Golf fundamentals and practice techniques

¶ … countries, the citizens of the United States enjoy a wide range of amateur and professional sports, with golf consistently ranking among the top five sports in terms of participation and spectatorship in national surveys. Since its introduction to the United States in the late 19th century, golf has experienced a number of boosts in its popularity, including most recently the superior and unprecedented play of Tiger Woods. The scandal surrounding Woods, though, and his recent announcement that he was temporarily retired from the sport, have some observers concerned that golf's halcyon days are over. Moreover, golf courses require enormous amounts of prime land, as well as water and pesticides to keep them in the pristine condition that players prefer. Some critics suggest that these resources could be used better elsewhere. To determine if golf's rising popularity in recent years can withstand these challenges, this study provides a brief history of the sport of golf, some of the innovations in golf equipment design and changes in the rules and that have contributed to its popularity, the sport's mental and physical requirements, and an analysis of the future of golf in the United States. Based on a review of the peer-reviewed, scholarly and reliable online literature, it was determined that it will be possible for golf to survive these challenges, but golf course managers and tournament operators should take certain steps to counter the constraints described above.

The Evolution of Golf and an Assessment of Where the Sport is Headed

Section 1: Introduction

Today, professional golf is one of the few sports that functions strictly at the individual, rather than a team or national, level. In golf, an individual's success or failure has the potential to attract international media attention, but the golfer is essentially representing self or sponsors (Polley, 1999). Prior to Tiger Woods' recent sex-related scandal, golf had been enjoying an enormous amount of popularity in the United States and abroad (Hardin, 2008). In fact in 2006 alone, almost 30 million amateur golfers played the game on the country's 16,000 golf courses. Not surprisingly, this level of active participation was also responsible for generating more than $76 billion in 2005, with the golf economy including $6 billion that was invested in equipment and supplies (Hardin, 2008). All told, the multiplier effect that resulted from these expenditures meant that the total economic impact of the sport of golf on the U.S. economy in 2005 alone was at least $195 billion (Hardin, 2008). Moreover, golf has experienced consistent growth in its television ratings for the past decade, a trend that may continue notwithstanding the Tiger Woods debacle. For instance, the television ratings for the Monday playoff round of the 2008 U.S. Open were reported to be the highest ever for golf on cable television (Hardin, 2008). At the time, Tiger Woods was ranked as America's favorite athlete (Hardin, 2008). By sharp contrast, though, Woods is now is seclusion having announced his retirement on national television as well as his official Web site, and many observers are wondering what impact this event will have on the future of golf in America, a question that is also the focus of this study.

Historical Background

Based on the best historical evidence, golf was first introduced in Scotland based on the traditional game of shinty, which is a type of field hockey developed by the Celts (McComb, 2004). The early version of the sport resembled the modern version in the manner in which it was played, but the equipment used was vastly different. For instance, in the earliest versions of golf, elite Scotsmen employed clubs that were constructed from thorn trees and small leather balls that were packed with feathers that had been boiled; however, the play was comparable to the modern version in that there were long, grassy fairways that featured a small hole on a manicured green area (McComb, 2004). The goal of the earlier versions of golf was essentially the same as the modern version, which was to sink the player's ball in the fewest number of strokes possible (McComb, 2004).

While historians differ in their opinion concerning the precise origins, the Scottish connection is supported by the fact that the word "golf" is derived from Scottish word "colf," which refers to a stick or club (McComb, 2004). Further support for the Scottish origins of the sport can be traced to 1457, when James II outlawed golf because he feared it was taking time away from archery practice, which was deemed essential for national defense purposes (McComb, 2004). Things changed, though, in 1603 when James IV of Scotland assumed the English throne as James I and constructed a golf course at Blackheath and introduced the game of golf to upper-class Englishmen (McComb, 2004). The Royal and Ancient Golf Club was form in 1754 at St. Andrews and established the initial rules of play for golf, and assumed a governing function for the sport as well and many of the rules of the modern sport can be traced to their efforts to standardize the game; for instance, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club established 18 holes as the official number for a game (McComb, 2004). Other aspects of modern golf, such as course layout and appearance can also be traced to these early origins. For example, the staff at St. Andrews created their golf course parallel to the coast where the landscape had been transformed into a series of sand dunes, grassy patches and natural depressions; however, unlike their modern counterparts, the greens keepers at St. Andrews used grazing animals to keep the grass well maintained (McComb, 2004). According to this golf historian, "These open 'links' became an embedded part of the worldwide architecture of golf and so the contemporary fairways, greens, rough sand bunkers, and undulating mounds pay constant tribute to a Scottish heritage" (McComb, 2004, p. 42). In fact, given its relatively recent introduction into the United States slightly more than 100 years ago, the increasing popularity of and interest in golf during the late 20th century and early 21st century represents a significant trend (Hardin, 2008). Once again, although historians disagree on the precise numbers involved, there were a few golf clubs established in the United States by the late 18th century, but none of these has endured to present day (Hardin, 2008). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a series of events occurred that helped to fuel interest in golf in the United States, including the establishment of the first permanent golf club, St. Andrews located north of Yonkers, New York in 1878, the creation of the first governing authority for golf in 1888 (Hardin, 2008) and the growing number of golf players from Scotland who immigrated to the United States in the late 1880s (Napton & Laingen, 2008).

