Make up of Pro tours in 10-20 Years?

[Clambake]

The Junior Worlds are being held this week in San Diego, with the older age divisions playing at Torrey and other courses hosting younger kids. For those unfamiliar, this weeklong tournament has been considered the pinnacle of junior golf for decades, with a list of participants that has become a Who's Who of men's and women's golf over the years.

 

During this week, one finds the better driving ranges filled with contestants in town sharpening their game, and I was out at Torrey this morning and saw a lot of the kids running around the area getting ready. Aside from the usual enviable swings from these amazing kids, I've noticed something over the last few years that may be an indication of what the Tours may look like in 10-20 years - it will be a tour of color, heavily Asian, with also a noticeable percentage of Hispanic players. Hey, I'm in no way being racist in this comment, as I think multi-cultural diversity is fantastic in anything, be it the workplace or sports, so let's not let this topic diverge from anything other than a commentary on the changing faces of golf please! It's just an observation.

 

Even throughout the year, it appears that the kids I see working with the top coaches in the area and spending the hours on the range are predominantly Asian. I regularly see their parents patiently waiting in the car or reading on a bench nearby, committed to helping their child reach their potential. I see very few Caucasian parents doing the same, some Hispanic, and almost no Black participation. With the Junior Worlds crowd this week, it has been at least 90% Asian for the participants I've seen on my normal range, and probably 3/4 of the participants I saw at Torrey this morning were Asian. The girl's divisions appear almost all Asian, while the boy's divisions have a bit more diversity, especially with more Hispanic participation.

 

I imagine this tracks with the general decline of golf in typical suburban America (with country clubs struggling for members) and strong growth of the sport in Asia. I don't see this as a good thing or bad thing - it is just a changing dynamic in our sport. But it is interesting to see how much the racial makeup of the potential future stars has changed so much in a relatively short time.

[iteachgolf]

I wouldn't call junior worlds the pinnacle of junior golf. Especially these days. Many of the top kids on the East Coast don't go over there to play in it. The heavy Hispanic and Asian attendance is also skewed because it's on the west coast. Golf is certainly getting more diverse but it's not as skewed as you're seeing there.

[Clambake]

Your comments are fair enough, although I would point out that the Junior Worlds are considered the largest international junior tournament in golf, with 1200 participants representing 56 countries and 42 states. Perhaps a better description would be to call it one of junior golf's "majors". You're likely right that its location on the West Coast helps skew the Asian involvement; it's certainly easier for those traveling from Asia to stop here compared to places like Florida. But I don't think it does anything for the Hispanic attendance, as browsing through the pairings shows it heavily draws from Central and South American countries, Mexico, and a lot of Spanish-surname entrants from throughout the US. Europe is probably not very well represented, though, as players have to go through qualifying to get to the championships, and there are very few qualifying events in Europe, while Asia and Latin America are well represented.

[iteachgolf]

It's the largest because of the number of age groups. There are a good number more "major" events for players in the 15-18 year old age group. It's a big event with a lot of history. The Junior Players and US Junior is probably a better representation of the demographics of the future of golf.

[Clambake]

Any observations on the demographics of those events?

[iteachgolf]

Any observations on the demographics of those events?

 

High end junior golf still is very expensive. I see a lot more diversity than 20 years ago but most are middle to upper class. Kids are getting better at a younger age and playing bigger and more events at an early age which requires spending more money. You don't need to be wealthy to succeed but it does improve your chances which affects demographics. Girls events seem to be more diverse than the guys but have much less depth of talent. The top juniors I teach travel all over the country to play events and have very dedicated parents.

 

Because of the time and money parents need to invest for these schedules it will limit how much you'll see kids come from non wealthy single parent homes.

[MtlJeff]

10 years for example isn't a long time in the grand scheme of things. A lot of the younger guys on tour now will likely still be around.

