“All the boomers are doing is masking what’s really leaking in golf."

I missed Gene Yasuda's alarming Oct. 4 piece on just how far down the drain golf is headed, but it's loaded with some great stuff and one huge stink-bomb of blame directed at the wrong source of the game's troubles. First, he explains how retiring boomers are masking huge declines in play among 25-44-year-olds.

In 1990, there were approximately 12.4 million golfers in that age group; by 2005, their ranks had fallen to 9.2 million – an alarming 26 percent drop. According to industry consultant Stuart Lindsay, who attributed the data to the National Sporting Goods Association, the fall-off bluntly underscores that golf isn’t appealing enough to the sweet spot of the U.S. population. He says the participation rate for that age group is about 20 percent lower today.

“All the boomers are doing is masking what’s really leaking in golf,” he says.

And the problem? Slow play and the overall emphasis on an 18-hole saga, of course.

Golf finds itself in this predicament for one main reason: In a day and age when free moments – let alone hours – are scarcer than ever, the game has become a time-sucking affair. Simply put, golf hasn’t adapted to sweeping societal changes, including the predominance of dual-income households. The increase in the number of married women in the workplace has redefined child-rearing and the division of household labor.

“Helicopter parenting” – hopping from one child’s activity to another – saps potential time on the links. And when these harried folks finally do get a chance to play, they’re quickly discouraged from going out again, thanks to five-hour-plus rounds.

Indeed, slow play is an epidemic.

And you know who gets the blame for that don't you? Yes, those pesky developers who just woke up one day and said, I want to build longer, tougher courses for no apparent reason!

Blame it, in part, on developers’ desire to build tougher tracks: 70 percent of courses built in the U.S. between 1990 and 2006 had a slope rating of 125 or more. By comparison, the average U.S. slope rating has been hovering around 119.

It still amazes me (I'm not sure why) that at this point, where the bottom is nowhere in sight, that everyone dances around addressing the distance chase for fear of upsetting manufacturers. They're in this mess too, and should be just as open to anything that sparks interest in the game.

Oh that's right, they don't look beyond the next quarter and no one wants to give up twenty yards or the joys of buying the same stuff the pros play.

There I go again.

Update on Friday, October 15, 2010 at 08:50 AM by Geoff

**On this topic of the golf experience, check out architect Edwin Roald's articles and website devoted to the concept of why 18 holes...

Ben Crane's Team Whips Up A Viral Video To Help Their Man's Image

I guess I'd find this a lot funnier if he was putting the same kind of energy into playing faster.

Galea Indicted For Drug Smuggling; Athletes To Be Treated As Witnesses

Dan Herbeck reports on the five felony counts for the doctor accused of "smuggling misbranded and unapproved drugs into the United States for the purpose of treating more than 20 professional athletes."

"There are no athletes charged with criminal activity. They are viewed as witnesses, rather than as defendants, in this case," Hochul said. "Any one of these athletes treated by Dr. Galea could be called as trial witnesses."

Woods and Rodriguez publicly acknowledged earlier this year that they had been contacted by federal agents conducting the Galea probe, and both said they cooperated. The investigation was conduced by agents from the Buffalo office of the FBI, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs & Border Protection and the Food & Drug Administration.

Mahoney told The Buffalo News late Thursday that his client provided "homeopathic treatments" with a variety of drugs for athletes trying to recover from painful, career-threatening injuries.

"[Galea's] position is that he is using medicines for legitimate healing purposes," Mahoney said. "Just because a drug is unapproved by the government doesn't mean it's illegal."

Uh oh! That ought to make his defense interesting.

And it seems he really was a real life Dr. Leo Spaceman:

According to court papers, male potency-enhancement drugs were used in some of Galea's treatments. "It was further part of the conspiracy that [Galea] instructed Mary Anne Catalano to take Viagra and Cialis out of their original packages and to put them in nondescript pill bottles so as to make detection of them less likely during border inspections," the indictment says.

When Manufacturers Do Nice Things, Vol. 1

Thanks to My Golf Spy for this shining moment in golf manufacturer good deed history.

