The future of golf is not at a crossroads so much as a roundabout, where those who govern the
game are not quite sure where to enter the discussion, how to merge ideas and when to exit the
debate.

At issue is how to grow — perhaps even save? — a game that economic and cultural forces have
conspired against. Golf costs too much, takes too long and does not resonate with kids looking for
instant, positive results.

Mark King, CEO of golf equipment manufacturer TaylorMade, is floating a radical remedy for two
of those three concerns. King proposes using a 15-inch cup to make the game easier, which would
make it more attractive to potential players

(re: customers) who stay away because golf is too difficult. The
getting-close-to-basketball-hoop-sized-hole would be used to supplement, not replace the standard
4.25-inch cup in use since the late 1800s. King envisions the oversized cup being used only during
special events at existing courses. At least initially.

“It’s meant to take away the intimidation factor, not be disrespectful of the game,” King said
recently.

A confession: I
enjoy being intimidated by golf. The challenge is a big part of the carrot that keeps me
coming back. But I also consider myself more of a “core” golfer than purist. And right about now
golf purists are rolling their eyes, thinking a plate-sized cup is silly at best and disgusting at
worst. Opposition to the idea undoubtedly reaches to the very top, but even golf’s ultimate
decision-makers are conflicted.

Golf is governed mostly by men with conservative views of work and recreation. They worry where
the game might go if a bigger cup gains acceptance. What’s next? Gimmes from 25 feet? Is this not
the further enabling of a path-of-least-resistance society always looking for the easy way out?

The dilemma for golf’s upper-crusters, however, is that if
something is not done to build the game, in another generation or two it might only be
played on the green-carpeted concrete of miniature golf courses.

Already, participation is falling off, dwindling by nearly 20 percent in the United State over
the past 10 years. More players are leaving the game than taking it up. Fewer women are teeing it
up. Teens have more options and less free time, their hours consumed by specialization that
restricts them to one sport. And golf is not it.

“So we’ve got problems, and corrections need to be made.”

So says golf ambassador Jack Nicklaus, who is full of solid ideas on how to improve the game. A
15-inch cup is not among them, but an eight-inch cup might be.

“We’ve had three or four tournaments each summer at Muirfield with an eight-inch cup, because
that cup is something the superintendents already have,” Nicklaus said, explaining that courses
often cut eight-inch cups in front of the existing greens during the winter.

But Jack doesn’t stop there. He has held special events that feature 12 holes of golf played in
2½ hours, with a stroke penalty for every five minutes over the time limit.

“And we play (the tees) forward, like at 6,000 yards. We try to play the game fast and try to
play it fun,” he said. “Women loved it. Young kids got instant gratification and seniors said they
hadn’t had this much fun in a long time, because the game’s gotten too tough for them.

“And the core golfer gave the exact answer I would expect: ‘Gee, that was fun but I wouldn’t
want that as a steady diet.’ So I wouldn’t change the game to grow it, but you grow it to the game
we know, not into some other game.”

A thought: include a 4.25-inch
and a 15-inch cup on every green. Players take their pick. Hard or easier, but never easy.
Because golf shouldn’t be.