Golf is dying: "lost 5 million players in the last decade... another 5 million will quit in the next

[Yellow Jacket]

The New York Times published an article last Friday discussing the many ways golf is dying and the attempts to grow the game: http://www.nytimes.c...-wider-one.html

 

To summarize the article, the main reasons why golf is dying:

1) Too hard

2) Too expensive

3) Takes too long

4) Women don't feel welcome

 

Why they're hard to fix:

1) Too hard

The best way to make the game easier is to have everyone play forward tees. People will always slice the ball and 3 putt, but it's most frustrating when you're chunking shots from the rough, so fewer of those is better for everyone. Unfortunately, the majority of golfers have stubborn egos.

 

2) Too expensive

Equipment is too expensive, but companies have back themselves into a corner releasing $500 drivers every 6 months. No CEO will ever cut back once they've established that revenue stream because they will immediately be fired, and the next CEO won't make the same mistake.

Green fees are also too expensive. Too many golf courses were built in the past 15-20 years. Indeed, there is a bubble in golf courses just as there was in housing. With fewer golfers, courses try to charge the highest prices they can get away with when they should just go out of business.

 

3) Takes too long

This is a byproduct of 1 with golfers playing tees that are too long. It's also a byproduct of too many tee times being squeeze together, a byproduct of courses trying not to lose money. Hell, the course I regularly play has tee times every 8 minutes which makes weekend rounds take 5-6 hours.

 

4) Women don't feel welcome

When half the population is missing, of course you're going to have problems. But this is to hard to fix, in large part because the majority of people who control golf and spend money on golf are from the Mad Men generation, when women knew their place (in the kitchen). Younger people are more progressive, but they aren't playing the game because of the aforementioned majority older players.

 

Why Golf Is Doomed

It may seem like I'm saying older white men are the reason why golf is dying. Of course, it's more complicated than that. But there are systemic issues in the game, and by the time they're fixed, I fear golf as a recreational sport is basically going to die like boxing did as a spectator sport.

 

PGA of America president Ted Bishop: “I went to a golf club’s 125th anniversary dinner not long ago, and the overwhelming majority of the people in the room were over 55. We should be asking, ‘On that club’s 150th anniversary, who’s going to attend?’” My answer? No one.

[dbleag]

Golf had a good run. It's popularity and the related industries will probably shrink down to where they ought to be. Personally, I don't mind losing most of the casual golfers (if you can call them that) that the game picked up over the last few decades.

I don't think golf's popularity will go as low as bowling or tennis, etc., because of the luxury, business entertainment and resort aspects. Plus, while it will always be the hardest game to master, it will always be one you can play later into your life. Don't see many 80 year olds playing basketball or boxing.

Outside activities and mild-fitness will come back into vogue eventually. Nothing lasts forever, but I think golf will do pretty well.

[Soloman1]

Some parts of the world have become Twitterized -- people thinking everything in their life has to be compressed into something easy, simple and short. No deep thoughts allowed.

If the playing population decreases, so what? The number of courses, or prices will adapt to the market like all services. Golf courses with smart management will improve the course and service to increase or maintain market share. Courses that don't will lose.

There are too many courses like this: poorly run with is no sense of service at all. A poorly paid person behind the counter takes your money with a frown, the carts are dirty or need maintenence, the course is maintained at the lowest possible level acceptable, no water, no ball washers, no raked traps, untrained grass cutters who buzz around you on the tees like hornets, cups that haven't been moved in weeks, untrained greenskeeping staff, a lousy hotdog served by a chain-smoking old grumpy woman, nowhere to clean your shoes, dirty bathrooms, uneven tee areas, dirty, expensive range balls that have to be hit off mats that looked like used carpet from a mobile home.

Maybe the game and courses could use some thinning out?

[Itsjustagame]

I don't know how many of the 5 million left since 2008 but it's probably a large percentage.
Golfs decline is probably more economic than other influences.
The biggest recession in a hundred years followed by a long, slow economic recovery and marked wealth inequality may be the biggest culprits.
Second would probably be time.
I would put difficulty no higher than third.

[Mario Good Times]

The less people play golf the better pricing and more tee times available for me.

[Holy Moses]

I don't think any of those things really doom golf even though they are important. Over the next 50 years the biggest problem golf will face is the upcoming water crisis. That will shape the game more than anything else.

