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posted by Woods on Tuesday April 22 2014, @05:43PM   Printer-friendly
from the no-pizza-was-harmed dept.

The NYT reports that golf courses across the country are experimenting with 15 inch golf holes the size of pizzas to stop people from quitting the game amid reports that golf has lost five million players in the last decade with 20 percent of the existing 25 million golfers apt to quit in the next few years. "We've got to stop scaring people away from golf by telling them that there is only one way to play the game and it includes these specific guidelines," says Ted Bishop, president of the PGA of America. "We've got to offer more forms of golf for people to try. We have to do something to get them into the fold, and then maybe they'll have this idea it's supposed to be fun."

A 15-inch-hole event was held at the Reynolds Plantation resort last week featuring top professional golfers Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose, the defending United States Open champion. "A 15-inch hole could help junior golfers, beginning golfers and older golfers score better, play faster and like golf more," says Garcia, who shot a six-under-par 30 for nine holes in the exhibition. Another alternative is foot golf, in which players kick a soccer ball from the tee to an oversize hole, counting their kicks. Still it is no surprise that not everyone agrees with the burgeoning alternative movement to make golf more user-friendly. "I don't want to rig the game and cheapen it," says Curtis Strange, a two-time United States Open champion and an analyst for ESPN. "I don't like any of that stuff. And it's not going to happen either. It's all talk."

 
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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by iwoloschin on Tuesday April 22 2014, @05:49PM

    by iwoloschin (3863) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @05:49PM (#34468)

    I've tried regular golf and hated it. Then my brother took me to a disc golf course, and while I'm not any better at disc golf, it was a lot more fun. The goals (equivalent of holes in real golf) are a little larger than pizza sized, but also have a bunch of chains to help stop the frisbee and drop it into the basket so long as your shot is relatively close. If there were more disc golf courses around me (Boston, MA) I'd definitely play, but it seems like most places around here cater towards real golf. Something about executives not wanting to go hang out with a bunch of stoned college students.

    • (Score: 1) by thoughtlover on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:36PM

      by thoughtlover (3247) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:36PM (#34544) Journal

      While I was pretty good at (ball) golf, I really shined with disc golf (please don't call it 'frolf', as a Wham-O Frisbee is never used --not in tournament play, at least).

      The main problem with golf is it's too damn expensive and requires one to wear ridiculous clothing!

      • (Score: 1) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:44PM

        by Jeremiah Cornelius (2785) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:44PM (#34555) Journal

        Let's regulate a 5mm hole.

        The result will be one of immense satisfaction, I should think. :-)

        --
        You're betting on the pantomime horse...
      • (Score: 5, Interesting) by anubi on Wednesday April 23 2014, @12:12AM

        by anubi (2828) on Wednesday April 23 2014, @12:12AM (#34651) Journal

        I think you hit the nail on the head.

        As far as I had seen, golf was mostly an excuse for men to get somewhere in private, away from all distractions, to discuss business. It could be verified by each individual that the conversations they were having were private.

        Golf has several things going against it. One, there is the hit of the economy on the middle class, which has severely impacted a lot of people with any "leisure time" to spend on a golf course. Another is the perception that golf is elitist, just as you point out, and in the event a company is doing poorly, it does not make for good press to see its leaders out putting a ball while their company is going down a dumpster.

        My guess is that "hunting tours" are apt to replace golf as a venue for business discussions. One cannot be too sure, with today's technologies, that meeting places are not bugged. A party of individuals can still go to random places to have business discussions with a low likelihood of being eavesdropped upon. The golf course had been favored for that, but I believe it is being replaced not only for cost but also for the appearance of frivolous expense as times get tight.

        --
        "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 22 2014, @05:55PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 22 2014, @05:55PM (#34474)

    Are we going to post all the Lame stories from that other site?

