“Are you really going to turn on to 72-hole stroke play in Rio when Usain Bolt is running the 100m?”
/Roger Blitz of the Financial Times files this week's "golf is in a rut" story and while he doesn't break a whole lot of new ground, the quotes from IMG's Guy Kinnings about the disparate number of governing bodies and this about the missed opportunity with Olympic golf were worth reading.
Golf is crying out for innovation: its return to the Olympics for the first time since 1904 was a heaven-sent opportunity. Yet the format at Rio 2016 will be the traditional four rounds of stroke play. “The Olympics was a huge opportunity to create a whole new audience, a chance to create an exciting new format,” bemoans Marc Player.
“Are you really going to turn on to 72-hole stroke play in Rio when Usain Bolt is running the 100m?”
Innovation is regarded with suspicion in golf’s establishment. It is of only limited concern to the professional tours who are more interested in amateurs watching the game on TV rather than playing it.
As one tour official said: “Is participation crucial? To manufacturers and golf courses, but not to us.”
