There seems to be no escaping the fact that the number of people playing golf is trending downward.
Statistically that seems to be the case.
In the United States in 2013 it is estimated that over 4 million golfers quit the sport.
Although quite a few golfers started playing the sport, that's still quite a drop if those figures are accurate.
Additionally only 14 new golf courses in that time span were built in the United States and 157 closed, according to the National Golf Foundation.
The question would be: is this a long-term slide, or just a short-term glitch.
It seems the economic recession of a few years ago had some effect, as it caused many people to cut back on their discretionary spending.
And very recent figures show that there has been some bounce back in play as the economy improves.
But the fact is the overall age of the golfing population is older.
Perhaps that's always been the case because as we age golf is one of the last areas that people can compete at, but it would help the industry if more young people took to the game.
Here are a few reasons why people may be getting away from the game, and some ways that the golf industry can help: 1.
Cost to play.
There is little doubt that the overall cost to play a round of golf today is substantially higher.
I think for the most part the quality of courses has improved dramatically in the last 40 or 50 years, and to maintain these courses cost more money.
This has resulted in green fees going up.
But if a person really wants to play and can bring some flexibility into when they play, we are seeing that golf courses are going after this niche of golfers.
There are deals galore and many now are trying to bring back their clientele on a repeat basis by giving huge discounts for a one time, upfront cost of maybe $100.
2.
Slow pace of play.
I know golfers complain about this now, but it has always been an issue for as long as I've played, and that's a long time.
Unfortunately, overall etiquette has not improved, as people will back up play by looking at for a golf ball much longer than the five-minute rule, or spend excessive amounts of time on the putting green, seemingly doing everything except playing golf.
Being able to report such incidents and having a ranger policing things should help.
Also, if the average golfer would just get his ego out of the way and play from tees that match their game, golf would move faster and become much more enjoyable.
3.
Getting in better shape.
It may be impolite to bring this up, but as Americans get heavier and more out of shape, it becomes a greater effort to get out and do some light exercise for four hours.
Obviously, the answer to this is we all should work to get into better shape.
And as this becomes a greater issue in our society we will probably start to find more people using golf as the great exercise that it is, especially as we get older.