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by Tork on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:22PM

      by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:22PM (#34493)
      You seriously cannot think of any way this story could lead to an interesting conversation?
      --
      🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
      • (Score: 3, Funny) by VLM on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:58PM

        by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:58PM (#34522)

        I was expecting this to devolve into commentary about goatse sized golf holes and have thus far been disappointed.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by edIII on Tuesday April 22 2014, @08:32PM

        by edIII (791) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @08:32PM (#34579)

        Exactly. There is an extremely strong parallel between Golf and IT.

        Both are extremely fucking boring and tedious sometimes with a smattering of curse words and equipment smashed to the ground. At the end of the day, we are both drinking heavily from the experience. Ohhh, and a whole slew of products that promise to make it easier, but were designed by sociopathic morons, don't work, and you get ridiculed for buying *that* club.

        Their problem is that Golf is fucking boring as hell. It's entirely unwatchable unless you are either a golfer yourself, or stoned out of your mind. I believe George Carlin said it was like "watching flys fuck on a wall".

        You know what isn't boring? Miniature golf.

        It may well be the redneck version of Golf, but by golly, if I could be out right now as a grown adult, I would be trying to take some woman miniature golfing. The balls are colored, there are engineered obstacles, and you're never more than 200ft from beer or a urinal.

        I want televised Miniature Golf tournaments where some slob from accounting is playing against a 6 year old girl for the Grand Masters and $1 million in prize money. Slob loses his cool when the ball comes out the wrong hole to guarantee him par, and the girl wins the whole thing destroying him. I would watch the shit out of that. I dare say, I might even pay for it.

        --
        Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
        • (Score: 2) by Tork on Tuesday April 22 2014, @08:41PM

          by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 22 2014, @08:41PM (#34582)
          I'd also say you could connect the topic to UI or even game design.
          --
          🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 03 2014, @11:29AM

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    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Lagg on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:42PM

      by Lagg (105) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:42PM (#34508) Homepage Journal

      Yes so very insightful this post is. As if people submitting the stories are supposed to know if slashdot already has it despite a majority of those users swearing off slashdot permanently. As if the users who also swore it off are supposed to know it's a dupe too along with the editors who almost definitely swore it off. Really though, it's not like this type of site has any use other than an article aggregator right!? I'm in it for the articles. The sexy discussions are just a secondary feature you know!

      --
      http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 02 2014, @12:37PM

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    • (Score: 2) by istartedi on Tuesday April 22 2014, @10:05PM

      by istartedi (123) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @10:05PM (#34611) Journal

      At the rate they're going we may have to. I can't hit that "other site" at all today.
      Not sure why. A few people on Twitter noted problems too, so it's not just me. Trace dies
      somewhere after savvis.net. Not sure if it's savvis fault or their server.

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
      • (Score: 2) by anubi on Wednesday April 23 2014, @02:30AM

        by anubi (2828) on Wednesday April 23 2014, @02:30AM (#34677) Journal

        I am having no luck getting to Slashdot either. For those of you who want to trace it yourself...

        Traceroute to YOU [network-tools.com]

        --
        "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
    • (Score: 2) by Non Sequor on Wednesday April 23 2014, @02:47AM

      by Non Sequor (1005) on Wednesday April 23 2014, @02:47AM (#34686) Journal

      What's lame about golf going down the tubes? Get with the schadenfreude!

      --
      Write your congressman. Tell him he sucks.
    • (Score: 2) by Skarjak on Wednesday April 23 2014, @04:25AM

      by Skarjak (730) on Wednesday April 23 2014, @04:25AM (#34712)

      Especially since this is hardly related to tech. I just went to the other site; the front page was full of interesting tech news... Apple sitting on a cache of saphire it plans to use in its devices? Why don't we have this instead of this non-story about golf!? That's legitimately interesting.

      Is it possible that due to the circumstances leading to the creation of this site, we have selected for people who care about politics but know less about tech? The tech-minded folks who don't give a damn about politics would have stayed on the old site, I feel.