Other factors contributed to the growth in the sport's popularity as well. For instance, although women were banned from professional competition at the time, St. Andrews established a section of the course for women around the fin de siecle that would also have lasting implications for the sport. According to McComb (2004), this separation of the genders by St. Andrews established a standard that remains firmly in place in many private clubs today. This golf historian adds that, "Women had to remain in their place and rarely gained any sort of control or voting right in the club even though on weekdays they often outnumbered the men on the premises. But golf with its pleasant surroundings and moderate physical demands quietly spread and attracted middle-aged and middle to upper-class players" (McComb, 2004, p. 42).

Other events helped to fuel interest in and the popularity of golf during this period in the nation's history as well. For example, around 1895, there was a groundswell of effort by golfing enthusiasts who wanted to promote the sport for the average person rather than just America's elite and that municipal golf courses would be a good investment of scarce resources (Kirsch, 2007). Before America's entry into World War I, these golfing enthusiasts were joined by golf course architects, newspapers, and golfing publications that also clamored for the construction of public golf courses (Kirsch, 2007). According to this golf historian, "In 1913 one writer declared, 'Public interest should now be developed in golf and public links as a national asset, a builder of better and hardier citizens ... golf is and ought to be brought within the reach of all -- poor or rich, as a mental and physical developer, and in the interest of a better and saner citizenship'" (quoted in Kirsch, 2007 at p. 371).

Prior to World War I, in response to this general demand for golf courses in the United States, municipalities across the country began to construct public golf courses that were well attended, and even crowded, with many aspiring golfers arriving at courses before the sun came up during the week as well as on weekends, which was a clear indication that golf had generated sufficient interest to justify this initial investment of resources (Kirsch, 2007). The growing numbers of Americans who regularly flocked to these municipal golf courses convinced municipal governments that the sport was here to stay and that additional investments were warranted, and existing municipal golf courses were expanded and improved during the 1920s and a number of entrepreneurs across the country also enjoyed success by opening daily fee-based golf courses (Kirsch, 2007). During the early 20th century, a number of major universities in the United States also incorporated golf into their athletic program regimens, including Harvard and Yale (Napton & Laingen, 2008).

Perhaps the most significant event that contributed to the popularity of golf prior to World War I, though, was when a young player from Boston, Francis Ouimet, won the 1913 U.S. Open (Hardin, 2008). According to this golf historian, "Ouimet's accomplishment gave America its first golf hero. The media celebrated Ouimet's feat by portraying the former caddy as a national icon which, in turn, boosted the popularity of golf in the United States" (Hardin, 2008, p. 158). Like a modern Tiger Woods, the victory by Ouimet was amplified by the fact that he was just an "average Joe" who came from a family of modest means with no particular social connections (Hardin, 2008).

As a result, Ouimet was enormously popular with many Americans whether they were interested in golf or not. Contributing to the clamor that resulted from Ouimet's win was the fact that the victor was just in his early 20s, and had been a golf caddy during his summer vacations in high school prior to entering the U.S. Open (Hardin, 2008). The win by Ouimet not only propelled the young man from Boston into the national (and international) spotlight, it generated a new interest in the sport by Americans who had never considered it before as well. Likewise, Ouimet's victory, like the spectacular performances delivered by Tiger Woods, helped to make Ouimet a role model for countless young Americans who wanted to emulate his life and championship status thereby fueling interest by an entirely new generation (Hardin, 2008). According to Hardin, "Ouimet fit the ideal of an American hero, that is, a clean-cut boy from the 'wrong side of the tracks' who worked during his summer vacations. He was modest, appreciative, and a gentleman. The more people learned about Ouimet, the more they liked him. He was the perfect representative to bring golf to the masses" (Hardin, 2008, p. 158). As a result, by the mid-1910s, golf had become a national pastime that was being enjoyed by the rich and less-affluent alike, and community golf clubs assumed a new level of social significance for the affluent that lived in pricey suburban regions (McComb, 2004). Golf received further impetus and standardization of play during the early 20th century when the Professional Golfers' Association was established in 1916 (Moss, 2006).

