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A ‘hole’ new ball game
Hamel believes that new comers to the
game could create the future.
David Newbery
[email protected]
“Think about it – it wasn’t the record labels
that invented iTunes, it wasn’t the movie
studios that gave us Net flicks, it wasn’t the
telecom giants that gave us Skype, it wasn’t
the banking industry that came up with
PayPal,” he said.
H
AVING a hole larger than a dinner
plate could be the answer to golf’s
growth problems, according to
TaylorMade CEO Mark King.
King said golf was been in a state of decline
because “the game lacks innovation”.
“What really matters is not resources,
not how big you are, it’s resourcefulness.
Innovation is always a numbers game.
So convinced is King the 15-inch (38.1cm)
cup is a way to attract new players that
TaylorMade has committed $US5m to fund
the experiment over five years.
“It’s hard to invent the future unless you
have a way of creating thousands of new
strategic options.
Golf purists reading this will no doubt be
loosening their club ties and trying not to spill
their gin and tonics.
Still, King is pushing on and has even
created a website, hackgolf.org, to generate
ideas about how to get more people playing
golf and make the game more fun.
“We need to come together not through
the same lens that we have all been looking at
this game for the past 30 years,” he said.
“We need to create a new lens – a lens
that allows us to see a game maybe we can’t
picture.
“We need new ideas, new innovations and
new reasons for people to get off the couch
and start playing again.
“Maybe we could use a global community
to generate ideas.
Sergio Garcia and Hack Golf show how a 15-inch cup may represent the future of golf.
millions of people who play traditional golf,”
he said.
So, can traditional golf and new innovations
co-exist?
“But what harm is there in offering an
alternative?”
Gary Hamel, a world-renowned business
strategist, thinks they can.
The oversized hole would be ideal for
corporate and charity event, which often
attract novice golfers.
“My gosh, can golf be tough,” he said.
PGA of America president Ted Bishop said
time-poor golfers needed a new product.
“Every single person has their story of when
golf captured their imagination … when it
captured their heart.
“We need to come up with something that
is a golf experience – something that is 30, 45,
60 or 90 minutes.”
“Our role is to ensure that generations to
come have the same opportunity to enjoy and
love the game we all love.”
In the US, 25 per cent of golfers who played
at least eight rounds a year, have quit the
game.
King has the support of the PGA of America
and the National Golf Foundation.
“That’s one out of four,” said National Golf
Foundation CEO Joe Beditz.
Right after the Masters, King invited Sergio
Garcia and Justin Rose to a round where 15inch cups were in play.
“We’ve lost five million out of 30 million
golfers over the last 10 years.
The bigger holes were added at a US
country club and King found they reduced the
length of an 18-hole round by 45 minutes.
“No one is trying to drive away the many
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July 2014 | www.insidegolf.com.au
Those core golfers are responsible for over
90 per cent of spending and rounds played in
golf.
“The research tells us the answer is very
simple – they are just not having fun.”
“There’s so many rules, all those intimidating
rituals, the puzzling kind of etiquette and the
stuffy elitism.
“The goal for Hack Golf is to identify and
address those barriers that are keeping
millions from enjoying the game and that are
keeping millions more from even giving it a
try.
“Here and there you see some notable
efforts on the way to accelerate the pace of
play, to experiment with new course layouts,
with new competitive formats to try to expand
the demographic reach of the sport, but
clearly there is scope for a lot more.
“That’s why we are launching Hack Golf.”
King says the same industry people are
looking at the same problems and coming up
with the same solutions.
“It’s time to open ourselves up to new ideas.”
“In Hack Golf we want to share the
challenge of reinvigorating this game with
anybody who cares and make sure that 10, 20,
50, 100 years from now golf will forever be the
greatest game.”
The PGA of America believes team