[puttingmatt]

Golf is a game, that many have no desire to play !!

And that is OK, Choices people make every day !!

[Wordmixer]

Our society's sheer number of distractions (digital media/smartphones/video games) are tempting kids away from social sports. In some cases the digital distractions are nearly devouring the kids, to the point where they struggle to participate in normal conversation.

Also, the game reflects the disproportionate wealth in the world, and in particular the USA.

One last observance over the past 12 months: The price of used golf equipment is just plummeting! I am amazed at the deals on high quality, one-year old equipment in the trade-in racks at local golf stores. But it makes sense -- if the game is in decline, the equipment is being cycled through to fewer and fewer players, so the "shelf life" of clubs, and the "stickiness" of their prices, is also in decline. Supply and demand is an interesting phenomenon...

[joey2aces]

More people playing a game does not directly translate into 'good for the game'. I know I have said that on this site before. Yes, it is bad for business... but is it bad for the sport? There will always be increased greens fees and increased prices in clubs.
I take issue with people saying that equipment is too expensive. I just furnished my bag for this year and the only brand new club I got was a hybrid because I couldn't find just the head so Bob from UST ordered me one.
I got my Apex irons, used for 3 rounds, at a 40% discount. I got my "5 ball hit" Jetspeed head in January on BST at a price that they are selling for today and my G25 3W for 50% off on eBay. I did, however, upgrade my shafts to Elements chrome, but again, using Bob from UST allowed me a great discount. I also got my protype putter on BST for peanuts....
People who think equipment is expensive should probably be buying pre-owned equipment. Does one not drive because cars are expensive or does one buy a used car? Granted, people need cars and golf is a want/luxury, I get that.

I'm a fan of quotes and sayings and such...... this is one of my favorites.... "If you want something bad enough you will find a way, if not, you will find an excuse" I don't know if Jim Rohn was the first to say this but I had to give credit to the person where I heard it....

and everyone of the reasons listed above, along with countless others, can be met with the quote above.

[CKalma]

What is the LOST/GAINED ratio or are they only counting the amount of people golf lost in the last decade? I hear the game of golf is on the decline here all the time, but my local course seems to be busier every year.

[CKalma]

[quote name='Wordmixer' timestamp='1398260941' post='9150595']
Our society's sheer number of distractions (digital media/smartphones/video games) are tempting kids away from social sports. In some cases the digital distractions are nearly devouring the kids, to the point where they struggle to participate in normal conversation.

Also, the game reflects the disproportionate wealth in the world, and in particular the USA. (I am NOT a socialist / redistributionist, just acknowledging economic fact here.) And because our nation's wealth is largely in the hands of whites, the game of golf is very white, and this clashes with the politically correct material shared with our youth via education and television. So the game is considered somewhat bigoted.

One last observance over the past 12 months: The price of used golf equipment is just plummeting! I am amazed at the deals on high quality, one-year old equipment in the trade-in racks at local golf stores. But it makes sense -- if the game is in decline, the equipment is being cycled through to fewer and fewer players, so the "shelf life" of clubs, and the "stickiness" of their prices, is also in decline. Supply and demand is an interesting phenomenon...
[/quote]


This ^^ minus the whites/racist part....

[nando]

[quote name='Mario Good Times' timestamp='1398260263' post='9150521']
The less people play golf the better pricing and more tee times available for me.
[/quote]

Yeah!

[HipCheck]

As golf nuts here, most of us "don't care if we lose players or grow the game." Who doesn't want less crowds? More quality, less quantity, right?

Unfortunately that means more expense for us golfers as well. Courses will need to charge more per golfer to make up for lost revenue. My local county courses are a perfect example. 4 county courses which then added another 10 years ago to accommodate the growing golf population.

Last year, participation finally dwindled to the tune of $2MM deficit. They have now farmed out the management to Billy Casper Golf. Fired all county employees a week before the announcement.

Courses opened up this year in sorry shape. Ragged bunker edges. Crappy sand. Spotty greens. Tee boxes that look like cow pastures. Oh and the price?

Well thats gone from $37.50 to $62. Not exactly the value it was. You might find tee time "sales" but that will only work for so long. Eventually, it catches up.

I don't pretend that a 15" cup is going to increase participation. I feel it was done because it's the easiest attempt at making the game easier for the casual fan.