Just as with its origins in Scotland, golf began as a sport for upper-class members of society in the United States who had the first golf courses built in and around eastern suburbs near coastal concentrations of population and important financial centers (Napton & Laingen, 2008). In fact, the vast majority of these original golf courses in the United States were private courses, a pattern that continued until the 1960s when public courses first outnumbered private ones (Napton & Laingen, 2008). According to Kirsch (2007), the introduction of public golf courses represents a milestone in the history of the sport in America where it ultimately became a more democratic activity that allowed anyone with the requisite resources and desire to participate.

Today, the golf industry represents one of the largest sectors of recreation in North America (Scott & Jones, 2006). Throughout North America, there are approximately 20,000 golf courses and about 30 million amateur golfers (Scott & Jones, 2006). In 2000, golf generated $62 billion in goods and services in the Unites States, and about $20.5 billion of these revenues were the result of expenditures at various golf facilities, primarily green fees (Scott & Jones, 2006). In fact, the golf industry in the U.S. has been estimated to generate about the same economic impact as the motion picture industry (Scott & Jones, 2006). Because of the large tracts of land that are required for a typical golf course, though, the sport is not without its detractors. According to Napton and Laingen (2008), there are few other sports besides golf that require so much land or impart such a significant impact on land as golf. Modern golf courses are readily identifiable from the air because of their regular patterns and the highly visible green that results from carefully maintained grounds (Napton & Laingen, 2008).

Although estimates tend to differ from year to year, one of the most recent indicates that golf is currently the eleventh most popular sport in the United States; from 1975 to 2000, golf experienced a four-fold increase in the number of actual players (from 10 million to in excess of 25 million), a rate that far outdistanced the corresponding increase in the general population (Napton & Laingen, 2008). These golfers played nearly 600 million rounds annually during this period (Napton & Laingen, 2008). While Napton and Laingen (2008) emphasize that golf courses are an important component in land use across the country, the approximate 16,000 golf courses in the United States require an area that is equal in size to the states of Delaware and Rhode Island together, and many observers are not convinced that this is the best use of these natural resources that theoretically belong to everyone, rather than just the golfing enthusiasts in the country (Napton & Laingen, 2008). In this regard, Platt (1999) reports that, "Around the world, golf course developments are disrupting human and ecological communities in ways rarely contemplated in golfing magazines or clubhouse restaurants: they displace people, destroy habitats, pollute surrounding water and air with their heavy concentrations of fertilizers and pesticides, and deplete public water supplies" (p. 27).

Despite these considerations, though, golf continued to experience significant growth throughout the 19990s and golf course construction became the fastest-growing type of land development on a global basis (Napton & Laingen, 2008). In fact, around the world, there are approximately 25,000 golf courses that require as much land as the country of Belgium (Platt, 1999). One of the most vocal critics of this restricted land use was the late comedian and social satirist George Carlin, who became increasingly critical of golf courses and the people who play it in his later years. In his comedy sketch, "Golf Courses and the Homeless," Carlin proposed: "I know just the place to build housing for the homeless: golf courses. it's perfect. Plenty of good land in nice neighborhoods that is currently being squandered on a mindless activity engaged in by white, well-to-do business criminals who use the game to get together so they can make deals to carve this country up a little finer among themselves" (quoted in Walsh, 2008 at para. 3).

Nevertheless, America's golf courses represent a significant investment of public and private capital and land. In many cases, golf courses are focal points of destination resorts and vacation areas and therefore provide incentives for recreational visitors as well as those seeking a golf-compatible lifestyle during their retirement years (Napton & Laingen, 2008). In fact, given the increasing amount of attention being focused on golf courses and their adverse effect on the environment through their high usage rates of pesticides and other chemicals as well as their prodigious use of water, it is somewhat ironic that the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) elected to hold its 72nd annual educational conference at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course at the Westin La Paloma in Tucson, Arizona in 2008 with a primary theme of onsite wastewater management system (NEHA, 2008).

