Opinion & Analysis

Barney Adams: Stop calling golf “fun”

Published

5 years ago

Sep 6, 2019

Industry ads aimed at promoting participation have the same theme, “Play Golf Because It’s Fun.” I disagree with the presentation, but admittedly it takes explanation. Fun is considered, light, enjoyable among other adjectives. Golf hasn’t been around for centuries evoking a unique passion because it’s “fun.” It’s hard and frustrating yet we come back sometimes—even ignoring weather we wouldn’t otherwise be outside in.

Why?

Because it’s rewarding! Not on the whole, that’s reserved for the very few who are excellent players. “Rewarding” for the masses will be a well-played hole, even a singular shot. We are rewarded in small victories, not mastery.

How then do we focus on the concept of reward? The answer falls into what we call course layout and must be championed by those organizations promoting the game—the PGA of America and the USGA. I’ll proceed with some typical examples with real data, not opinion.

This is data-centric: Years ago, the former Technical Director of the USGA reported that his study revealed an average driving distance of 192 yards. Who are the 192s? The short answer is they are the overall majority of players who play and financially support the game. Their brethren are not coming on board in numbers, and pure age analysis shows that they are a declining population, albeit with a huge reservoir that is retiring and could decide to play.

They love to watch the 300-yard drives of Tour players and marvel that the average iron into greens is an 8—albeit some 170 yards. Further, these iron shots are struck consistently, high, landing with spin allowing them to shoot for targets within the confines of the green.

The 192 group doesn’t hit 170-yard 8-irons. If they make that good swing, their 8-iron goes roughly 120, and rather than a spot on the green, they are trying to get on the putting surface.

What does this have to do with rewarding? I was recently asked to analyze a course that had installed forward tees, but something was off. The overall yardage was 5,900 par 70, which seemed perfect.

However, there were six holes in various forms of what follows: yardage 354, a 192-yard drive leaves 162 and in each case, it was a forced carry of 162 yards. The 192s don’t have a high soft shot that carries 162 plus yards. They may have an occasional low bullet that doesn’t hold, but the sensible play is to lay up.

This gets old and it’s not rewarding. If their second shot on forced carry holes was, say, 125 yards they would have a chance to hit a solid shot onto the green, and that’s rewarding. We 192s aren’t good enough to hit center face solid shots every time. Give us the chance that we’ll be rewarded with a birdie putt just some of the time and the experience is one that keeps us playing (“fun,” if you will, but more accurately defined).

Further, a 370-yard par 4 with a slightly downsloping fairway into a green wide open in the front—and again we have a chance to be rewarded.

It isn’t a simple distance issue: It’s an understanding of the concept of reward and setting one set of tees accordingly. Golf courses are fairway width, firmness, elevations, hazards and the list goes on. That’s why I say the good folks who promote the game need to embrace the concept. Produce guidelines on how to make courses rewarding.

Years ago, I was very fortunate to be able to play a few rounds with Lee Trevino, arguably one of the greatest ball strikers of all times. He didn’t play “the tees” he picked the ones he wanted, some forward, some back. I asked why and he said, “Barnyard, I just want to be able to hit shots to the green. I always did.” I never forgot his comment, but I didn’t appreciate the genius behind it until I came upon the concept of rewarding golf. It’s exactly what Lee was doing!

Of course, I’m just one small voice. The PGA of America and USGA are the leaders and it’s up to them to turn the concept of rewarding golf into a movement designed to increase participation.

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Barney Adams

Barney Adams is the founder of Adams Golf and the inventor of the iconic "Tight Lies" fairway wood. He served as Chairman of the Board for Adams until 2012, when the company was purchased by TaylorMade-Adidas. Adams is one of golf's most distinguished entrepreneurs, receiving honors such as Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 1999 and the 2010 Ernie Sabayrac Award for lifetime contribution to the golf industry by the PGA of America. His journey in the golf industry started as as a club fitter, however, and has the epoxy filled shirts as a testimony to his days as an assembler. Have an equipment question? Adams holds seven patents on club design and has conducted research on every club in the bag. He welcomes your equipment questions through email at [email protected] Adams is now retired from the golf equipment industry, but his passion for the game endures through his writing. He is the author of "The WOW Factor," a book published in 2008 that offers an insider's view of the golf industry and business advice to entrepreneurs, and he continues to contribute articles to outlets like GolfWRX that offer his solutions to grow the game of golf.