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by RobotMonster on Tuesday April 22 2014, @05:59PM

    by RobotMonster (130) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @05:59PM (#34476) Journal

    Golf, like most sports, can be improved with the addition of land-mines.
    Obviously these should only be used for professional tournaments; amateurs should start with caltrops and concealed bear traps.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by JeanCroix on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:00PM

      by JeanCroix (573) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:00PM (#34478)

      caltrops and concealed bear traps.

      If it had concealed bears, I'd start watching such tournaments. From a safe distance.

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Sir Garlon on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:04PM

      by Sir Garlon (1264) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:04PM (#34480)

      Would scantily-clad cheerleaders help?

      --
      [Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
      • (Score: 2) by Angry Jesus on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:35PM

        by Angry Jesus (182) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:35PM (#34503)

        > Would scantily-clad cheerleaders help?

        They already tried that, didn't go over very well. [theguardian.com]

      • (Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:34PM

        by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:34PM (#34541)

        Speaking of that, the semi-formal dress codes for "real" golf sound impossible for an outdoor sport in 90+ degree 100% humidity weather, especially when the miniature golf course used to run a promotion for adults only ladies night where ladies working on their suntan (aka in a bikini) got to golf for free between dinner time when they converted to adults only, and sundown, which is like 9pm if you live far enough north. One of the local courses promoted it as ladies free luau party night and the other local course competed with advertising for swimsuit Saturday night or something like that. These events were insanely popular in my college age single years, standing room only, maybe real golf could take a hint and not have a dress code requiring a tuxedo, bow tie, and top hat in midsummer or whatever ridiculous requirements. I'm not going all extreme and suggesting every course should look like homeless people and strippers all the time, but at least occasionally when its 100F and sunny they might get more players if they allowed "normal" clothes for those temperatures instead of stubborn adherence to the dress code that probably came initially from winter in Scotland.

      • (Score: 1) by J053 on Tuesday April 22 2014, @10:06PM

        by J053 (3532) <dakineNO@SPAMshangri-la.cx> on Tuesday April 22 2014, @10:06PM (#34612) Homepage
        Scantily-clad cheerleaders always make anything better!
    • (Score: 2) by sjames on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:20PM

      by sjames (2882) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:20PM (#34491) Journal

      But the other players get anti aircraft guns. Beginners get a limited supply of surface to air missiles.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:55PM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:55PM (#34518) Homepage

      Wait, they're calling golf a sport now?!

      I thought it was just an excuse to drink beer.

      Next they'll start calling fishing a sport. Ha!

      • (Score: 1) by bolek_b on Wednesday April 23 2014, @12:37AM

        by bolek_b (1460) on Wednesday April 23 2014, @12:37AM (#34657)

        These days, we are calling golf an olympic sport. Such label doesn't bring many advantages (IMO); on the other hand, there will be various downsides (random antidoping checks at various amateur tournaments, well-known evil marketing restrictions by IOC...)

        Anyway, I have to say that I am pretty much addicted to golf. Boring round? I have never experienced one - my skill level always takes me to places where no one has gone before and the rescue is an adventure by itself.

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday April 23 2014, @03:57AM

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday April 23 2014, @03:57AM (#34705) Journal

        I thought it was just an excuse to drink beer.

        Wait... is drinking beer not a sport?
        And only now you are telling me? After spending so many years of intense training?
        I mean, look at my belly - a perfect six pack [fc2.com] one - and all of this for nothing?!?

        Depressing - I think I'll switch to vodka, with an occasional rum [wikipedia.org] for RnR.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 5, Funny) by weeds on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:17PM

    by weeds (611) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:17PM (#34488) Journal

    Here's a few more:

    Basketball:
    Lower the rim
    Make the rim larger
    Make the court smaller

    Football:
    Make the field shorter
    Make hitting illegal

    Hockey:
    Make the goal bigger
    Make the ice smaller - on second thought, get rid of the ice (too hard to learn to skate)
    Make hitting illegal

    Soccer:
    Make the field smaller
    Make the goal bigger

    Baseball:
    Get rid of the pitcher from the other team, let your pitcher pitch to you
    Make the field smaller

    And for all sports - In order to increase scoring (and fun!) why don't we just get rid of the other team? Keep score (since you always win) and everyone gets a trophy, because everyone is a winner!