Irrespective of the particular pro-or con stance taken regarding golf courses, Schmidt (2006) emphasizes that the golf course are placed in many highly desirable, prime tracts of real estate and require large amounts of pesticides and water for their maintenance. Although it is possible to create golf courses in almost any type of terrain (even the desert where sand traps are everywhere), the majority of golfers want their courses to have bright green fairways and carefully manicured greens no matter where the course is situated (Schmidt, 2006). According to this authority, "Golf courses thus must be intensively coddled with lots of water and lots of pesticides. Each of the more than 17,000 golf courses in the United States alone can consume hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per day" (Schmidt, 2006, p. 286).

While no ready cost-effective alternatives exist for some of the chemicals that are being used to "coddle" golf courses in the United States, it is possible to do something about all of the water that is being devoted to this activity and conservation efforts are therefore a high priority for many golf course facilities across the country that are seeking to reduce their costs, their impact on the land and promote some good will in the communities in which they are located (Schmidt, 2006). There has been some progress to date in this regard as well. For instance, the results of a report entitled, "Water Right: Conserving Our Water, Preserving Our Environment," published by the International Turf Producers Foundation in 2001 noted that since 1982, the U.S. Golf Association invested in excess of $18 million in an effort to develop alternatives to current practices that are more environmentally sound; these initiatives have included the introduction of new types of grass that do not need as much water and pesticides to thrive in a golf course environment; better irrigation techniques, and using non-potable water (i.e., treated wastewater or storm runoff collected in storage ponds (Schmidt, 2006).

Justification of Study

According to McComb (2004), sporting activities are a cultural phenomenon and are therefore an important component of the larger society in which they are played. The popularity of golf and the enormous amount of resources invested in its infrastructure and the amount of money being spent each year clearly indicate that golf has become a major industry in the United States that is firmly ingrained in the national culture. Therefore, the future of golf in the Untied States will likely depend on changes in American culture that may reflect a larger shift in values to environmental issues and a more equitable distribution of scarce land resources which are timely and worthwhile issues for study.

Research Questions:

This study was guided by the following general research questions:

1. What innovations in equipment, including improvement in clubs and golf ball design, have contributed to the popularity of golf in recent years?

2. What changes have taken place in the rules of the sport to improve its popularity?

3. What are the mental and physical aspects of the game?

4. What is the future of golf in the United States?

Summary

The research showed that although golf has been played in one form or another in the United States for more than 2 centuries, it was not until the late 19th century when wealthy Scottish immigrants brought the game to America with them and introduced regulation play and golf courses that were designed by professionals for the purpose that golf began receiving attention from the average American. Following the introduction of the sport to the United States, the sport became increasingly popular among amateur players as well. In recent years, though, golf courses have become the focus of environmentalists who cite the inordinately large amounts of land required as well as the potential harmful effects that maintaining these courses can have on the environment.

Section 2: Relevant Published Information

Background and Overview

As noted in the introductory section, golf is thought to have originated in Scotland. When Scottish golf-course designers first arrived in the United States in the late 19th century, they used what they knew and simply reproduced the primitive and rugged course designs from their native Scotland for their adopted country. Because these early courses were designed to resemble their counterparts in Scotland that took advantage of the natural landscape, the construction of a new course did not typically involve a great deal of changes to the existing landscape (Napton & Laingen, 2008). In addition, golf designers took advantage of every square foot of available land by using a design technique that is known as playing "around"; in this golf course design format, golfers would finish their initial nine holes of golf and then turn around and play nine additional holes that were situated parallel with the first nine (Napton & Laingen, 2008). By and large, these early golf courses were situated near concentrations of population near city fringes and were installed for golf-playing purposes only; these arrangements did not provide any significant amount of space for commercial development (Napton & Laingen, 2008).

Although municipal golf courses became increasingly commonplace in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the majority of the golf courses that were built in the country during the period 1879 to1919 was the work of country clubs (Napton & Laingen, 2008). On a regional basis, it was becoming increasingly clear that golf was going to be a suburban activity in America because of the large amounts of land it required; moreover, golf was adopted as a sport in the United States during a period in the country's history when the suburban areas of the country were beginning to experience rapid growth from the affluent fleeing the rigors of city life (Napton & Laingen, 2008).