59 Comments

Adams fan

Sep 12, 2019 at 3:33 pm

Why does this bitter old man still have relevancy or a platform? He created a one-hit infomercial wonder 20 years ago. He doesn’t need a platform like WRX to keep pontificating….waiting for his next “get off my lawn” moment.

Reply Report comment
- Barney Adams
  
  Sep 12, 2019 at 6:08 pm
  
  My goodness it’s my brother Harry. Never got over my eating his ice cream.
  
  Reply Report comment
JimmyD2

Sep 10, 2019 at 11:23 am

Wow! We should stop calling the game of golf fun because what the scorecard shows as par on some holes may be too difficult for our skill level… Maybe a better recommendation would be to forget about the scorecard and “Just Have Fun”. When I was in the military I used to love visiting family and getting out to PLAY golf together! My father, who only played during these rare visits (and never practiced!) had more fun than any of us. My “happy place” for the past decade+ has been playing a round of golf with my son, especially when we get to play as a twosome. Golf is and should be Fun! As the great philosopher Tin Cup once said, “Sex and golf are the two things you can enjoy even if you’re not good at them.”

Reply Report comment
Dave r

Sep 9, 2019 at 8:08 pm

My wife tells me I’m having fun so I guess I’m having fun.

Reply Report comment
Todd Dugan

Sep 9, 2019 at 6:03 pm

I think of golf as an OPPORTUNITY to achieve a sense of accomplishment by doing something well which is not easy to do well. If it were easy to do well, then the reward would not be nearly as great. But there is a risk, as doing something poorly is disappointing…for me, anyway. There is also a nice social element to playing. I also think of playing golf as a sort of ritualistic “life exercise” in doing things correctly.

Reply Report comment
scott

Sep 9, 2019 at 7:28 am

I think i have fun.
Only really know when I take the winnings off my playing partners.

Reply Report comment
- Hempy Hill
  
  Sep 9, 2019 at 4:34 pm
  
  well said Barney. Best Golf article I’ve read in years
  
  Reply Report comment
Prime21

Sep 8, 2019 at 11:40 pm

I’m still confused. Are you saying in order to be fun it has to be easy? EVERYONE on the planet has to have the ability to access a pin? I could counter by saying I can hit high, soft shots and easy courses that allow for run up on every shot are no fun at all. Everyone has a different opinion, whether they are in the AVG or not. Simply because you have an opinion, which is “supported” by numbers doesn’t mean you have the support of the others in your “average” group. Everyone has ‘em, apparently you just get to share yours.

Reply Report comment
- JThunder
  
  Sep 9, 2019 at 5:43 am
  
  The key point is “average” is meaningless. If you compile “average” in anything, those specs will only fit 1% of the people involved (see: height, weight, etc).
  
  I know PLENTY of golfers who drive 200 and can hit a high soft shot from 162. I know low handicappers who hit mid-trajectory irons with low spin who would have more trouble (eg, to elevated greens).
  
  I think the article misses it’s own point; it’s about bad golf course architecture and management. In my experience, those kind of courses alienate golfers, and have to drop prices to compete with better designs. Or they get turned into townhouse sites. I suppose there are areas with fewer choices, so golfers are stuck. Ultimately, courses should be designed around some variety; not all tee shots should require a fade, not all par 3s should be long, not all greens should be elevated. (Just ask the pros about Dubsdread!)
  
  Reply Report comment
- Barney Adams
  
  Sep 9, 2019 at 12:48 pm
  
  That’s just the point. It’s NOT about easy it’s about a reasonable challenge for the 192s. Courses throw out front tees with no thought so you get 400 yd par 5 holes ( which I call dumb) instead of 390 yd par 4 s
  Look up Moe’s poem by Paul Bertholy. I almost included it in the story.
  