    • (Score: 1) by Qzukk on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:30PM

      by Qzukk (1086) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:30PM (#34500) Journal

      Alternatively we could turn them all into grueling death matches until there is only one player left who nobody will stand against.

      And then lose all the ticket sales and TV advertisement revenue.

      Personally, I think the entire argument is misguided. The quitters are probably making their decision based on the economy rather than any perceived difficulty.

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by dotdotdot on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:42PM

      by dotdotdot (858) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:42PM (#34509)
      All the sports you mentioned are team sports with offenses and defenses. The difficulty level is based on your opponent so amateurs have the same relative level of competition as professionals. In golf, the difficulty level is the course. This idea makes sense to lower the barrier of entry for new participants until they are at the level where they can compete on a traditional course.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:23PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:23PM (#34533)

        In golf, the difficulty level is the course.

        As well as those obnoxiously boring folks one must share the course with, known as golfers.

        • (Score: 3, Funny) by Snow on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:32PM

          by Snow (1601) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:32PM (#34538) Journal

          You are golfing with the wrong people. Golf is about getting outside and smoking cigars, drinking, and maybe a joint or two while driving the cart around. The actual golf is just an excuse to be there.

      • (Score: 2) by weeds on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:53PM

        by weeds (611) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:53PM (#34561) Journal

        Fair enough, but I don't agree 100%. Certainly you are trying to improve against the course, but I am pretty sure you are competing against other golfers.

    • (Score: 1) by tierack on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:51PM

      by tierack (810) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:51PM (#34516)

      Many of those ideas are currently being used amateur fields all across the country! Parks don't all have regulation basketball courts or soccer fields. Football is played every day in parks where hitting is illegal, and they're not running even close to 100-yards for a touchdown. At friendly games of baseball, you can hear batters telling the pitcher how to pitch, increasing their chances of hitting a home run on a field that is remarkably smaller than Yankee Stadium.

      None of those changes are about making "everyone a winner". They're about lowering the difficultly level so that more people have the chance to enjoy the essential game. Those who want a greater challenge always have rungs up the ladder to climb.

      • (Score: 2) by weeds on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:50PM

        by weeds (611) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:50PM (#34558) Journal

        That is a good point and I went kind of around it. Certainly it is a matter of loss of income.

      • (Score: 2) by weeds on Tuesday April 22 2014, @08:01PM

        by weeds (611) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @08:01PM (#34564) Journal

        Well done. I was thinking of the top level game. Since they had a quote from a pro golfer in there I jumped to pro sports. Of course the article was talking about amateur players.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by marcello_dl on Tuesday April 22 2014, @09:26PM

      by marcello_dl (2685) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @09:26PM (#34601)

      Intriguing ideas... I vote for golf with pizza-size holes and pizza-size balls and pizza-size clubs and pizza-size field with pizza-size players.

      The winner gets spaghetti.

    • (Score: 2) by zim on Tuesday April 22 2014, @10:33PM

      by zim (1251) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @10:33PM (#34618)
      If we wait long enough, and lower the bar far enough...

      Don't play. Declare yourself the world champion!

      Yay! Trophys for everyone!
  • (Score: 5, Funny) by skullz on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:23PM

    by skullz (2532) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:23PM (#34495)

    I'm not a fan of sports at all unless it involves some kind of flame thrower or robotic exoskeleton but GOLF? Srsly? Managers play golf. Its like organized manager fighting. Only tame.

    Again, I have no idea what golf is really like but that won't stop me from having on opinion.

  • (Score: 2) by Lagg on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:37PM

    by Lagg (105) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:37PM (#34505) Homepage Journal

    On one hand, removing part of what makes a game challenging is kind of silly but given the sort of people who usually play the game I can see why they want to. Then there's also the remark that Randall Munroe made (and I agree with) along the lines of "should we really listen to the guidelines of a game that brought white only clubs into the 21st century". Golf and the people around it had no integrity from the offset really, so why should they stop there.