Besides the foregoing trends in the early days of golf in the United States, there were some other discernible patterns that emerged over time. The first product of these social trends served to shape the manner in which private country clubs emerged that were designed to serve this upper-crust segment of society by proving country clubs with golf courses (Napton & Laingen, 2008). In some regions of the country, golf aficionados (who undoubtedly included an inordinately large percentage of lawyers and bankers) would band together and take advantage of tax laws by establishing so-called "golf-club villages" that helped them avoid sharing their tax base with lower-income taxpayers (Napton & Laingen, 2008). At the national level, the largest concentrations of golf courses were located in the urban Northeast, especially in New York City and its environs, followed by Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Detroit and others that were larger financial and industrial centers (Napton & Laingen, 2008).

The next pattern that characterized golf course location siting across the country occurred prior to the widespread introduction of air conditioning and involved constructing golf courses where the rich would congregate to spend their summers to avoid the heat of their suburban estates. These areas of the country were largely along the coasts or in the mountains; such early golf courses included Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts, the west coast of Michigan, Bar Harbor-Mount Desert Island area of Maine, Rhode Island Sound, Long Island and Long Island Sound, the Adirondack, Catskill, and White mountains of the Northeast, the east coast of Florida (Napton & Laingen, 2008). The first golf course to open in California was the Riverside County Club which was established in 1891; shortly thereafter, the Monterey Peninsula golf course was opened in 1897, which is now the oldest continually operating course west of the Mississippi (Napton & Laingen, 2008). There were also significant golf course developments taking place west from the Erie Canal along the industrialized regions to the lower Great Lakes and south to the Midwest (Napton & Laingen, 2008). If these early golf courses were plotted on a map of the United States from the era, there would be a high correlation between their locations and highly concentrated financial and industrial centers identified to be sure, but there would likely be a closer alignment between their locations and where the movers-and-shakers of the day made their homes (Napton & Laingen, 2008). The Great Depression, World Wars I and II and the Korean conflict all took their toll on golf, but the sport managed to survive the first half of the 20th century to emerge as a truly international sport that accounts for a significant amount of capital investment in the world today. Although golf has survived these challenges in the past, it is confronted with some particularly difficult challenges today that will inevitably determine whether it will survive into the future, and these issues are discussed further below.

What is the Future of Golf in the United States?

Recent reports concerning golf's popularity in terms of the number of active players as well as the number of spectators (at events, online and televised) have been mixed, with some observers indicating that golf is growing in terms of the number of players as well as the number of spectators; other authorities, though, suggest that the picture is not quite so rosy. With regard to current estimates of spectators, McComb reports that the most popular sports in the United States are, in descending order, football (not the soccer kind, either), baseball, basketball, boxing, car racing, tennis, track and field, and golf (McComb, 2004), while other authorities place its popularity slightly higher. Not surprisingly, though, even in these relatively modest terms as one of America's favorite sports, major golf tournaments generated approximately $954 million in revenue in 2005; however, based on the actual attendance reports published in the sports literature as well as anecdotal accounts from professional golf tournament directors (not to mention the lingering recessionary period), there may have been a decline the level of golf spectator attendance in recent months (Lambrecht, Kaefer & Ramenofsky (2009). This decline in attendance will be an especially challenging trend to reverse given the recent scandal involving the sport's major superstar, Tiger Woods, but any sport that cannot endure the loss of a single player probably does not deserve to survive anyway.

Unlike most other sports, though, golf course managers and golf tournament directors are unable to control many of the variables in their playing environment, termed the "sportscape," that are prized by avid golfers, particularly the weather and climate. According to Lambrecht and his colleagues (2009), "The sportscape or physical environment factors that are controllable at a golf tournament include concessions, course accessibility, crowd control, merchandise, parking, personnel (staff or volunteers), restrooms, and seating" (Lambrecht et al., 2009, p. 165).

As noted above, the natural elements are part of the sportscape's and physical environment's uncontrollable features, but there is an important distinction between weather and climate. In this regard, weather is defined by Lambrecht et al. As the conditions of the atmosphere such as how much sun, cloud, rain and fog is experienced on a daily basis, as well as how hard the wind blows, how much rain in received and the humidity level. In contrast to climate, weather can influence the level of golf play on a relatively short-term basis (e.g., hour to hour or day-to-day); as examples, Lambrecht and his associates note that rainstorms can delay or postpone tournament play for a few hours or the entire day and thick fog might likewise require a lengthy wait for dissipation to take place.