  Reply Report comment
No Thanks

Sep 8, 2019 at 7:03 pm

I’m sorry, but this isn’t “backed up with data”. You have an AVERAGE distance. That average is not the MEDIAN. Those are two different things. But let’s say “192” is the median. We’ll imagine that for a moment, and then say you found one hole, on one course, unnamed, and site that as why things are failing?

A 5900y Par-70 was mislabeled, and should have been a 5900y Par-71.

Barney, I don’t even disagree with your premise that it isn’t easy, and maybe should avoid the term “fun”. But you’re way off here calling this “data-centric”. This is literally the opposite of “data-centric” — it’s cherry-picking.

Reply Report comment
- Barney Adams
  
  Sep 8, 2019 at 9:22 pm
  
  Sorry but I disagree completely and it’s really my fault for not describing the situation better. It isn’t a case of all the holes having to fit the premise though that would be great. Given that we’re working with existing facilities I’m saying “ fix” as many errant holes as you can. Don’t throw out Forward tees that create unrewarding holes by being too easy , dumb holes. Recognize the power of rewarding and react in kind
  As for median vs average. Of course some will catch one and roll out others will pop up short. All you can do is use 192 as a reference point and know what that means in terms of second shot requirements.
  Last; I’ve written about this in various forms for 8 years now. I’m not smart enough to give it up , I believe it will add enjoyment to the game
  
  Reply Report comment
  - No Thanks
    
    Sep 9, 2019 at 11:59 pm
    
    You can disagree completely, but it doesn’t change the point.
    
    If your example was labeled a Par-5, you wouldn’t have a complaint, would you?
    
    If that’s the case, then it goes back to the “what is par” question. Are you basically saying that you want shorter approach shots for high handicappers? Because if that’s the “challenge” you’re looking for, that risks the integrity of the course… those hitting from 50-100 further back are still aiming for that approach landing area, and they’ll be looking to put up a second shot the same as the HH.
    
    This seems like tilting at windmills.
    
    Reply Report comment
Bob Jones

Sep 8, 2019 at 2:38 pm

Sorry, but if you don’t enjoy your leisure time pursuit, if you don’t have fun doing it, then why bother?

Reply Report comment
- Barney Adams
  
  Sep 8, 2019 at 11:10 pm
  
  Lost my bowling ball
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Acemandrake
    
    Sep 9, 2019 at 10:49 am
    
    Bob Hope: “I’d quit the game but I have too many sweaters.”
    
    Reply Report comment
cc-rider

Sep 8, 2019 at 9:45 am

I did something that I had meaning to do for years over the holiday weekend. I played a nine hole round with wood woods and 1980 hogan apex 2 irons at a classic shorter course. It was a refreshing change of pace hitting the small headed woods and blade irons. I went on eBay afterwards and could not believe how little these real woods sell for second hand. They were literally pennies on the dollar compared to modern equipment. I am not saying that going back to old equipment is the answer, but it provided a very affordable and alternative take on golf in 2019.

Reply Report comment
steve

Sep 8, 2019 at 12:41 am

For the past 10 + years, my handicap has fluctuated between three and six. Obviously, that is better than some and worse and others. That being said, the better I play, the less fun I seem to have as i tend to expect more from myself than i should. It’s a tough explanation to my wife when I am in a bad mood coming home from golf.

Reply Report comment
Walt Pendleton

Sep 7, 2019 at 11:58 pm

Mr. Adams…enjoyed your angle on courses matching age to holes, new tee boxes and relative to the majority of the game’s largest supporters. As you know, most public clubs don’t have the money to build all new boxes but building 3 to 5 new tees on the hardest holes per year would surely help. I have but one question: Why doesn’t the game ask The PGA Tour to help financially or ask the Euro public tracks what they have done to reduce course closings?

Reply Report comment
Larry Brown

Sep 7, 2019 at 4:16 pm

Golf only becomes “fun” when you have put in enough work to have a reasonably consistent swing. Until then, it’s just work. Unless you just play as an excuse to get out with the buddies and drink.