RIP Reid Hanley

Here's the obituary for the longtime Chicago Tribune golf writer who passed away Thursday morning.

Judging by the number of readers who passed along the link he developed an avid following in one tough sports town!

Graeme Careful Not To Thank Tiger For Crashing His Car

But as Steve Elling points out, that's the real takeaway from Peter Hutcheon's story quoting U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell on how his late entry into the Chevron World Challenge led to a great week, top 50 world ranking and entry into several key 2010 events.

McDowell said: “What happened at the end of last season, and getting the invite to the Tiger Woods golf tournament, was the real catalyst for everything that has happened for me this year.

“I walked off the golf course in China, with Rory and myself just having lost the World Cup by a shot to the Molinari boys.

“My manager, Conor Ridge, then suggested there was a shadow of a chance, what with the Tiger Woods story unfolding that week, that I might get an invite into the Chevron World Challenge.

“As it so happened I was flying home from China to Orlando through LA that week so I said of course I would get off the flight there and take my chance.

“I don’t how Conor managed to do it, but we got the nod on the invite and then I go and finish second.

“I moved from 55th to 38th in the world, it got me into Augusta and smoothed up the start of the season.

Then after Wentworth I get into the US Open right on the bubble at Number 50.

“So if I had not been top 50 at the end of last year, I maybe would not have got off to the start I had this year.

“Maybe I wouldn’t have got myself into the US Open and things like the Ryder Cup.

“It was just one of those very fateful moments.”

At least McDowell is returning the favor by appearing this year in what is a star-studded field, as Bob Harig reports.

"The South Korean players became more shy after a profile of Kyeong Bae in a Canadian newspaper this summer in which she referred to the cartoon character SpongeBob Square Pants as 'Spongie Bob.'"

Karen Crouse introduces us to the LPGA "language labs" and the issues arising in trying to Americanize teach English to non-Americans.

News conferences, in which the players sit onstage and speak into a microphone, are daunting.

“I like this table for talking better than the media center,” Choi said in the clubhouse, with a grand sweep of her hand.

In addition to carrying a spiral notebook and workbook, she keeps transcripts of some news conferences. George has encouraged her not to refer to them, but Choi, in her small, neat printing, has made corrections.
One answer in particular still gnaws at her. At the 2009 Samsung World Championship in San Diego, Choi posted her first L.P.G.A. victory. But that is not what sticks in her mind.

Asked to describe her 63 in the third round, the lowest score of her career, Choi said, “I feel almost perfect everything.” Afterward, she said, she fled to the restroom in embarrassment.

Last week, she pointed to the page where she had written what she meant to say: “I feel everything was perfect.”

“I did wrong answer,” she said. “I disappointed myself.”

Nationwide Tour Clearly Needs More Suffocating Rough!

John Dell reports that the Nationwide Tour's finest are on the verge of setting an eye-opening driving distance standard.

With just three more tournaments left there has been a resurgence of players consistently driving it more than 300 yards. Leading the charge is Kyle Stanley, a former standout at Clemson who heads into this week averaging a hefty 320 yards a poke. He's one of 52 players averaging 300 yards or better -- significantly more than on the PGA TOUR where only 12 players average 300 yards or better.

Stanley, who is in his first full season on the Nationwide Tour, has some experience on the TOUR after playing in 12 tournaments. He wasn't that surprised about the discrepancy between the two Tours.

"I think a lot of it has to do with course conditions and maybe there's a little more emphasis on getting it in the fairways on the PGA TOUR," Stanley said.

Here's a previous post on driving distance averagers over 300 yards on the Nationwide.

"I get the sense that, for many people, the current golf model is broken."

I'm going to look past Charlie Rymer's suggestion that every golf course cut two cups, one regulation and one 10-incher, so golfers can choose the size they'd like to play to, because these were good suggestions for bettering the game.

5) Widen fairways and lower rough cuts. Nobody wants to have an Easter egg hunt on every hole.  And more importantly, nobody wants to stand on a tee watching the group in front of them have an Easter egg hunt.

6) Educate golfers on the economic reality of high green speeds. Golfers need to appreciate healthy turf more than greens that roll 14 on the Stimpmeter. Not only does this take pressure off the golf course owner but it also helps with pace of play.