Climate, though (defined by Lambrecht et al. As "the long-term average behavior of weather in a given location," p. 165) typically affects the quality of play on a golf course for longer periods of time. Unlike the short-term effects that weather causes, a region's specific climate represents the most important factor that determines how long golfers are able to play a given golf course during a season and therefore affects the level of participation (Lambrecht et al., 2009). Moreover, a region's specific climatic conditions will dictate how much water is required during a golf season for irrigation purposes, what types of grasses must be used on the course, and what types of pests and diseases will be most prevalent that require chemical applications (Scott & Jones, 2006).

Beyond the natural elements, other factors that are beyond the control of event organizers is the caliber of golfers who participate in tournaments, prominent players (besides Woods) who fail to make the cut and injuries to golfers (Lambrecht et al., 2009). There are some factors that can be manipulated by event organizers and golf course managers, though, that might help improve attendance and attract new players to the sport in the future, such as the manner in which crowds at tournaments are controlled as well as the opportunities they are provided to interact with the tournament participants (e.g., autograph and photograph sessions, questions and answer sessions, etc.). Because the revenues generated by ticket sales at these events can make the difference between a successful tournament and a failure, it is important to identify methods that are specific to their area that can keep current golf enthusiasts returning to these events as well as attract a new generation of golfers that is needed to ensure the sport's survival into the future.

Innovations in Golf Equipment Design

From their humble beginnings as thorn-tree clubs and boiled-feather stuffed balls, golf equipment has become the focus on a great deal of research into how high-technology can help golfers shave a few strokes off their game, all at a hefty profit. Just a few years ago, golf club design with few exceptions, was still an art form without any real scientific basis. Ball design has, however, been influenced by science. The introduction of new materials and processes has brought production into the "high tech" world, but club design, based on science, was lagging just a decade or so ago (Cochran & Farrelly, 1999). Although golf equipment continues to be superior to the more primitive versions used in the past, Cochran and Farrelly suggest that much more can be done to improve player performance through the use of scientific investigation, analysis and design (Cochran & Farrelly, 1999). This has changed in substantive ways in recent years, though, and today, modern innovations in golf club design is delivering golf clubs that provide players with an edge, with the most significance changes taking place with fairway metals and hybrids, drivers, wedges and putters (Pearce, 2009). Besides innovations in golf equipment design and composition, though, there have been some other changes in golf in recent years that have been intended to improve the ability of golf tournament organizers to market their products and level the playing field, so to speak, and these issues are discussed further below.

Changes in Rules

The changes in rules in golf that have taken place during the past few decades have been largely in response to the need to market the game more effectively. For instance, during the 1960s, the rules of competition for amateurs were affected by the Cold War, and the increasing use of televised events stressed the need for play formats that would mesh well with the broadcast requirements of television producers (McComb, 2004). These changes in rules were responsible in many ways for promoting golf to the level of participation and spectatorship it enjoys today. Indeed, golf tournaments are featured in a wide range of media, including online streaming coverage, cable television stations and golf even has its own channel, "The Golf Channel" (Fullerton & Merz, 2008). Recently, the United States Golf Association (USGA) promulgated further revisions to the prevailing Rules of Golf by implementing new restrictions on the cross-sectional area and the sharpness of the edges of the grooves in golf clubs. According to a report from the USGA (2010), the most recent changes to the sport's rules are intended to make shots from the rough to the green more difficult -- and therefore more equitable -- by reducing the amount of backspin players are capable of imparting to the ball (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010). The USGA emphasizes, though, that these rules, at least initially, are applicable only to professional golfers and will not affect the majority of amateur players (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010).

There are also some grandfather clauses involved in the new rule changes that will affect even professional golfers. The changes in the USGA rules affect the cross-sectional area of grooves on all golf clubs except for putters and drivers; the rules also restrict groove-edge sharpness on clubs with lofts equal to or greater than 25 degrees (these clubs are typically a standard 5-iron and above) (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010).