Reply Report comment
s

Sep 7, 2019 at 2:20 pm

A lot of you readers are missing the point. My wife is a decent player but having a birdie opportunity is a rare event.. Most of the course we play, the women’s red tee is only about 30-50 yards closer than the men’s white, where I feel “rewarding”. The GIR rate for her is almost 0% in theory. I give her one shot every single hole just to make her feel fun, rewarding, or whatever you call it. Some even say those courses do it because they don’t want women to come because of the slow play… If not, let me ask you a question. Is it a lot more expensive to maintain the teeing grounds farther apart?

Reply Report comment
rex 235

Sep 7, 2019 at 1:11 pm

Barney-

Wasn’t it Roger Cleveland who in the Cleveland ad- “wanted to make golf more fun?”

And aren’t you the guy who wrote the Golf World article saying “The wood wood is dead?”

And now the company you sold out to- TaylorMade- makes a different Driver model every 3 months?

Especially when the NEW models featured by every company each year are exclusively RH Only?.

And having a subscription to Golfwrx featuring “New” equipment models you can’t ever get?

No..that isn’t fun.

Reply Report comment
- Geoffrey Holland
  
  Sep 7, 2019 at 4:00 pm
  
  The new models are not exclusively right-handed. And I’m a lefty so I pay attention to these things. You never get the full range that righties get for obvious reasons so stop whining.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Jake
  
  Sep 7, 2019 at 5:09 pm
  
  The “TM releases a new driver every three months” is going on 5 years since they actually did stuff like that.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Gerald Teigrob
  
  Sep 7, 2019 at 6:28 pm
  
  Take a chill pill or two and call your doctor in the morning! Get your facts straight before you comment next time! Did you know that Acushnet bought out TM since your dinosaur comment?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Bill
    
    Sep 7, 2019 at 11:23 pm
    
    Might want to check that. Adidas bought then sold TM. Achusnet once owned Titlest but it’s now owned by Fila. Acushnet never owned TM.
    
    Reply Report comment
The dude

Sep 7, 2019 at 11:03 am

Fun…rewarding …= semantics

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Doug McManus

Sep 7, 2019 at 10:54 am

Completely useless article, Golf is great fun with some highs and lows.
I can think of a better game. It is what you make of it!

Reply Report comment
Sebastien

Sep 7, 2019 at 7:07 am

Me and my dad have much more fun since I let him play front tee instead of giving him ‘shots’ in our family competition….

Reply Report comment
NoTalentLefty

Sep 6, 2019 at 9:42 pm

The peripherals of golf are fun. Fellowship, equipment wh0r1ng, etc. Barney has a point on the game itself. The challenges of well played shot is not about fun.

Reply Report comment
- JThunder
  
  Sep 9, 2019 at 5:27 am
  
  Tiger says you missed a comma after “equipment”.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Scott
    
    Sep 9, 2019 at 2:58 pm
    
    LOL!!!!
    
    Reply Report comment
Jeff

Sep 6, 2019 at 8:44 pm

Golf is what you make of it. If you suck and still have fun, then that’s great. I’m usually mad when I play bad, but its a fun game. IMHO of course.

Reply Report comment
- Rick
  
  Sep 6, 2019 at 11:18 pm
  
  Yes it is what you make it…after I hit 70 instead of moving up another tee box I just added a stroke to every par 4 and 5 and played them as 5 and 6 keeping even the longest par 3 still a 3. I took about a year for my mind to settle in but it did and I now an happy as heck hitting those numbers not maybe as a par but as what I can still do and have a fair chance to do on every hole.
  
  Reply Report comment
Ben Black

Sep 6, 2019 at 5:59 pm

This a lot of what I’ve seen in golf course set up for Amateur players.

Every week I play with two friends who are 30 years older than I. We play from forward mens tees. The Par 5s play like long par 4s for me and I’ll hit 4 iron and wedge to the par 4s. Why don’t I hit driver on the par 4s? Because the course will EAT YOU UP if you miss the fairway.