There are lots of stakeholders here. Course operators. Equipment companies. The PGA. And yes us. Because we'll pay the cost or the courses will disappear. We had it easy with the Tiger Era but cannot rely on a person who transcends the game anymore.

[Holy Moses]

[quote name='CKalma' timestamp='1398261227' post='9150615']
What is the LOST/GAINED ratio or are they only counting the amount of people golf lost in the last decade? I hear the game of golf is on the decline here all the time, but my local course seems to be busier every year.
[/quote]

That is the net number of people that golf has lost. Total rounds are down too.

[ruascott]

Too expensive because too many courses werebuilt is an oxymoron. I live in an area where there was definitely an over built supply of courses, and the results are that green fees are the same price or cheaper than they were twenty years ago. Not to mention private club prices that are a fraction of what they once were.

And used golf clubs are very cheap for high quality.

Maybe it varies by geography, and golf has never been a cheap hobby, but in many areas golf is cheaper now than ever before.

[Holy Moses]

[quote name='Mario Good Times' timestamp='1398260263' post='9150521']
The less people play golf the better pricing and more tee times available for me.
[/quote]

I'm not a business major and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn last night, but if less people play golf, you would think that courses would have to lower rates to get people to come. Supply and demand. But from personal experience, no matter how few people are playing, I have never seen a golf course lower rates.

[JWells]

I've noticed a decline in players/prices in my area. Only slightly though..

[Philip McCracken]

I don't care. There will always be good golf courses to play and quality equipment to play it with. If people don't want to golf I see no need to bend over backwards to get them to play something they don't like.

And I really don't care if TaylorMade and Callaway make 3% less than they did last year (or whatever the percentage might be).

[ruascott]

[quote name='Holy Moses' timestamp='1398262354' post='9150749']
[quote name='Mario Good Times' timestamp='1398260263' post='9150521']
The less people play golf the better pricing and more tee times available for me.
[/quote]

I'm not a business major and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn last night, but if less people play golf, you would think that courses would have to lower rates to get people to come. Supply and demand. But from personal experience, no matter how few people are playing, I have never seen a golf course lower rates.
[/quote]

Are you kidding? Look at the proliferation of deals like golf now. Golf courses don't drop their rack rates, but they offer promotions and deep discounts like crazy these days. I can't pick up a flyer without seeing a coupon deal for a local course. Outside of weekend mornings, you'd be crazy around here to pay the full rack rate.

[teejaywhy]

I see the decline as a "correction" so to speak, due to the unsustainable growth that occurred over the last 20 years. A lot of bad courses were built, not for golf, but to sell real estate and resort rooms. For a while, every new course was marketed on its visual appeal and high slope rating. Courses unfriendly to the new or less skilled golfer. (see the point: "golf is too hard"). The bubble burst, just like the markets.

[jholz]

Just out of curiosity, what impact do you guys think the economic model of golf course construction has had on the health of the game? Your experiences may vary, but I don't recall too many people building courses along the lines of the classic muni intended to cater to lower (or simply normal) income players. At least in my recollection of the construction boom in the 90's and early 2000's, it seemed that golf courses were generally part of larger real estate developments (even municipal courses), resorts, or simply higher quality designs that demand more capital in maintenance and upkeep. We all love a nice course, but do we have to insist on tour quality in order to enjoy the game on a daily basis?

Again, your experience may vary and correct me if I am wrong, but the busy courses in my area tend to be the cheaper, more modest facilities. Any time I go to a course with fees in excess of $60 - $70 (remember that I am in Alabama so this constitutes "somewhat expensive"), the parking lot is empty. Like so many other business these days, it seems like there are too many people going after the big money and too few catering to the modest needs of everyday people.

[Holy Moses]

[quote name='ruascott' timestamp='1398263947' post='9150971']
[quote name='Holy Moses' timestamp='1398262354' post='9150749']
[quote name='Mario Good Times' timestamp='1398260263' post='9150521']
The less people play golf the better pricing and more tee times available for me.
[/quote]

I'm not a business major and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn last night, but if less people play golf, you would think that courses would have to lower rates to get people to come. Supply and demand. But from personal experience, no matter how few people are playing, I have never seen a golf course lower rates.
[/quote]

Are you kidding? Look at the proliferation of deals like golf now. Golf courses don't drop their rack rates, but they offer promotions and deep discounts like crazy these days. I can't pick up a flyer without seeing a coupon deal for a local course. Outside of weekend mornings, you'd be crazy around here to pay the full rack rate.
[/quote]

I thought courses on Golf Now just had to give one discounted rate that they take a hit on per day? Golf Now just gives the discounts themselves and makes it up through fees. My point is that I've lived in Chicago and Atlanta and I've never seen a golf course lower rates from year to year. Maybe that is just due to living in big cities. But I was only coming from personal experience.

