. This would show you exactly what the golfer is looking at. The only hard part is to find a golfer to agree to trying this! -- Dave Sebele, Sarnia, Ontario To improve the game I would have more open tournaments. It has been impressive to me to watch relatively unknown players come up and challenge Duval, Woods, O'Meara, etc. Watching Rory Sabbatini challenge at the BellSouth Classic was great. He had the guts to go for the green in two on No. 18, and he played hungry and aggressive until the end. (Too bad he went in the water). I'd like to see more of the talented young unknowns get to play with the big boys, just to see their hunger. -- Jeremy Anthony, Dixon, CA The first thing that I would do is loosen up some of the rules. It is sad to watch a player make a mistake on a ruling and get disqualified, not for the infraction, but for signing an inaccurate scorecard. There should be a rules official with each group that gives a ruling, or lets a player know that he made a mistake. If a pro has problems with the rules, then what does that say about them. The other thing I would change is the spike mark rule. If a ball mark can be fixed, then why not a spike mark. It was not put there on purpose, so why fault a player that goes out late in the day. If you have ever watched closely late in the day, you see a wide assortment of spike marks on the green. It is just a simple case of the USGA and PGA riding their high horse. Make a change for the better guys. -- Mark Hutchinson, Nevada City, CA Every club in the world would allow free golf on Mondays. You don't learn how to score at the driving range. -- David Gourno, Concord, CA I believe the out of bounds and lost ball rules should be reduced to a penalty similar to a lateral hazard -- a one stroke penalty. This will speed the pace of play for the average golfer -- the biggest plague in golf today -- particularly in many of the new resort courses built in housing developments with OB left and right. It will have a minimal impact on the tournament play, as pros usually hit the ball so well that out of bounds and lost balls rarely come into play. -- George Siegler, Westfield Center, OH Eliminate caddies and make the pros carry their own bags. Also get rid yardage books. Markers on the course are OK, but not exact as in the books provided golfers. -- Eric Slocum, Arcade, NY I would disallow the use of motorized carts in PGA events. That decision and subsequent action did more to damage the reputation of golf as a sport than any rule change in the last century. -- Raul Javier Moreno, San Antonio, TX Although great strides have been made for tournament prize money, it is apparent that something must be done to improve the earning power for the players that are not in the upper echelon. Players that miss cuts are generally paid zip while basketball and baseball players who perform poorly are still paid handsomely. Traveling expenses coupled with the intense pressure to produce throughout a long season can take a toll on the players. It would be nice to see the player who misses a cut be paid some sort of minimum -- however modest it may be in addition to some sort of base salary. Just a thought! -- Brandon Fuller Madisonville, KY Golf has gotten to be a pretty expensive game. I'd like to see greens fees and memberships come down in price so that the average Joe could afford it. -- Bob Will, Loogootee, IN All players should need a license to play any golf course in America. To get a license, you need to take a course, pass a written and a hands-on test. The course will cover etiquette; replacing divots, repairing ball marks on greens, raking bunkers, and methods to speed up the game. -- Brock J. O'Leary, Green Bay, WI
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