The two older guys hit it 160-180 yards (I GPS’d them on their asking – they were very disappointed it was not 220 yards.) The approach shots, if they hit the fairway,make it almost impossible for them to hit shots that are rewarding. On a 350 yard hole they hit a driver 180 then will have to hit another wood to an elevated green that has a deep bunker at front, bushes behind and scraggly rough all around.

Even hitting a wedge in from 60 yards can be hazardous with where they put the pins. Some are three paces off the edge of a bunker…

And the Par 3s for these guys are brutal. Three of them can measure 160-190 yards. Yes, that’s not long if you can hit your mid irons that far, but when can these guys play a fun par 3 that doesn’t involve their driver?

Sometimes I think the greenskeeper has watched golf on Sunday TV then decided to emulate it.
I’d rather have a short course with excellent greens than extra tee boxes and longer fairways to maintain. I can play from the back tees, but what’s it worth when your putts wibble wobble on bad greens?

Reply Report comment
- Simms
  
  Sep 6, 2019 at 11:25 pm
  
  The over 50 women have the same problem all the time once a course hits 5,200 or more they just cannot reach the greens in 2 on 4’s or 3 on 5’s…I have a very smart wife (over 65) she found a great Callaway wedge she hits 50 yards almost without fail and now has learned to play as close to that number then trying to run a 3 or 5 wood to roll a ball onto the green with the front bunker a real factor on those shots. It alone cut her handicap form 21 to 16 in less then 6 months…because women can one putt 100% more of the time then they can get out of a green side bunker.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Barney Adams
    
    Sep 8, 2019 at 11:15 pm
    
    I wrote from a male perspective because they are the majority and I have relevant data. There is actually a very interesting story on women’s tees and their location.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - ChipNRun
    
    Sep 9, 2019 at 4:56 pm
    
    My wife is 4-foot-9. Barney, she got a boxed set of Adams Ideas about four years ago. Custom fit by the woman in local GG shop, aided by two on-phone sessions with Fort Worth factory to ensure right flavor of petite. (Adams Golf – gone but not forgotten!)
    
    Anyway, she likes the clubs – especially those things call hybrids which were not available for her last fitting in 1989. (Nancy Lopez Square 2 Petites, FYI).
    
    So, when we prepare for vacation I purposely look for courses which are less than 5,000 yards from the women’s tees. This gives her some sub-300 yard par 4 holes and hopefully a couple of 95-yard par 3s. Something that gives her a chance to make bogies or an occasional par.
    
    As a caddie in the previous century and a player up until today, I was take aback by how little a distance break the women got on many of the courses. And of the courses built in the early 2000s, the 5400-yard women’s tees got augmented with shorter boxes about 5000 yards. But, these shorter boxes were merely a semi-flat place in the short rough with a couple of markers spiked into the ground. Not usually a true golf tee that others got to use.
    
    At our home course, a new greenskeeper came in two years ago. The original layout featured lots of exotic “splash” bunkers which were hard to play AND hard to maintain. Senior golfers and those below average height could injure themselves trying to climb down into these sand pits. I used to have to lower my wife into some of the bunkers, and then hand her a club to hit. The rebuilt bunkers for the most part are flat-bottom. The bank and lip may be several feet high, but at least you can walk in without spraining an ankle.
    
    Before the redo, rainy season made for tough bunker play, as soil pollution was a problem. In past seasons, the safest play was to pick the ball off the “sand” with a PW rather than blast out. Now, we have true bunkers to play from.
    
    So, golf goes from being challenging to grating when…
    * Course developers think the local public links can be the next Bethpage Black, and design it for US Open rather Wednesday morning seniors league.
    * So that golfers don’t exploit the lob wedge too easily, new layouts tend to have outlandish bunkers that the average person can’t handle.
    * Too aggressive a layout leads to… that scourge we dare not speak of out loud… SLOW PLAY!
    * The greens crew accidentally sets up the Thursday pins for a scramble, forgetting that it’s a medal play tournament for the local amateur circuit. The #13 hole gets thrown out of scoring because most golfers have a 3- or a 4-putt going after the funhouse cup. (Replay hole #1 and use it as a replacement)
    
    Reply Report comment
- Geoffrey Holland
  
  Sep 7, 2019 at 4:03 pm
  
  Obviously these guys should be playing from the forward tees. Don’t call them ladies tees. But they’re obviously not long enough to play where they are playing from.
  