[Petethreeput]

GolfNow and other discount retailers are a short term fix to the problem and are based on a Priceline model. The difference is that airlines and hotels will always be relevant, so they are filling unused spaces to cover the fixed costs of the business. Golf courses are not necessary, so really golfnow is lowering the margins which will adversely affect quality of the courses who are most used by golfnow users.

There will always be hardcore golfers, just as there are hardcore bowlers, but golf may well be in trouble as an industry.

The old adage is, "If price is the only concern then there is an absence of value."

Those who participate in the price gauging are in many ways the culprits of what will become the future and they are making the future come more quickly. I am not disparaging them, but noting it, golf can be very expensive.

Golf is possibly, not definitely, but possibly 20 years away from bowling in the American psyche and without a change or two to the attitudes of current golfers, it will continue on this path.

The game is great, but the reception to new golfers is not.

[oldschoolrocker]

Everything is cyclic in nature. The popularity of golf is no different. There are many other avenues for exercise and recreation that are expensive and consume large amounts of time. Golf, or any sport will never appeal to everyone, but we can do our fair share by making newcomers welcome and not acting as if you have to know the secret word, or handshake to participate.
There is not a day that goes by when I go to a course that I do not see beginning golfers of all ages and sex either on the range, or the course. The race disparity is a different animal altogether. I see a lot of older black gentlemen, and then a fair amount of the generation below them, but very few black youth unless it is with a summer program or the First Tee.
It is an expensive hobby, although most of us that are WRXers would argue that it is more a way of life than a hobby regardless of handicap or skill level.

[kellygreen]

[quote name='Yellow Jacket' timestamp='1398258360' post='9150321']
The New York Times published an article last Friday discussing the many ways golf is dying and the attempts to grow the game: [url="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/19/sports/golf/in-a-hole-golf-considers-digging-a-wider-one.html"]http://www.nytimes.c...-wider-one.html[/url]

[b]To summarize the article, the main reasons why golf is dying:[/b]
1) Too hard
2) Too expensive
3) Takes too long
4) Women don't feel welcome

[b]Why they're hard to fix:[/b]
1) Too hard
The best way to make the game easier is to have everyone play forward tees. People will always slice the ball and 3 putt, but it's most frustrating when you're chunking shots from the rough, so fewer of those is better for everyone. Unfortunately, the majority of golfers have stubborn egos.

2) Too expensive
Equipment is too expensive, but companies have back themselves into a corner releasing $500 drivers every 6 months. No CEO will ever cut back once they've established that revenue stream because they will immediately be fired, and the next CEO won't make the same mistake.
Green fees are also too expensive. Too many golf courses were built in the past 15-20 years. Indeed, there is a bubble in golf courses just as there was in housing. With fewer golfers, courses try to charge the highest prices they can get away with when they should just go out of business.

3) Takes too long
This is a byproduct of 1 with golfers playing tees that are too long. It's also a byproduct of too many tee times being squeeze together, a byproduct of courses trying not to lose money. Hell, the course I regularly play has tee times every 8 minutes which makes weekend rounds take 5-6 hours.

4) Women don't feel welcome
When half the population is missing, of course you're going to have problems. But this is to hard to fix, in large part because the majority of people who control golf and spend money on golf are from the Mad Men generation, when women knew their place (in the kitchen). Younger people are more progressive, but they aren't playing the game because of the aforementioned majority older players.

[b]Why Golf Is Doomed[/b]
It may seem like I'm saying older white men are the reason why golf is dying. Of course, it's more complicated than that. But there are systemic issues in the game, and by the time they're fixed, I fear golf as a recreational sport is basically going to die like boxing did as a spectator sport.

