Golf's Future Suddenly Looks Brighter

Last month the 2011 RBC Canadian Open (often referred to as “one of Major quality”) was a showcase for Vancouver, the Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club and many of Canada’s future golf stars.

It was a weekend of great shots, good shots and good enough shots for 5 of the 17 Canadians in the field who made the cut, while many seasoned PGA Tour stars packed their golf bags early.

When moving day started on Saturday, there was almost a sixth sense in the gallery that we were about to witness something very special. Would July 2011 mark the passing of the torch from our current heroes (Mike Weir and Stephen Ames) to a new breed of young guns?

3 Canadian players stood out as “golfers to watch” (Adam Hadwin, Matt McQuillan and David Hearns) – hopefuls to take over the reigns from Weir and Ames in the not-too-distant future.

All talented players, they outperformed many recognized tour stars with McQuillan and Hearns finishing T31 and T34 respectively.

But the weekend belonged to Adam Hadwin with a 2 under par, T4 finish – one of only 8 players who closed off the weekend in the red.

With a horde of fans following him, Hadwin showed remarkable maturity and poise for someone with so little experience. A 39 on the front 9 on Sunday would have made many a contender throw in the Frogger, but not Adam. He rallied back with a 33 on the back 9 to tie for 4th in one of the PGA Tour’s most gruelling tests of golf.

Despite all my pessimism fed by reading so many reports of declining participation in golf, Adam Hadwin made me believe that Canada has a very promising future in golf.

After Saturday’s charge from someone who looks barely old enough to drive a car, I suddenly became more aware of all the youngsters who came out to cheer on their favourite players. It almost brought tears to my eyes to watch them compete with each other for bragging rights by soliciting a golf ball from one of their heroes.

This group alone secured golf balls from John Daly, Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, Michael Thompson and Chad Campbell. I heard the tallest of the gang call out to the Big “D”, “Nice up and down, John!”, which awarded him one of JD’s infamous “balls to the gut” tosses that made the young lad believe he had “connected” with a great among greats. It was “a moment”!

I was also really touched by a sweetheart of a young golfgal in the group who wondered if Chad Campbell’s troubles on Saturday might have had something to do with her. “When he was doing really well yesterday, I think I took his lucky ball”, she said, “And then he started to do really bad.” Suddenly she looked so sad I almost took her into my arms.

The whole day on Sunday I was drawn to our next super stars who didn’t just want to watch the proceedings; they were ready to tee it up with the big guys!

Meet Sophia Strong. Hardly out of diapers, Sophia was experiencing the joys of gripping it and ripping it.

No sooner had the ball left the clubface that she was down the fairway ready for her next shot. No pace of play issues here!

Now, does she not look like the next Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel all rolled into one? Her dad, Bradey told me she loves watching Sunday golf, sitting in front of the television cheering on the players. How sweet is that!

But you know, Sophia was just one of many.  Everywhere I looked, there were parents with kids sporting the colours of their favorite golfer – like Pat Wilson , Don Ference and their two boys, Alex and Blair from Shaughnessy.

All decked out in their Rickie Fowler Puma duckbills, Alex and Blair waited patiently for the Orange Man to pass by their primo position on the 1st tee.

When I asked Alex why he loved golf, he did what all kids do – he told it like it is, “Well, you don’t need to be too fit…But still, it’s really fun.” I felt a tinge of embarrassment coming from the parents as he shared an honest assessment of this sport, but they should be proud – he’s right.

And that’s why golf is a game for life, whether you are young/old, short/tall, thin/fat. Golf transcends age, size, weight and even disabilities. It is truly a sport that is more about mental strength than physical.  Remember what the great Bob Jones said, “Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course - the distance between your ears.”

Obviously Blair and Alex adored Rickie Fowler based on their attire, but what really surprised me is that the next person they named as a favorite was slow-mo Ben Crane. Crane isn’t exactly the name that rolls off most kids’ tongues, but when I found out that the day before they had been watching his popularized Youtube videos, I understood why he was the next “fave” on their lists, with Bubba Watson, not far behind. Chock one up for social media in golf!

After leaving the Shaughnessy bros, I met up with Brent Lee and his two young amateurs from Tsawwassen, Charlotte and Beckett.

Dad Brent introduced the kids to the game at Pt. Roberts, a gorgeous tree-lined course just south of the BC border (you really must play it if you can), where they learned the short game of chipping and putting first before facing the Full Monty 18 holes. Smart dad! The kids love the game (and Rickie Fowler).  Charlotte made of point of telling me she is also enrolled in the CN Future Links program and proudly sported her Girls Club pink hat.

All day I saw happy faces in the crowds cheering on their idols, but what really delighted me was running into 15 year old Hunter Phalen from Whistler.

 
Probably the youngest volunteer working inside the ropes, Hunter was delighted by his primo position at the 18th green, “ It’s a lot of fun and more juniors should be doing it,” he said.

Hunter was introduced to golf when he and a friend went to the driving range 4 years ago. Now, a avid competitor with a 5.5 handicap, “coming down rapidly”, Phalen is looking to share the fairways and maybe some limelight with his favorite US Open champion, Rory McIlroy.

After meeting so many wonderful parents and kids all day I kept wondering... Do the players really know the impact they are having on these youngsters or are they just playing “their own game”?