  Reply Report comment
Tim

Sep 6, 2019 at 4:59 pm

People who hit it 200 are not hitting the ball with the middle of the face. Well struck, an 85mph swing can result in 212+ yard drive. 90mph can result in 225+.

Golf is more fun when you hit the ball further. Learn to hit the ball further.

Reply Report comment
- Barney Adams
  
  Sep 8, 2019 at 11:18 pm
  
  Dear Tim
  I have one word for you; age ! Ps your numbers are off!
  
  Reply Report comment
Bruce

Sep 6, 2019 at 4:26 pm

I play at an RTG facility in Mobile,Al., where the courses host many tour level events and Barney is very right about the design aspect as a big detriment to the 192’ers of the world. This is a quality layout but the local muni, Azalea City, is on older design and is booked solid with 192’ers and not because of cost. The 2 courses are virtually the same money when riding a cart. The reason is at RTG one is required on virtually every approach to hit a high shot with spin to an elevated green. On not one occasion will there be an opportunity to run a shot on the green. Not one. This is a choice in design and as a result the course is under subscribed while the muni is over run with play and conditioning suffers as a result. This parallel is endemic in golf. We are building courses for the most skilled players while ignoring those that are the majority.

Reply Report comment
JP

Sep 6, 2019 at 4:22 pm

Playing good or bad, it’s fun for me. It’s not a frustrating game unless that’s what you make it. For me, it’s a social game and I play with close friends that are awesome to hang out with. I can shoot 150 and I’d still have fun. Again, for me, it’s more about the company I keep than the score I shoot.

Reply Report comment
darrell

Sep 6, 2019 at 4:04 pm

Absolutely agree. Most players never break 90, some never break 100. Is that fun? Most play the wrong tees, ( if you’re not breaking 80), so how much fun is it, to never have a putt for a birdie? Of all the course designers, I prefer Arnold Palmer courses. In most cases, he leaves a “run up” option on most holes…..even the par 3’s. This helps players of all abilities……even pro’s might want to play a low running shot on a windy day.

Reply Report comment
BobbyG

Sep 6, 2019 at 3:25 pm

Adams golf products made the game fun for me.

Reply Report comment
Ryan

Sep 6, 2019 at 2:41 pm

The “fun” aspect of “playing” golf comes from shooting low scores and hitting solid shots. However, that isn’t the only aspect of the game. The true “fun” aspect comes from being outside on beautiful days playing a round with your buddies where you are constantly ribbing each other over the smallest things. Seeing a buddy duff a putt and everyone cracks up laughing. Winning a few skins on them and then treating them to a round at the 19th. Its the friendships that make the game fun for us averages. We aren’t trying to play on tour.

Reply Report comment
- Shallowface
  
  Sep 6, 2019 at 3:20 pm
  
  When I started as a youngster in the 1970s no one laughed at another player’s poor shots and there was no such thing as ribbing. It simply wasn’t tolerated. Fact is, it’s cruel and disrespectful, and just like when you point a finger at something and you have three pointing back at you, when it’s your turn to be ribbed it hurts three times worse than the amount of “fun” you got from whatever it was you inflicted on someone who alredy feels bad enough. I’ve had a number of young men tell me that the reason they stopped playing the game was that they could no longer tolerate the so-called good natured kidding from “buddies.” It’s unseemly, immature and it needs to disappear from the game. Grow up, kids.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Herman
    
    Sep 7, 2019 at 4:52 pm
    
    This made me laugh … hope I dint hurt your feelings
    
    Reply Report comment
  - JThunder
    
    Sep 9, 2019 at 5:33 am
    
    If you can’t take “good natured kidding” from your buddies during a leisure activity in which you are not a professional, and this forces you to quit the game, then you need psychiatric help. You’re taking a leisure activity WAY too seriously, and you’re heading for high blood pressure and other stress-induced illnesses.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - JThunder
      
      Sep 9, 2019 at 5:35 am
      
      I grew up in the 70s too, and kids could be brutal to each other. Teasing each other on the golf course would have been the least of anyone’s worries. Maybe you’re thinking of the 1950s, when kids weren’t allowed to speak without adult permission?
      