 

I studied the world rankings for an article i wrote here a few years back, and there definitely was some changes over a 20-25 year period, from Americans holding like 65-75 out of the top 100 players in the world dropping to 30-40 at times. Right now by my count it's 46 out of the top 100 and 3 of top 10 that are American

 

I count 9 Asians in the top 100.

 

Golf is pretty darn diverse right now. And there probably should be a larger Asian contingent in the top 100 in 10-20 years as you could argue they are very underpenetrated now, but maybe that means 20 people in top 100 as oppose to 9

 

But hard to argue that any particular place other than the US will dominate the tour in such a short timeframe because that would be a major change , when several of the players won't even have turned over their careers yet at the shorter end of that timeline. 20+ years you could see more significant mix changes but even then its hard to see the US not having a major share...25-30 of the top 100 for Asia i still think would be a big feat

[Shilgy]

Agree, change the 10-20 to 25-35 though and you'll see a pretty big change imo.

[xxio]

Check out world amateur rankings

[MeikoKaji]

The Junior Worlds are being held this week in San Diego, with the older age divisions playing at Torrey and other courses hosting younger kids. For those unfamiliar, this weeklong tournament has been considered the pinnacle of junior golf for decades, with a list of participants that has become a Who's Who of men's and women's golf over the years.

 

During this week, one finds the better driving ranges filled with contestants in town sharpening their game, and I was out at Torrey this morning and saw a lot of the kids running around the area getting ready. Aside from the usual enviable swings from these amazing kids, I've noticed something over the last few years that may be an indication of what the Tours may look like in 10-20 years - it will be a tour of color, heavily Asian, with also a noticeable percentage of Hispanic players. Hey, I'm in no way being racist in this comment, as I think multi-cultural diversity is fantastic in anything, be it the workplace or sports, so let's not let this topic diverge from anything other than a commentary on the changing faces of golf please! It's just an observation.

 

Even throughout the year, it appears that the kids I see working with the top coaches in the area and spending the hours on the range are predominantly Asian. I regularly see their parents patiently waiting in the car or reading on a bench nearby, committed to helping their child reach their potential. I see very few Caucasian parents doing the same, some Hispanic, and almost no Black participation. With the Junior Worlds crowd this week, it has been at least 90% Asian for the participants I've seen on my normal range, and probably 3/4 of the participants I saw at Torrey this morning were Asian. The girl's divisions appear almost all Asian, while the boy's divisions have a bit more diversity, especially with more Hispanic participation.

 

I imagine this tracks with the general decline of golf in typical suburban America (with country clubs struggling for members) and strong growth of the sport in Asia. I don't see this as a good thing or bad thing - it is just a changing dynamic in our sport. But it is interesting to see how much the racial makeup of the potential future stars has changed so much in a relatively short time.

being in asia, i do see a huge pipeline. the ranges are packed with students and teaching pros. it's a factory. i know all the pros in this country and they typically take 1 day off a week and are packed every other day. the parents are very driven and driving the kids. getting scholarships in the states is pretty much the norm and relationships are established between the local clubs and the universities in the states (unlv, asu and usc, for example). the national team is now all juniors (as a rule) and they have a deal with the local clubs that lets them compete in the monthly medals besides traveling all over the world as part of the nat'l team.

 

that being said, golf is still inaccessible to the vast majority of people in any of these countries.

[disco111]

Lets see................Golf in 2030 - The world tour is now the only pro tour and with the advancement of space travel, the Mars Open should have a really strong field. The 3rd Moon Open was a total joke, again the USGASC (USGA Space Consortium) allowed the ball to go to far. Rory hit that 5 iron 942 yards........I mean come on, a 5 should only have gone like 725 yards. Davis has stated that he agrees with the cloned Jack Nicholas 2.0 that the ball must be reduced to keep the planetary courses from becoming obsolete. After all, new planets are not cheap, he was overheard stating. Ping has announced their new irons and driver (Spacewacker G570's) will be available in the 3rd lunar phase at local Cylon fitting booths (You step in - very similar to the phone booths of the late 20th century and you are laser scanned and clubs will arrive via Moon Tracker expediters in less than 4 hours) and at a bargain price of only $10,379 - custom orders slightly higher and will take 5 hours for delivery.