PGA of America president Ted Bishop: “I went to a golf club’s 125th anniversary dinner not long ago, and the overwhelming majority of the people in the room were over 55. We should be asking, ‘On that club’s 150th anniversary, who’s going to attend?’” My answer? No one.
[/quote]

Golf isn't "dying"....societal norms have just changed.

It has always been a resource-intensive game. But...

1. People need to stop building 7500 yd courses. Many of the other problems you mention find their root in the fact that courses this long are too hard to play for the average player, and too expensive to maintain without packing tee times like sardines.

2. In young families, BOTH adults work. So there are not ladies groups on the courses during the week...and harried working moms aren't going to tolerate being made "golf widows" on the week ends. So young people with young children find it difficult to participate because of work and parenting demands.

3. [b][i]We are just coming out of one of the worst economic crises in almost a century.[/i][/b] Those at the top have recovered, but many of those of more modest means have not seen jobs come back yet...and have seen their wages continue to stagnate.

4. In years past, communities helped to bear the cost of maintaining acess to affordable, municipal courses. But---again with wages stagnating among working class and middle-class people---and the affluent increasingly reluctant to pay into "common-good" things like public golf facilities, these courses are disappearing.

5. Yes, women and junior are often made to feel unwelcome.

6. Many players---though they pay lipservice to "growing the game"----TAKE PLEASURE in the "exclusive" nature of the game. So---like the situation with muni courses---they are unwilling to committ the resources necessary to truly make the game more accessible to more people.

[atlambert2]

[quote name='jholz' timestamp='1398264262' post='9151025']
Just out of curiosity, what impact do you guys think the economic model of golf course construction has had on the health of the game? Your experiences may vary, but I don't recall too many people building courses along the lines of the classic muni intended to cater to lower (or simply normal) income players. At least in my recollection of the construction boom in the 90's and early 2000's, it seemed that golf courses were generally part of larger real estate developments (even municipal courses), resorts, or simply higher quality designs that demand more capital in maintenance and upkeep. We all love a nice course, but do we have to insist on tour quality in order to enjoy the game on a daily basis?

Again, your experience may vary and correct me if I am wrong, but the busy courses in my area tend to be the cheaper, more modest facilities. Any time I go to a course with fees in excess of $60 - $70 (remember that I am in Alabama so this constitutes "somewhat expensive"), the parking lot is empty. Like so many other business these days, it seems like there are too many people going after the big money and too few catering to the modest needs of everyday people.
[/quote]

I am of a similar mind. Just like OEM's produce clubs geared towards different segments of golfers, courses should be designed/built/maintained for different levels.

I grew up playing a dinky, 2800 yard, 9-hole muni course. It wasn't the best kept course, but its lesser condition roughly equaled its value in cheaper greens fees. But, the course was wide open and not challenging, so my buddies and I never really struggled navigating undulating greens, water on every hole, etc. Now, every course around me is a WASPy, private club or an expensive, super high end muni.

I am of the opinion that if more of these courses existed for the weekend warriors (the "5 times a summer w/ beers and buddies golfers" as I call them), the industry wouldn't be in such dramatic decline. Now that I am older and love the game much more than I did as a teen, I am willing to pay more to find a difficult course that is well maintained. But someone like my brother, who is the type of golfer above, would love if he could go out and still play 9 "crappy" (by Golfwrx standards) holes for 18 bucks and have a chance at breaking 50.

Course segmentation solves a lot of the problems listed in the NYTimes articles (price, difficulty, pace of play). I realized that the profit margin is not as high on cheaper courses, so it is less desirable from that standpoint, but isn't there a product in every market just like that? Need to cover all your basis in business, and golf is no different.

[kellygreen]

[quote name='Wordmixer' timestamp='1398260941' post='9150595']
Also, the game reflects the disproportionate wealth in the world, and in particular the USA. [i][b](I am NOT a socialist / redistributionist, just acknowledging economic fact here.)[/b][/i] And because our nation's wealth is largely in the hands of whites, the game of golf is very white, and this clashes with the politically correct material shared with our youth via education and television. So the game is considered somewhat bigoted.

[/quote]

..and NOT acknowledging the history and rigged economic and legal systems that CREATED that "economic fact". But that discussion is not appropriate here.


The game of golf is considered bigoted because its history in this country IS bigoted and exclusionary. Especially at the "private-club" level of the game.

