英美兩國都面臨了球會會員銳減，甚至有不少球場快無力清償債務了。是因為經濟不景氣的關係嗎？還是有別的原因呢？

高爾夫這個高而富的運動的一向被認為是身分與地位的象徵。要使用這麼大的場地與那麼多球桿，不貴都很難。打一場球要大半天的時間，沒有那麼多時間的人也很難去打。加上昂貴的球會會員證，…撇開技術的學習問題，這真是一項進入障礙很高的運動。

當這個世界越往兩極發展，高爾夫應該只有高收入所得那一方的市場。或許會受景氣影響，但是它會受時下的運動趨勢所影響嗎？

我沒打高爾夫球，也不看高球賽的轉播，也不關心誰是球王或誰贏得冠軍，應該是沒甚麼資格來評論這項運動。但是這篇評論倒真是很有見解，甚至是從社會與文化層面來探討這個運動。事實上七月20號那天，泰晤士報有三篇在討論高球運動的文章呢！我引了其中的一篇，另外兩篇也設了連結。

高球裝，那七分長褲，皮(釘)鞋，...在引進之初，就當時的社會而言應該是十分新潮的。就像獵裝已經不再被視為年輕的裝扮，高球原本新潮的服裝，也顯得幾分呆板，老氣了。

不景氣或許重傷了這項運動，但還遠不及現代的太太們所帶來的傷害。現代的太太們已經無法容忍他們的先生，在周末假期消失一整天去打球。現代的先生們也真心地希望多一些時間陪伴家人。此外年輕的主管們也沒也那種閒功夫，耗一整天打十八洞，還只消耗一些些的卡路里。所以，英國打高爾夫球的人只有四分之一參加球會，大部份打球的人是遊牧民族，每次付費打球；這樣就讓球場的經營變得困難。而昂貴又貴族化的運動，雖從事者皆為有力人士，要獲得政府的補助在民主社會也不易。所以要從事這項運動的人，就得要付出更多的金錢來維持球場。

打球的會員非富即貴，他們是名流，大企業的高階主管，達官顯貴... 這個運動因此也難免它勢利和臭跩的一面。也是這些人控制著高球運動的發展，勢利加上優越感，這些人抗拒改變，抗拒使這項運動擁抱平民運動的特質，也因此無可避免的逐漸式微。




20-Jul-09

Golf is killing itself through snobbery

The amateur sport is in dire straits

Melanie Reid

Expect a rush on tee times, chaps. For even as the crews dismantle the marquees at Turnberry, amateur golfers of a certain age, Tom Watson in their dreams, will be rushing to recreate last night’s drama. The swoosh and glamour of professional golf has the power to inspire.


But these days it is only temporary. Amateur golf is in dire straits, with clubs all over the US and UK reporting shrinking memberships and unsustainable outgoings. Some are teetering on the edge of insolvency; greenkeepers are being paid off; and the previously unimaginable sight of “New Members Welcome” and “No Joining Fee” signs are appearing outside stuffy clubs where once one waited ten years to join.

Now the decline in a sport that has been a watchword for elitism and discrimination arouses little but glee, I’m afraid to say. It is very hard to feel sympathy for those who have, through snobbery and chauvinism, largely determined their own destiny.



July 19, 2009  (the photo was taken from Times On-line)
The Open 2009
The beautiful Turnberry course trapped many top players within its dangers

Over the past 25 years, while the rest of the world embraced equality, informality and diversity, not to mention the power of youth, golf fundamentally failed to move with the times. It has been left behind: a fascinating, compulsive game betrayed by those who control it.

There are now too many courses seeking too few golfers. Only about a quarter of players belong to clubs; the rest are nomads, preferring pay- to-play on new nine-hole courses. The old school frowns at this, failing to understand that in an age where gym membership changes on a whim, lifetime loyalty to any one club is history. Just as the blazers don’t get that young, time-poor executives, seeking to unwind, are more likely to enjoy a speedy snort of cocaine than a leisurely 18 holes.

So there has been no Twenty20 revolution and little attempt to meet the demand for fast golf, friendly golf, nor family golf. What triple heresy! What breach of etiquette! Enlightened individuals try to effect change, but it is uphill work in one of the most conservative social groupings outside the Monday Club.


The recession has hit golf hard. But not as hard as the modern wife, who will no longer tolerate a partner who disappears for most of the weekend. Men are now expected, and genuinely want, to spend more time with their families. The trouble is, women and children are not really welcome on golf courses, except through gritted teeth. You hear of children turned away because they are wearing tracksuit bottoms.


Symbols matter. Until the professional game changes, and places such as Muirfield and Augusta start give-golf-a-try days for black single mothers (with crèches, of course), these attitudes will endure. And golf will atrophy.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/melanie_reid/article6719674.ece

Golf is a curious pastime for old men
Simon Barnes wonders what all the fuss is about, contending that, without an element of risk, golf is not really a sport at all
by Simon Barnes July 20, 2009

Brain is more useful than brawn in golf
Tom Watson’s achievement is a reason for the game’s great appeal and represents a triumph of experience over youth
by John Hopkins July 20, 2009

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"TIMESONLINE" is the registered trademark of Times Newspapers Ltd.  The story, Golf is killing itself through snobbery, was taken from Times on Line.  The  copyright remains with its original owners.  The author of this story and the Times are not involved with, nor endorse the production of this blog.