The new rules, though, are only applicable to golf clubs that are manufactured post-January 1, 2010, but the USGA intends to require the use of these new rules as a prerequisite for participation in the U.S. Open, the U.S. Women's Open and the U.S. Senior Open, as well as the qualifying events for these tournaments (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010). After January 1, 2014, however, the new rules will also be enforced for all USGA amateur championships (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010). The new USGA rules concerning grooves have received support from the PGA Tour, the European PGA Tour, the LPGA, the PGA of America, as well as the International Federation of PGA Tours and the Augusta National Golf Club (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010). Representatives from these organizations have already informed the USGA that they will adopt the new rules concerning grooves as a condition for competition in their tournaments, also effective January 1, 2010 (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010). According to Thomas (2009), the USGA had become increasingly concerned that the previous grooves allowed highly skilled players to hit the ball in such a way that it imparted almost as much control over it hitting from the rough as they were capable of when hitting from the fairway. In this regard, Thomas advises, "[the USGA] wants to make the rough more of a hazard for the top players; smaller and shallower grooves on the club's face cause a more erratic ball flight out of longer grass, with little or no spin" (2009, para. 2). This assertion is supported by the Senior Technical Director for the USGA, Dick Rugge, who recently emphasized that, "Our research shows that the rough has become less of a challenge for the highly skilled professional and that driving accuracy is now less of a key factor for success. We believe that these changes will increase the challenge of the game at the Tour level, while having a very small effect on the play of most golfers" (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010, para. 3).

The studies conducted to date by the USGA and other golf organizations has shown that strokes taken from the rough using urethane-covered balls (the USGA notes that these are the most commonly used type of ball by highly skilled players), sharp-edged U-groove innovations provide better "English" on balls by producing higher ball-spin levels and more acute ball-landing angles compared to the traditional V-groove balls that have been the most popular in years past (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010). When applied in tandem, higher ball-spin levels and more acute landing angles provide improved control for golfers who are trying to get on -- and stay on -- the green (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010). The new rules reduce by a full half the depth of the grooves allowed (Thomas, 2009).

In his comments concerning the rule change, the vice president and chairman of the USGA Equipment Standards Committee, Jay Rains, advised, "The scientific research on the effect of grooves on spin and the ability of highly skilled professional golfers to control shots from the rough was very compelling. The USGA and the R&a took additional time to consider fully the potential ramifications for all levels of golfers" (quoted in USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010 at para. 4). The grandfather clause for the rule was specifically intended to ensure that recent investments in golf equipment by non-professionals would be protected in the near-term. In this regard, Rains added, "In particular, we took care to minimize the impact on amateurs who actively compete in club and local competitions, as well as other golfers who do not want to replace recently purchased clubs" (quoted in USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010 at para. 4). In fact, golf clubs that were manufactured before January 1, 2010 that otherwise satisfy the requirements of existing regulations will be regarded as conforming to the USGA Rules of Golf for the next decade and a half or so (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010). This provisions also covers golf clubs that are acquired after the effective date of the new rule provided they are purchased from an equipment manufacturers' existing models (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010).

The results of a recent survey of consumer golf equipment found that just 2% of the irons that are currently being used are more than 15 years old, so the impact of the rule changes will be minimal for these clubs; moreover, provided these clubs otherwise remain in compliance with the existing rules, they will be allowed to be used to establish and maintain a USGA Handicap Index (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010). The USGA's position concerning the need for this fundamental change in rules was summed up by Rains as follows: "Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that the path forward was to get the top-level professional tours under the new groove regulations as soon as possible and to phase in the next level of amateur competition four years later, in 2014. This means that clubs you own today will still be conforming for top-level amateur competition for another 51/2 years and, for other competitions, conforming until at least 2024, if not indefinitely" (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010, para. 4).

To their credit, the authorities at the USGA did not take this step lightly, but rather based their decision on the results of almost 3 years' worth of research and testing; in addition, golf equipment manufacturers and other stakeholders were provided with a chance to voice their opinions concerning the proposed rule change and the feedback received during this phase of the research resulted in several changes being made to the initial draft version of the rule that was published in February 2007 (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010). It should be noted, though, that while existing clubs with V-grooves that otherwise conform to the rule will continue to be allowed pursuant to the new rules, the new rules do not stipulate that players must use the V-shape; rather, the new rules allow golf club designers to produce different groove widths, depths, spacing and shape to develop golf clubs that are in compliance with he new groove rules (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010). Besides the foregoing, Ping EYE2 irons of all types that were manufactured prior to March 31, 1990, will be regarded by the USGA as being in compliance with the Rules of Golf and will be permitted to be used in all USGA competitions (USGA announces rules changes on golf club grooves, 2010).