"The game's two biggest tours in effect are trying to make two dozen top players more equally divisible by two."

Steve Elling says new European Tour participation minimums would appear to be a reaction to the PGA Tour's upcoming rule change and a sign the two tours are making it tougher to keep dual memberships.

For the second time in 24 months, the European Tour has cranked up the participation minimum required to retain membership, first from 11 events to 12 for the 2009 season, then to 13 tournaments after a vote Wednesday in Portugal. The move takes effect later this fall with the start of the 2011 season and ranked as a surprise, since some tour veterans had no idea the subject was being considered.

For the globe-hoppers, those privileged few who straddle the Atlantic and play the best events on both tours, the future is about to get more complicated. Those cash cows hoping to satisfy membership provisions on two continents, well, their carbon footprints are about to get bigger.

The PGA Tour, in a move designed to help struggling tournaments in the States bolster weak fields, next month is expected to enact some form of a "designated-events" rule for 2011, which would likely require players topping the FedEx Cup points or final money lists to make an appearance at one of the ordained tournaments.

Said an agent whose firm represents players on both circuits: "I guess it'll become a matter of, 'How bad do you want it?'"

The game's two biggest tours in effect are trying to make two dozen top players more equally divisible by two. We've got us a continental divide, folks, and here's our official, first-blush reaction: Good on both counts.

I Guess This Rules Out Herb Kohler Buying A Ryder Cup For St. Andrews

Thanks to the readers who sent in Rick Romell's story on Herb Kohler's "largely in the red" operation in St. Andrews, which likely ends any dreams we might have of him joining the bidding process for a future Ryder Cup. It also can't have him rushing to spruce up Hamilton Hall when another fixer-upper has been such a huge drain.

The luxury hotel in Scotland overlooks the famed Old Course, site of this year's British Open. Besides the 144-room hotel, Kohler's St. Andrews holdings include The Duke's golf course; Craigtoun Manor, an adjacent rundown mansion Kohler has begun redeveloping; and Hamilton Hall, a dilapidated former hotel overlooking the 18th hole of the Old Course that Kohler bought a year ago and plans to restore.

Depreciation and a big write-down last year on Craigtoun Manor account for most if not all of the cumulative loss of The Old Course Limited since 2005, the financial reports indicate.

The company halted work on Craigtoun Manor after buying Hamilton Hall, which now will be redeveloped first. Meanwhile, the firm last year recorded a 4.9 million pound charge related to the manor, citing the effects of the economic downturn on real estate in the United Kingdom.

Sales for The Old Course Limited totaled 9.9 million pounds in 2009, down from 11.7 million the previous year and 12.4 million in 2007. Sales had been rising until then.

“How can they say that rule was not changed specifically directed at me if you have a rule that allows me to play and you come back and you change it?”

Katie Thomas of the New York Times reports that a 57-year-old gender-reassigned retired police officer and women’s world long-drive champ is ineligible after an LPGA rule change. And she's suing.

“It’s an issue of access and opportunity,” Lawless said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “I’ve been shut out because of prejudice.”

She is also suing Long Drivers of America, two of its corporate sponsors — Dick’s Sporting Goods and Re/Max — and CVS, the sponsor of the L.P.G.A. Challenge, which begins Thursday in Danville, Calif.

A lawyer for Long Drivers of America and a spokesman for the L.P.G.A. declined to comment on the 13-page lawsuit because they said they had not yet seen it. The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court in San Francisco by her lawyer, Christopher B. Dolan, seeks an unspecified amount in damages and a permanent injunction preventing the tour from holding tournaments or qualifying events in California as long as it continues to exclude transgender people.

Lawless is not the first professional female golfer to be transgender. Mianne Bagger, a Danish athlete, competed in the Women’s Australian Open in 2004 and has since toured professionally in Europe and Australia.

The LPGA needs to think big picture on this one. They are explicitly violating Lawless's rights and more importantly to the betterment of society, make it very difficult for the Golf Channel to ever give us Big Break Transgender From Indian Wells.