Some obviously do, like Rickie Fowler; while others don't appear to, like Anthony Kim who stormed off after his Saturday round without acknowledging a single fan. Sure he shot an 81 and sure he was DQ’d, but is that the example we want for our children?

But after a tough day on Saturday, Rickie didn’t disappoint. And after watching him sign autograph after autograph for the “Creamsicle Kids” who lined up 3 deep all along the fence outside the scoring trailer, I started thinking of trading in my Nike gear for Puma.

He was there so long, I actually got a bored and left. But about 40 minutes later when I passed by the putting green, there he was again signing hats, balls, programs…whatever. To say I was impressed would be an understatement.

This year’s Canadian Open had so many memorable moments, but the things I will remember the most are the faces of the next generation of young golfers as they sat under the ropes for hours or peaked through legs and bleachers to get the best view of their heroes while they imagined themselves there in a few years.

Sunday gave me hope and the timing couldn’t be better. In 2016 Canada will send our best to Rio for the first Olympic Golf Games since 1904.   Canada’s George Lyon took home the gold that year and there’s no reason why another Canuck can’t do this same in Brazil.

Golfgal

What Golf Needs Isn’t Found in “The Woods”

The 102nd playing of Canada’s National Open Golf Championship returned to Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club last month with all the fanfare one would expect – accolades about the stunning tree-lined course, the wealth of spectators and quality of field.

But as I walked the fairways and watched the players, volunteers and fans, I couldn’t help but reflect on the disturbing state of the golf industry – since 2000, the number of golfers in North America has been steadily declining, despite the Tiger affect . There just aren’t enough young people taking up the game.

So although the grandstands were full and fairways lined with spectators, the demographics of those in and outside the ropes reflected a typical day at most golf courses – ~70% male, marbled like fine prime ribs – well aged ;)

Now I’m the first to encourage people in their twilight years to take up this lifetime sport and I was happy to see so many retiree-hopefuls enjoying the event. But the fact remains that we baby boomers cannot sustain, let alone grow this industry, if we keep doing what we’re doing.

We need to attract young men and women to the sport early and keep them interested throughout their teenage years and beyond. To do that we need to think like them and evolve the sport so it fits their style, attitudes and needs.

We have to stop pushing the “traditions of golf” and recognize that the times they are a changing -- golf needs to keep up with the times.

Thankfully at this year’s Open, I witnessed a glimmer of hope in a few players, a few fans and a few fanatics that made me think we might be on the verge of something great.

I saw in this year’s Open, what golf needs…

1. Rule Breakers
2. Audacity
3. Twits
4. New Blood

Rule Breakers
Imagine if these 3 juniors walked into your golf club dressed like this, backward hats and all? Would you let them play that way?

And what would you say to this couple looking to tee off with their Canadian flags waving from cheek to cheek?

What about these colourful gents in their fancy pants. How many jaws would drop if they showed up at your next club championship?

Sad to say, but the dress codes at many courses are archaic. No wonder kids don’t want anything to do with their parents’ stuffy old clubs with their dull duds!  Who wants to play at a club that won’t let them wear their hats the way they wear them everyday, or their Canucks jerseys during the playoffs?

Audacity

“Golf-speak” is getting out of control. Reporters don’t even have to attend press conferences anymore because they can quote players without ever hearing them speak. The “one shot at a time”, “I need to be patient out there” and “I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing” clichés are as much of a player’s repertoire as their pre-shot routine.

What golf needs is some respectful honesty. At this year’s Open, as much as I felt a tiny bit insulted at what Geoff Ogilvy had to say about the Shaughnessy Course, I am so happy he had the audacity to say what he thought, just as Bubba Watson did in Paris at the French Open a few weeks ago.

“This is a beautiful property,” said Ogilvy, “The greens are cool. But the bunkers are in the wrong places and the rough doesn’t allow recovery shots.” Ouch!

I know it’s tough to hear, but I find it a lot more refreshing than what the rest of them said, “It’s a great test of golf.” Ya ya ya…

Twits

Golf media is ripe with curmudgeons. Walk into any media tent and you’ll find an old boys’ network that believes that micro blogging is for twits and Facebook for fools.

Being the only female around, I wasn’t about to tell them social media was a more powerful communication tool than the newspaper they write for, with enough users to create the 3rd largest country in the world. That would likely have resulted in there being one less woman golf writer inside the ropes, making that a total of zero.

Sadly, most media outlets haven’t figured out how to engage with readers who embrace social media – many of whom are players and their fans. We must always remember, the game is more important than the media.

Ian Poulter, Stewart Cink, Rory McIlroy and yes, Rickie Fowler (with over 175,000 followers) are avid tweeters. It wasn’t long after today’s round that Rickie was tweeting about it.

Social media and citizen journalists (aka bloggers) are not fads and freaks, but fantastic opportunities for golf media. It’s time to learn it, use it and then exploit the heck out of it to grow this wonderful sport!

New Blood

For years it was like there was only one golfer on the planet - the world revolved around Tiger Woods. People believed that golf couldn’t exist without him and that we needed him to grow the sport. That’s just not true.

There are new kids in town who are turning our youth on to golf. And they’re not afraid of being themselves, shouting out loud with their own unique personalities, style and talent, “Hello World!”.

Move over Tiger… Orange is the new Red!

Golfgal