 

It's with great sadness that the last remaining American player has lost his card. Willie "over the top" Snipes only made 42 million last season and he fell to 420th place on the money list. Hopefully, the new test tube players being created at Nike Pharmaceuticals will give that much needed lift to American golf...............

[Soloman1]

being in asia, i do see a huge pipeline. the ranges are packed with students and teaching pros. it's a factory. i know all the pros in this country and they typically take 1 day off a week and are packed every other day. the parents are very driven and driving the kids. getting scholarships in the states is pretty much the norm and relationships are established between the local clubs and the universities in the states (unlv, asu and usc, for example). the national team is now all juniors (as a rule) and they have a deal with the local clubs that lets them compete in the monthly medals besides traveling all over the world as part of the nat'l team.

 

that being said, golf is still inaccessible to the vast majority of people in any of these countries.

 

Asia is pretty big. Where in Asia?

[KrazyTrain18]

I think your going to see a much stronger Asian presence on the PGA Tour, not from one country in particular but from Asia as a whole. We're starting to see strong players emerge from Japan, Korea, Thailand I don't think it'll be long until China starts to have a few notable players either contending or winning on the pro tours. Even if golf doesn't rapidly start growing in Asia the population density will surely have an effect especially as the middle class starts growing in many of the developing countries. I think we could even group India in with them.

[Aaronwilson_95]

Just going to make a comment regarding the General jist off the conversation above . Athletes who are parent pushed will never be all that successful , they have to want it themselves . If your parent is the one forcing you to hit balls in Asia , who's going to be there stopping the player from having too many drinks on a Saturday night in college and not getting up Sunday to grind it out on the range etc . It has to be self wanted , not parent wanted

[new2g0lf]

In terms of percentages on PGA Tour I would predict players from Asia increasing by 10% at the expense of European and American players.

[PowerPlayer]

Just going to make a comment regarding the General jist off the conversation above . Athletes who are parent pushed will never be all that successful , they have to want it themselves . If your parent is the one forcing you to hit balls in Asia , who's going to be there stopping the player from having too many drinks on a Saturday night in college and not getting up Sunday to grind it out on the range etc . It has to be self wanted , not parent wanted

 

Only issue is that you're looking at the world through your lenses tinted with "Western Culture" and expression of individualism, if you will. The concept of filial piety in East Asian culture is something incomprehensible to people from the West.

 

Sure, you'll see some isolated cases of kids rebelling if they go to study abroad and not following the path prescribed by their family unit. But, by and large, most kids wouldn't even question their "duty" to the family. In their mind, they just have no choice.

[playar32]

But then you have a guy like Brooks taking up the game at 15.

 

Not saying Asians will completely take over, but we will definitely see more diversity going forward. More people like Hidechi, as power will most likely rule, so you will see more DJs than anything else.

 

 

Another note, if the tour shifts to more of an "asian model" will it have the same issues as the LPGA?

[Aaronwilson_95]

Just going to make a comment regarding the General jist off the conversation above . Athletes who are parent pushed will never be all that successful , they have to want it themselves . If your parent is the one forcing you to hit balls in Asia , who's going to be there stopping the player from having too many drinks on a Saturday night in college and not getting up Sunday to grind it out on the range etc . It has to be self wanted , not parent wanted

 

Only issue is that you're looking at the world through your lenses tinted with "Western Culture" and expression of individualism, if you will. The concept of filial piety in East Asian culture is something incomprehensible to people from the West.

 

Sure, you'll see some isolated cases of kids rebelling if they go to study abroad and not following the path prescribed by their family unit. But, by and large, most kids wouldn't even question their "duty" to the family. In their mind, they just have no choice.

 

Good point , but just from my experience alone as a college golfer

 

The players who burn out regardless off race , are the players who have been pushed by there parents . Burnout is extremely real especially when kids get to a new environment and see what they've been missing so to speak