    --
    http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
  • (Score: 5, Informative) by starcraftsicko on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:40PM

    by starcraftsicko (2821) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:40PM (#34507) Journal

    It's worth pointing out that the cost to play golf is fairly substantial. You're not going to get a decent set of clubs for much less than $500... and really $1000 is closer and still not top end. And the ancillary equipment is not exactly cheap either -- shoes, gloves, golf balls, bag, 6 different kinds of putter...

    On top of that, the cost to actually play a round once you've made the capital investment can still be substantial. The local public course charges $42/person plus $30 for a (optional, but advisable) cart. Call it $110 per outing for two... and that doesn't include a meal and a drink (or 3) after the game.

    Poker night is cheaper even if I lose every hand.

    And lest we forget - On Golf [youtube.com].

     

    --
    This post was created with recycled electrons.
    • (Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:08PM

      by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:08PM (#34526)

      On the other hand, locally there are (were?) not one, but two miniature golf courses within a 15 minute drive of home, with adult evening hours, alcohol sales, and no dress code (so the women show off a bit more, especially when its around 100 F outside in August). A round takes less than an hour. Back in the single days I took dates there. They also had no-alcohol teen nights which I attended as a teen. And its a lot less than $110 and no upfront capital expense. Also, unlike "real golf", miniature golf is actually fun, especially WRT adults only evenings and alcohol sales and dating. They attempt to limit absolute debauchery (no fun!) by only selling one drink per purchased round of golf, in other words about one drink per hour, which leads to people giving away free golf rounds occasionally if they're really thirsty.

    • (Score: 2) by zim on Tuesday April 22 2014, @10:40PM

      by zim (1251) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @10:40PM (#34622)
      Thats my take on why golf is losing players. The cost. It's not cheap. And less people have the money to blow for no gain anymore.

      And public courses are closing or going private all over around here.
      Membership required. Public not welcome. You need to pay us a large chunk of cash to even have a chance to come in here.

      That and it's really not a 'friendly' game. The few times i got dragged out to play. Most of the people i met were really not very nice at all. Took their 'sport' VERY serious. And were very snobbish to everyone.

      The exceptions are when you go as a group with the goal to get drunk in the sun. But there again. The cost factor. You can get drunk alot cheaper than at a golf course.
  • (Score: 1) by Hankenstein on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:47PM

    by Hankenstein (3838) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @06:47PM (#34514)

    Granted I hate golf but the biggest barrier for me is the time required. It takes me 4 1/2 to 5 hours to play a round of golf (and all I can think afterwards is that I want that time back). Tennis 2 hours, jogging 1 hour, frisbee golf 2 hours, mountain bike ride 3 hours max. Skiing is about the only sport I like to do that uses up a similar amount of time.

  • (Score: 2) by hubie on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:00PM

    by hubie (1068) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 22 2014, @07:00PM (#34524) Journal

    Why don't they add windmills in front of the holes too?

  • (Score: 1) by mvar on Tuesday April 22 2014, @09:06PM

    by mvar (2539) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @09:06PM (#34593)

    "Really getting tired of these golfing cocksuckers [youtube.com]. Golf is an arrogant elitist game and it takes too much room. Ever watched a golf game in TV? its like watching flies fuck"
    So yeah, fuck golf and everyone involved in it

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 22 2014, @09:21PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 22 2014, @09:21PM (#34595)

    isn't miniature golf supposed to be way ween people into full blown golf? miniature golf is cheaper, and easier, and friends can cheat if they feel the rules are rigid. i think golf as a sport is going to die with its current players.

  • (Score: 1) by number6 on Tuesday April 22 2014, @11:49PM

    by number6 (1831) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @11:49PM (#34646) Journal

    One of my favorite sporting pastimes to play with a fellow 'sporting friend' is Soccer Tennis.