These rule changes have not been met with universal approval. For instance, according to a report from Thomas (2009), the most recent Masters Tournament, the first leg of professional golf's four major tournaments, was the final event that allowed the use of the older clubs that were reputedly taking the challenge out of the game for highly skilled players and diminishing the competitive nature of the sport that was needed to ensure continuing attendance at professional events. According to Thomas, "Grooves help golfers spin the ball and control the shot to the green. Elite golfers like Tiger Woods can do this far better than the average player, especially from the long grass that surrounds fairways and greens" (2009, para. 3). While the new rules may appear trivial to casual observers, golf enthusiasts argue that truly expert players represent a miniscule percentage of all golfers and the vast majority of amateur players will readily notice the difference in the groove depth.

The most important effect of the rule change from the perspective of Thomas is the fact that, "For the first time, golf will have different rules for different levels of players. Golf is different in that the finest professionals and middling amateurs can compete side by side, as they do in tournaments like the at&T National Pro-Am. For many golfers, part of the game's appeal is knowing that they are playing the same game on the same courses as the world's best" (2009, para. 3). During grandfather period allowed by the rule change, though, amateur golfers will be allowed to use older equipment that is not permitted to professionals with the deeper grooves until 2024, thereby diminishing the potential excitement and sense of achievement that less skilled golfers tend to receive when they "play like the pros." Indeed, Thomas points out that the amateur golfer has been left out of the vast majority of the recent changes being made to golf, with the primary focus being on the very small percentage of highly skilled professionals who are their bread-and-butter from a marketing point-of-view. According to this critic, "The USGA has not shared its evidence that a problem exists, nor has it demonstrated that this solution addresses the problem while doing the least damage to the golfing population as a whole. Never has a change of such consequence been made with such a lack of transparency or without appropriate input from those affected" (Thomas, 2009, para. 4).

In support of his criticisms, Thomas points out that there is already a category in the Rules of Golf known as "a condition of competition" that can be invoked at any given event that will be specific for the time and place involved rather than requiring a universal adoption by all golfers, amateur and professional alike. In this regard, Thomas recommends that a more straightforward and easier solution to the problem, if one really exists, is to simply allow the rough at professional events to become "rougher" for the duration of the tournament. Based on their experiences with these modifications, the USGA would have a better sense of what the impact of system-wide changes would be and would allow more time for feedback from all of the stakeholders involved (Thomas, 2009). In sum, Thomas concludes that, "Golf participation is declining, and we have yet to hear of people quitting the game because they found it too easy. We do not need equipment rules aimed specifically at making it harder for Tiger Woods or anyone else" (2009, para. 3). While the golf equipment involved can make it easier or more difficult to play golf, there are some other factors involved as well that dictate how well a golfer will navigate the links, and these issues are discussed further below.

Mental and Physical Aspects of Golf

One of the most surprising issues to emerge from the review of the relevant literature was just how many studies have been devoted to golf in general and to golf swings and putting strokes in particular. In this regard, Farrow, Kemp and Tan (2004) report that because many golfers attempt to stand a still as possible prior to putting, the most discernable effects are a condition known as "the yips," which is an involuntary tremor in the hands. The condition is more common than might be thought, with the results of a survey conducted in the early 1990s indicating that almost a third of all male golfers experience the yips to some extent; the effect among female players remains unknown (Farrow et al., 2004). The results of the aforementioned survey also found that professionals who suffer from the condition believe the yips can add an additional five stroke per round of golf (Farrow et al., 2004). According to these researchers, "When the yips strike (usually when the pressure is on and anxiety is high), it is simply a matter of the brain sending the wrong message despite your intentions otherwise. It might be a change in wrist angle or an unwanted finger movement, small, but enough to result in a missed putt" (Farrow et al., 2004, p. 37). Like soldiers who faint from standing at attention for too long, players who remain rigid for too long prior to putting may find themselves the victims of the yips and unable to complete the movements needed to impart the control needed for tough putts on the green (Farrow et al., 2004).

There are other mental aspects involved in golf that should be taken into account as well. For example, according to the guidance provided by Flegal and Anderson (2008), golf is truly a mental activity: "Whether you're a world-class player or a weekend enthusiast, improving your golf game begins with your mind. You may be amazed to discover what happens when you free yourself from overthinking your shots and let your unconscious mind play the game" (p. 927). Based on the findings of an experiment conducted by these researchers, it was determined that even talking about the biomechanical aspects of the various swings and putts involved could adversely affect a player's game and recommend avoiding verbalizations concerning techniques prior to a game (Flegal & Anderson, 2008).