The other day I heard a somewhat disturbing story from a golf coach. He was at a PGA Jr. League event, which, as you know, is that innovative and excellent program modeled after Little League baseball in which teams of kids wearing individually numbered “golf jerseys” compete against other towns in a scramble format. This past season had a record 71,000 participants, yet another recent golf stat with a great spin rate. Anyway, after winning a match, a boy pantomimed shooting an arrow into the sky before shaking his opponents’ hands. The gallery of shrieking parents, presumably new to golf, had behaved aggressively the entire nine-hole match.
May we take a quick timeout, please? Is not part of what makes golf unique an atmosphere that’s distinct from football, basketball, hockey, wrestling, etc.? Has golf not always been, in large part, a refuge for more quiet souls who prefer athletic pursuit with a different tone? Let wide receivers shimmy and bump chests after a touchdown. I’d prefer we teach new golfers that after a birdie putt drops, you pick that ball out of the cup and put it in your pocket. The exception can be winning the Ryder Cup.
Make no mistake, I am thrilled by the fresh energy in our game. The latest R&A report counts 61 million adult golfers outside the United States and Mexico if we include alternative formats such as par-3 courses, simulators and driving ranges. More telling than any stats is who is playing: Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Tom Holland, Patrick Mahomes, Jennifer Lopez, Jason Bateman, Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Alex Morgan, Jake Owen, Kate Upton, DJ Khaled, ScHoolboy Q. Most of these celebrities were avid before the pandemic, but now they’re showier. It’s finally cool to be a golfer. The game is having a cultural moment that I can only imagine was last experienced when Arnold Palmer first brought green grass to life on color TV.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