      Reply Report comment
StatGrad

Sep 6, 2019 at 1:53 pm

Just because one person sees it as rewarding doesn’t mean it’s not fun to others. Or some may even see it as both. No need to “Stop Calling It Fun.”

Reply Report comment
Fergie

Sep 6, 2019 at 1:47 pm

You bait people to play golf by saying it’s fun. The rewarding aspect doesn’t kick in until you’re hitting reasonable shots. It’s then that the rewarding aspect kicks in.

Reply Report comment
- JThunder
  
  Sep 9, 2019 at 5:24 am
  
  I hit the golf ball almost 100% of the time that I swing at it, and it usually stays in-bounds. The same cannot be said for the majority of people in a batter’s box, or playing tennis. The success rate of shooting a basketball or completing a pass are likewise much lower. Are we questioning whether all sports are “fun” or not?
  
  “Rewarding” being all about the score is akin to “success” being defined entirely by money.
  
  Reply Report comment
JThunder

Sep 6, 2019 at 12:28 pm

The real problem is not defining golf, but defining “fun”. “Fun” – like most everything else – has been relegated to lowest-common-denominator pursuits. A large demographic would define “fun” as attending Nascar and getting hammered; I would not.

Webster’s defines fun as “what provides amusement or enjoyment”… A lot of people find challenges “enjoyable” – bearing in mind, golf is 100% voluntary for most people who play it. But, yes, if you don’t enjoy this particular challenge, you’ll likely not play the game. (Most video games are challenging and mostly you die before you win; that doesn’t seem to hurt sales…)

Raise the next generation to view “enjoyment” differently. And to define words correctly (eg, “literally”).

Declines in golf participation have the most to do with money and time – in that order. The middle class has pathetically little of the first and a decreasing amount of the second because of it. A challenge is one thing; an expensive 4-6 hour challenge is another.

Reply Report comment
Acemandrake

Sep 6, 2019 at 11:56 am

A lot of older courses were designed with wide openings in front of the greens.

This allowed the option of playing a low, running approach shot; an option appreciated by us slower swingers.

Reply Report comment
- DB
  
  Sep 6, 2019 at 2:49 pm
  
  The old parks-style courses are great. Not only are they designed for an easy walk, but as you say most greens are wide open from the front. The only time you find a front bunker is maybe on a Par 5 or a short Par 3. There are no forced carries off the tee, it just wasn’t a thing. Slower swingers are free to play their 180-yard worm burner down the fairway on every hole.
  
  Reply Report comment
Tom Duckworth

Sep 6, 2019 at 10:37 am

When I come home from a round my wife asks if I had fun. I am never sure how to answer.

Reply Report comment
- GD
  
  Sep 6, 2019 at 12:28 pm
  
  So true.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Dennis
  
  Sep 8, 2019 at 1:02 am
  
  So true
  
  Reply Report comment

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

18 hours ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 LIV Adelaide betting preview: Cam Smith ready for big week down under

Published

18 hours ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.

For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.

The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.

The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.

*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*

Past Winners at LIV Adelaide

2023: Talor Gooch (-19)

Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami

Green in Regulation

Richard Bland
Jon Rahm
Paul Casey

Fairways Hit

Abraham Ancer
Graeme McDowell
Henrik Stenson

Driving Distance

Bryson DeChambeau
Joaquin Niemann
Dean Burmester

Putting

Cameron Smith
Louis Oosthuizen
Matt Jones

2024 LIV Adelaide Picks

Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)

When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.

At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.

The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.

Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)

Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.

In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.

For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.

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Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 1

Published

5 days ago

Apr 18, 2024

Terry Koehler

Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.

Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.

But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.

To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.

Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.

If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.

In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.

Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.

While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.

So, what about grooves and face texture?

Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.

Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.

But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?

The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.

So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.

And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.

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