Gary Player is perhaps the most qualified person in the whole planet to speak on the state modern golf finds itself in.
The Black Knight’s status in the game is unparalleled – winner of nine Majors on the regular Tour, winner of nine Majors on the Seniors Tour, spokesperson of various golf-related organisations and businesses and a very successful businessman and course designer himself.
But the No1 reason why nobody even comes close to Player in golfing wisdom is the amount of travel the South African legend has done – as a player, and now for his various business and charity causes.
No wonder HSBC, one of the biggest sponsors of the game – their portfolio includes the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship – chose Player as their spokesperson for the new research they commissioned on the future of the game, called ‘Golf’s 2020 Vision’.
Joy Chakravarty met the legend during his recent visit to the 141st Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Anne’s, and discussed various issues facing the game and the business connected to it.
According to you, what is the biggest issue facing the game, and the way it is affecting the whole business?
The biggest issue in the game right now is the ball. It just travels too far, and it is very dangerous for the whole business of golf. At every course around the world, the pros are hitting the ball too far.
At Sun City, where they host the Nedbank Challenge, which used to be the largest money tournament in the world for many years, (Jack) Nicklaus came the first time and he hit a driver and then a 1-iron into the 10th hole and everyone was in awe.
Nowadays, they hit a driver and a 5-iron, and they don’t hit the ball any further than Nicklaus did. If you put Nicklaus and Tiger Woods together in their prime and give them the same age, the same equipment and same ball, there would be nothing between them.
And how does it affect the whole business?
I will tell you how. In my travels, I visit hundreds of golf courses every year. And each one of them is obsessed on renovating their courses and making them longer. They all dream that one day they will host a championship, and given the way Tour schedules are, most of them have absolutely no chance of that.
But they all want to spend millions of dollars in renovating their golf course. When they make it longer, they make it more difficult for their members, and a majority of golf clubs today are facing a big problem in retaining their members. The money spent is a wasted expense.
The R&A and the USGA should be cutting the ball back. All the problems will be solved if they bring the ball back 50 yards.
But even the amateurs love the feeling when they hit the ball a few extra yards?
The problem is that the golf’s governing bodies think that golf is not too different a game for the amateurs and the professionals…but it is completely different.
If they don’t think so, then they should go out and watch Tiger Woods. Amateurs only dream of playing like that. The professional game is so far apart from the game amateurs play, it’s unbelievable.
What I suggest is leave all the technology for the amateurs and let them hit the ball 50 yards further… they will be in rough more, anyway. Let them enjoy it.
But in professional golf, we have to do something to stop this trend. We are going the wrong way.
In the HSBC report, ‘Golf’s 2020 Vision’, you predicted that the game will be dominated by Asian golfers by 2020. In fact, you expect half of the top-10 in the world rankings to be from that continent.
I think we are already seeing the change. Honestly, I never even dreamt that a 14-year-old boy will qualify for the US Open one day. And who was that? Andy Zhang, a Chinese!
And did anyone think 10 years ago that a Chinese girl will win a Major on the LPGA Tour? None, I am sure. Shanshan Feng won the LPGA Championship earlier this year and she is just 22. You mark my words…there will be more Asian players in the world top-10 than from any other continent in the next 8-10 years.
I have been to various parts of Asia, and the interest in golf among the kids there is phenomenal. I was in India a few weeks ago where I am designing a golf course near New Delhi. As part of it, I asked the club that I wanted to conduct a clinic for children. It was put together quickly, but I was shocked to see more than 300 children turning up for it. And some of them were exceptionally talented. The story is the same when I go to China.
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