    Requirements:

      - A soccer ball + A hard tennis court (hard is preferable to grass because the ball bounces higher) + A friend

    Rules:

      - Serving: Hold the ball in your hands, boot it over the net in a gentlemanly fashion giving the other player some chance to return it. If the serve is completely not returnable, the receiver demands a re-serve and advises his friend to chill out and have fun 'together'.

      - Match Play: Touching the ball with any part of your arm is not allowed at any time. The ball is allowed to bounce twice (at most). The first bounce MUST be within the court boundaries for play to continue. The second bounce can be outside the court boundaries but on the same side of the net. You can return the ball without letting it bounce (aka Volley).

      - Notes: You can juggle loft and play with the ball between the 1st and 2nd bounces a little bit---within reason, AND NOT with the intention of trying to break a juggling world record, completely ignoring your opponents presence and holding up play because your ego got the better of you. The whole point of the game is to have fun 'together', build up a sweat, show off a bit of skill with a soccer ball and to win with panache and a gentlemanly attitude.

  • (Score: 1) by GeriatricGentleman on Tuesday April 22 2014, @11:55PM

    by GeriatricGentleman (1192) on Tuesday April 22 2014, @11:55PM (#34649)

    ...I play golf. I enjoy it. For a while I was even quite good, but only hack about a few times a year these days.

    Guess I am luckier than many - golf here is ~$10 to play out in the countryside (sheep mow the course) but is typically an hours drive or so. Costs more like $35 to play in the city on a public course. Definitions are a bit different here too - private courses pretty much let anyone play except for Sat mornings (but can be pricey - from $20 -> $300). Goes without saying that members only courses (of which there are very few in this country) are packed full of wankers by and large (I have played a couple in interclub competitions).

    Anyway, cos it is cheap it used to be really common for pretty much anyone who could walk to play now and then. Not so much these days. But no stigma if you rock up to the tee with a $30 set of clubs. Hell, I played with a $50 set of clubs until I was on a single figure handicap (and had some spare cash from my alcohol budget for better kit!). So it can be done for less than outrageous money.

    For beginners, play with mates and cheat outrageously. Want more? play nine holes at a time with some members. Want an introduction to competition? play ambrose (with a high handicap you will be hugely popular!).

    I like golf cos it is ok to suck - and with your handicap you can compete with people way better than you without making it boring for them. As long as you try not to damage the course and respect other peoples right to focus on their game it can be a pleasant way to spend some time.

    But large holes? I don't think I like the idea. I am not sure I see the point of putting for beginners anyway - sure tap/whack a few around the green, but no need to actually put it in the hole (just ends up taking too much time and making people around you grouchy) - and the reward for actual players is kind of lost. I like thinking that I birdied a hole that pro's struggle on (even if I made a mess of the rest), but playing a different sort of golf course kind of takes that from me.

    Anyway, I am most amused that there seems to be a common thread here that golf sucks and is an elitist sport. My wife will be thrilled that I actually have some sort of social status in some peoples eyes (she is Chinese - perception of social status matters!)...so thanks!

  • (Score: 1) by sibiday fabis on Wednesday April 23 2014, @06:11AM

    by sibiday fabis (2160) on Wednesday April 23 2014, @06:11AM (#34736)

    The sign out front says:

    "Barnyard Golf is the name of the game.

    From the tee to the green, it's the same.

    Upon the tee, there's no hole,

    Tunk the can, that's your goal!"

    The most fun I ever had playing golf. A nine-hole course in an old rolling apple orchard. The property owners set it up for pure fun on their back 40. Anyone could come and play a round or three.

    Some holes were short and easy - didn't even have to set down your beer as you could use a pitching wedge one-handed to make par. Others were challenging par 5's on steep side slopes. At each pin, there wasn't a cup. There would be an inverted milk can, washtub, paint can or the like. Just hit it with the ball, hence the "tunk the can" in the motto. No green fees, just a donation box for mowing costs. Always a blast! It was a challenging course in some sections and helped develop some useful skills.

    It was pure fun, a great way to get into the game without having to spend an arm and a leg.