America loves golf. It’s axiomatic by superstar cachet of a amount of players as able-bodied as the advanced arrangement of gadgetry available. The abstruse advances in the accessories are artlessly stunning. New clubs accredit the golfer of today to hit the affray added and with added accurateness than at any added time in history. Yet, with all of these boosts and advantages, abecedarian golf in America is the slowest in the apple and continues to apathetic down. The catechism is, why has the bold slowed down so abundant and what can be done about it?
-- America loves golf. It’s axiomatic by superstar cachet of a amount of players as able-bodied as the advanced arrangement of gadgetry available. The abstruse advances in the accessories are artlessly stunning. New clubs accredit the golfer of today to hit the affray added and with added accurateness than at any added time in history. Yet, with all of these boosts and advantages, abecedarian golf in America is the slowest in the apple and continues to apathetic down. The catechism is, why has the bold slowed down so abundant and what can be done about it?
“Slow play has become a accepted anathema in American golf and is talked about on every advance in the country,” says W. Eric Laing, self-proclaimed “grumpy old Scotsman” and columnist of America! What Have You Done To The Auld Game? (Neos Limited). “America is the alone country in which the boilerplate abecedarian bold cannot be played in four hours or less, but no one wants to abode this bond gripe.
With over 50 years of acquaintance about the game, Laing is affianced in a attack to restore the arena of 18 holes of abecedarian golf to a three-and-a-half hour/four-hour timeframe. “Americans are exporting this ache to added countries to the damage of abecedarian golf everywhere,” says Laing. “The ache is so aggressive that there is a crisis that golf will lose a abundant amount of agog amateurs because they don’t accept the time it now takes to play the game.” What bothers him the a lot of is the aftereffect this slower bold has on the agog abecedarian golfer. “The agog abecedarian is the most-affected,” says Laing. “After a lifetime of disturbing to lower his handicap, why should he be the one to ache because of the bad amenities of added players?”
As base for his argument, Laing cites an absolute aphorism in both the USGA and the R&A rulebooks. “I am allurement the American abecedarian golfer to pay absorption to Rule 1, Subsection 1 and for advance managers to could cause the aforementioned to be carefully empiric for the advantage of all players application the course,” says Laing. He continues: “I don’t accept why advance managers debris to accomplish the ascendant rule; it would accomplish them added money, because a quicker bold ensures that added circuit of golf can be played.”
In his book, Laing makes an iron-clad accusation adjoin the “ignorance and corruption which accept led to the absolute annihilation of a ‘quick eighteen’ on American courses.” Though abounding of agreeable anecdotes and cartoons, Laing’s book makes a austere case for all those golfers who accept been affected to abide the abrogating impacts on their amusement of the game. “It is artlessly a amount of amenities and conduct,” Laing says. “It wouldn’t amount a penny to change it all.”
Laing blames televised tournaments for influencing the conduct of today’s golfers. “How the pros play on television is not how the abecedarian should play,” says Laing. “Why won’t a above clash amount explain that to abecedarian golfers? All it would crop is for anyone important to say it to accomplish it stick.”
He is cynically balked that no one in able golf circles will accept this about and agilely hopes that one of the golfing “superstars” will appear advanced about in abutment of his plea. He despairs of anytime seeing a documentary on the Golf Channel about dispatch up the game.
Various golf personalities in the media accept absolutely alone him and his bulletin so far, but he in actuality refuses to accord up or go away. Laing beatific copies of his book to dozens of able golf abstracts and journalists and has yet to accept any affectionate of acknowledgment or acknowledgement. Despite his complaints, his own adulation of the bold charcoal undiminished and he will not blow until he helps to restore the amusement of ‘a quick eighteen.’
For a analysis archetype of the book or to set up an account with W. Eric Laing for a story, amuse acquaintance Jay Wilke at 727-443-7115, ext. 223.
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