Golf Gear News

You Know, A Nine-Hole Is Still A Golf Course

Over at Travelgolf.com, writer Chris Baldwin makes an excellent point on the lack of 9-hole courses. To me, he's right on the money. I've often complained that golf is a sport that isn't growing and one reason is that an 18-hole round takes 5-6 hours to complete. Add to that the excessive costs and the distance you must travel to find a course if you live in a major city, it's no wonder that for the last five years, as many people pick up the game as drop it. Even for someone like me that is involved in the golf industry, it is very difficult to take that much time (especially during the weekday) to play. If there were 3,000 yard 9-holes, I'd think that many more people would pick up the sport and stick with it. It would also be easier for businesspeople to go to the course on a long lunch hour, especially if they were close to the population centers. Unfortunately, the nice mature courses get plowed under for housing. Golf is often accused of being an elitist sport. It is a hard enough sport to learn and play, why make it even more difficult by requiring those who play to ante up $75 green fees and 5-6 hours to play?

posted by Golf Gear News @ 10:42 AM