If you're here, then you most likely golf. Congratulations, you are part of the 1%. That's right, not more than 1% of the world enjoys golf and to put matters worse, golf is dying every second.
Numerous people, either the golfers themselves or in the golfing industry, have shared their opinions on why golf is on the decline. In an article published in September 2018, The Telegraph quoted several of them.
“Golf is in danger, but the solutions are clear: We must be more family-orientated, and cheaper. I don’t think there is any doubt at all that golf is nowhere as inclusive as it needs to be," said Pete Cowen, a prominent coach.
“Access to golf clubs remains a serious issue to participation figures," said Mark Thompson, managing director at sponsorship management firm SponServe.
Even 2009's professional golfer Catriona Matthew chimed in, saying golf needs to take up new initiatives.
"We should be trying to get younger people in. Everyone knows there is that struggle to get people interested," she said.
Is Golf dying in Popularity? Well not in Asia
Regardless of whether it's inclusiveness, price, access to golf clubs or being plain old boring, golf is dying. While some have tried to deny this, the signs of its death are all over the internet. Hell, you probably don't need much convincing yourself or you wouldn't have typed in the title or clicked on this page.
Despite its rotting stench, however, golf courses keep popping up all across Asia.
A 2017 report from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews found that in Asia, there were 67 golf projects (measured in 18-hole equivalents) currently under construction and 109 in planning. It also found that 32% of the world’s golf projects are in Asia.
"In Asia, the shift is to the south, with Vietnam having 41 facilities in place and another 32 in different stages of development. India, with 267, has project activity that could add another 28," the report noted.
Why is Golf Dying? Major Reasons
When tackling the question of why golf is dying, it is important that we first take a look at the sport itself. Golf is a sport that is innately frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive which is a lot to demand from someone who is looking to get started. Thus, they take the simpler route, quit. Although the reasons mentioned do play a huge part in them quitting, it's also due to the fact that trying to improve can be extremely difficult for most.
But just like any other sport, golf takes time to improve and to get good at. The only issue is, practicing doesn't always gurantee improvements. Take this for instance, over 300 million golf balls are lost every year in the United States alone. In fact, golf is probably the only sport in existence that can make someone worse with practice.
Now, you add up the frustation, mix in a little self-doubt, sprinkle some debt and you now have a recipe of a dying sport!
Things we can improve to keep golf alive
Despite the aformentioned reasons on why golf is dying, it is important to note that golf isn't dead YET. There are ways to improve golf as a whole and to bring in more people into sport and perhaps reignite passions that were lost.
For starters golf is in dire need of a new star. Although Tiger Woods is indeed the face of golf and has been for years, eventually someone new has to take the spotlight to bring attention back to the sport. Tiger Woods was a superstar in the early 2000's when he won time and time again. This of course, contributed a lot to the popularity of the sport back then. Thus, we may need a new Tiger Woods to keep golf alive and relevant.
Aside from that, golf courses should also welcome more kids to take up the sport. During the early years of life is when people discover their passion and interests. So, it wouldn't be a stretch to suggest that golf could be that passion that a kid needs to keep progessing in life. Having said that, golf courses should perhaps consider allowing kids to play for free for the slight chance that they will soon grab that membership anyway.
Speaking of kids, schools also play a huge part in a child's development given that it is their formative years. Thus, it would be wonderful if schools taught kids how to play golf and why it can benefit them in life going forward. This will a hundred percent increase the number of people who can at least swing a golf club correctly and eventually find their own pathway in the sport.
Is Golf dying as a Sport - How Deemples Help
We at Deemples are well aware of golf's critical state. From our own observations, we've found that a factor which contributes to the game's demise includes its own peculiarities.
Aside from the fact that it's an expensive sport, each round takes a long time. You face a problem when it's already hard to find people available when you are. In effect, many give up on the sport and try something else.
The Deemples app hopes that it can address at least that problem.
Golf is dying and this is a sad state of affairs. Deemples, however, refuses to mourn something so beautiful. Perhaps a great purpose lies amidst golf's decay. Our founder, David Wong, has a saying that he often uses: "If we can increase the number of golfers by just 1%, we've doubled the number of people who play golf."
So if you’re looking to book a game at a golf course or golf with someone new, Deemples is the app for you.
Deemples is a golf app that makes sure you never golf alone and makes golf booking way easier. It’s super easy to use:
All you do is create/join and boom! You’ve booked a golf game with new golf partners.
Download Deemples today and start your golfing journey with us!
