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Olympics won't change golf's participation, equipment problems
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Silly me. I was going to play golf this weekend until the sport today was accepted into the 2016 Rio Olympics. I figure the golf courses will just be too crowded now that International Olympic Committee has legitimized golf, not to mention Ty Votaw. I also was going to look at maybe getting a new driver. Not now. I'm sure the retail stores and green shops will be sold out now that golf is an Olympic sport. After all, isn't that what golf's leaders have told us? Put golf in the Olympics and the game will grow beyond anybody's belief.
Yeah, right. If you really believe that then I have some some nice bottom land for sale in the Brazilian jungle.
Let's see. Annika Sorenstam called the IOC's announcement "a great birthday gift. Love ya, Aniika. Happy 39th.That's something to really celebrate.
Ian Poulter called the nod "awesome to grow the game of golf,'' but gave no details as to how.that might happen.
And Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Billy Payne, chairman of the 1996 Atlanta Olypics, called the IOC's acceptance a "historic moment.'' Uh, okay. But I thought historic moments were something like Barack Obama's election as President of the United States or Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. Describing the IOC's accepting a sport - any sport - into its fold as 'historic'' is just ridiculous. Synchorinzed Believing that having golf in the 2016 Olympics - or any Olympics - will grow the game in terms of participation and equipment sales is even more foolish.
How much has tennis benefited from being an Olympic sport? Not much, if any. Has soccer grown in the U.S. because it's an Olympic sport? Nope. Don't even get me started on curling.
Golf equipment companies won't sell one more club or one more ball because golf is an Olympic sport. The muni down the street, already struggling because of the bad economy and declining participation, won't book one more round because Tiger Woods now has the chance to add a golf medal to his trophy case. The same with the high-end private club behind the rent-a-cop gates. It will not share one more membership because the IOC has christened golf an Olympic sport.
The golf industy's problems when it comes to issues such as drops in rounds-played, golf course closing and sagging equipment sales, won't go away because Billy Payne has declared that history has been made.
Sad thing is, there will be many in the golf industry who will try to make you believe that today's announcement will be the start of solving those problems. Don't believe them.
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