Join The Revolution (Part 2)

      Do you really think that golf is a dying sport?  I honestly don't know how anyone can accept that.  Like all things on this planet the growth of the game and the game itself goes in a cycle.  The good thing about that cycle is that it is also on a line and the line is trending upward. We have hit a trough with the low point being around the year 2010, but now that trend is in a steadily and strongly moving upward. It is a gigantic time for golf.  We are in earthshaking  and revolutionary times.  COME JOINT THE REVOLUTION!
      I remember the days when we had the big names in golf.  The names were Palmer, Player, Nicklaus, Watson and Trevino.  But many don't remember the times before these guys were so famous.  There was a lull in golf.  Critics thought that the game that was filled with the names like Nelson, Hogan, Sarazen and Snead were passing their prime. Golf was dead, it was written and there were no more stars in the game. Along came Arnold Palmer and the others which saw an explosion in the games popularity and play.
      When the famous players of the Nicklaus/Palmer years became less competitive as they aged, there were no "stand out" dominant group of players.  That is not to say that there weren't great players, its just that there was no one big name player that was truly dominant. It was said that golf was dead.  Along came Tiger Woods and the game witnessed a growth in play that was unprecedented.
     Tiger Woods gets hurt and has his "life" troubles.  He is no longer the dominant player in golf. Uh-oh, what do we do now?  Golf is dead.  It will never recover without the likes of Tiger. Golf is a boring sport and takes too long.  There just isn't enough excitement in the game now that Tiger is gone.  What do we do.  This has never happened before.
      The fact of the matter is, it has happened before.  It happened when Bobby Jones retired from golf.  It happened in the late 50's when Byron Nelson, Sam Snead and the great Ben Hogan were passing out of their prime.  It happened after the Palmer/Nicklaus years. The critics wrote and said that golf was dead because there would never be another Jack Nicklaus or Tom Watson or Gary Player or Lee Trevino. Then Tiger came along. Wow, Did things ever change.  It was suddenly "hip" to play golf again.
      Things are rapidly changing.  We are witnessing the rise of "The Young Guns".  We now don't just have one player that dominates the game and can just about win everything enter, but several. You know their names--Rory, Jordan, Ricky, Jason and Bubba.  These guys are GOOD! They are young and just now beginning their careers. I feel very fortunate to have lived through all these great golf eras, except Bobby Jones of course--I'm old, but not that old.  What a time to be a follower of the game of golf. It is truly awe inspiring. New names are coming up such as Bryson DeChambeau. The game is healthy, lives on,  is stronger than ever and growing steadily.
      That's my opinion as far as the competition in the tour is concerned.  What is happening at the level of the average golfer who goes out for their Sunday round?  The revolution has arrived at that level as well. I will have more about that in a future post. I will be away from my computer tomorrow so look for it.
Until then, JOIN THE REVOLUTION!

Rocco Mediate and I.  Rocco is a great guy and golf ambassador. It was a pleasure meeting him.