In the era of Bobby Jones, golf was PURELY the pursuit of the white, upper-class/idle rich. (He was able to play all around the world as a AMATEUR, because he didn't really have to concern himself with earning a LIVING).

Many golf clubs were so exclusionary that the membership looked down their noses at (white male) golf professionals. Not allowing THEM to use the club facilities....and insisting that they "come in through the servant's entrance"....and other such ELITIST insanity.

Part of the popularity of [i][b]Arnold Palmer[/b][/i] is that he helped bridge this CLASS divide, by helping to bring the sport to the middle and working classes...just like Tiger Woods has helped to bring the game to people of color. The typical white middle-class golf fan may have chosen to forget this part of Arnie's significance in the game...but I can assure you (when he speaks of his own life) ARNIE hasn't forgotten.

I'll spare you the downright ugly history of the game on matters of race and gender. From Augusta National employing an all-African American corps of caddies. To the game itself being segregated (at the professional level) as late as 1964. To Southern clubs refusing to integrate their memberships (and golfs' governing bodies still holding events at these segregated facilities) as late as the 1990s.

...and (once again) Augusta refusing to admit women as members until just a few years ago.

YOU may choose to ignore these things...and dismiss their significance as "political correctness". But to those of us who are on the recieving end of other people's ignorance and intolerance, [b][i]we don't have the luxury of being able to ignore it. [/i][/b]

Because it creates an environment in which we feel unwelcome, unappreciated----and in rare situation---where we are treated in outright hostile fashion.

As an African-American male---I'm pleased to say that the game has evolved enough that such events are RARE---but the fact that they still occur AT ALL to people of color and to women puts your "appears to be bigoted" argument to the lie.

[LUMA]

Yep, it's over. Never going to happen again. Everyone will soon sell out and go out of business. Courses all over the world will close and the game will go into the books and looked back at in high school history classes the same way as the sports played during the Roman Empire.

[JWells]

It's been said a million times and I'll say it again. Golf courses are way too hostile towards beginner/bad golfers.

Most (not all) course employees/pro shop employees are on a pedastool and look down and anyone who is unknowledgable about the game.

Slow play can be annoying but it's even more annoying and inappropriate when people are rude to other customers on the course, this is where marshals need to be more proactive.

I got involved in the game 2 years ago. When I was a beginner I felt like an outsider and at times treated as such.


Also the golf manufactures need to chill out with the constant releases of new product lines. Not only is this hurting the stores that sell them. It just keeps giving the game a persona of being too expensive to play.

[NJpatbee]

I live in NJ and yes, a couple of courses have closed over the last decade and certain private clubs are offering reduced initiation and membership fees. Many courses are offering attractive discounts on sites like GolfNow, and many green fees have remained constant the last few years. But on any good weather weekend in NJ the courses are crawling with golfers. The doomsayers regarding the game of golf need to get out more often.

Too Hard - The game is no harder than it ever was and thanks to improved clubs and balls the longer courses can be challenged. My favorite local courses are the same length as 20 years ago, and thanks to technology I can still play the men's tees. I started with hand me down persimmons when I was 40 and at 62 I hit my drives longer today thanks to improved equipment. Golf is a hard game to become very good at, but with some effort you can play a decent round. Like anything else you have to work hard to excel. For the novices and youth, some courses are offering "green" tees which is a great idea.

Too Expensive - There is plenty of reasonably priced quality golf available - not all of us are going to get invited to join Baltusrol or Trump National. You can make the game as expensive as you want and still enjoy it. I live near a good 9 hole executive course with 3 good par 4's and 1 par 5, and can play there during the week for $12. Thanks to the never ending slow economy, some expensive private courses have lost members, but most have adjusted their fees to attract members. So you cannot be indigent and play a lot of golf, but for 90% of us you can get out and play.

Too Long - This is nothing new and to some degree it is improving with additional tee boxes and the promotional efforts to speed up play. I would say it is faster than 20 years ago.

Not Women Friendly - There are very few courses remaining that are male only clubs. There are additional tees to choose from and numerous female golf instructors. Yes, more men play golf (and baseball, hockey, tennis, and just about every other sport) but an increased number of women are hitting the links.

IMHO, part of the decline is due to the economy, and perhaps more of it is due to the end of a fad, perhaps brought on by the Tiger effect. There are still many millions of US golfers with some great courses to play. The game is still in great shape and nowhere near doomed.