Lead's Views Archive - Monthly Commentary Directly from David Leadbetter

December 2007 - Growing the Game in the U.S.A.

November 2007 - The Different Approaches to Golf Instruction

October 2007 - Wisdom to Grow On

Where to begin? Many theories have been floated, including: Europeans are more used to the format; they gel better as a team; they seem to want it more; most of their players have come up through the school of hard knocks and are not as coddled as the U.S. players; Europe excels at match play versus stroke play, etc., etc.

Some of these reasons may be valid, but there is a more deep-rooted problem. As we all know, the world of professional golf today has become positively global. A look at the PGA Tour and LPGA confirms it. In a rather short period of time, they have become a melting pot of international players. The tours are drawing from all over the world, and nearly every international player's goal is to compete in the United States - because that's where the money is, the facilities are best and the competition is keenest.

With a deepening talent pool, an interesting undercurrent has developed within the PGA Tour, where few highly ranked Americans are under the age of 30. They are far outnumbered by the foreign "youngsters" in the same age bracket; an issue that helps feed the competitive imbalance in the Ryder Cup.

To a large extent, the relative absence of young Americans is a direct result of junior golf initiatives overseas. The powers that be in the U.S. (the USGA, PGA Tour, manufacturers, golf journals, etc.) are constantly talking about how to grow the game. It's tough to grow it in the 30-to-50-year-old age bracket - we live in a busy world where time is increasingly limited - wherein family and business commitments leave little extra time for more golf. It's crucial that we look at growing the game at the grassroots level. This is where the greatest volume of future players will emerge, not to mention the stars of tomorrow.

Having lived in the U.S. for a number of years, and loving every minute of it, I definitely believe there's an issue with how the game is being developed. By all accounts, the growth of the game is stagnant. Here is a statement that might intrigue you: To a large extent, juniors in the U.S. are at a disadvantage compared to their foreign peers.

In my view, it's a cold, hard fact. There are dozens of junior organizations running tournaments all over the country - I'm on the board of the largest and most prestigious, the American Junior Golf Association, a privately operated organization that professionally runs dozens of tournaments nationally for top juniors. They do an excellent job, but for the most part, they have to rely on donations and corporate sponsorship; as opposed to government or golf federation funding. It is the tour every young golfer aspires to play in order to further their golf resume and become nationally ranked. But its ranks are comparatively small.

What about the First Tee program, you say? It's a wonderful concept which introduces inner-city and underprivileged kids to the game. More than golf, it develops social and learning skills that are so necessary to help young people get prepared for life. The problem then becomes, where do the kids go from here? How do they move up to the next level in golf, where coaching and competition costs money? It's not cheap traveling and playing junior golf. For the most part, the First Tee facilities are nine holes - some are smallish par-3 courses. Boredom becomes an issue if they can't play and compete against other young golfers.

The AJGA is aware of the problems and has instituted a program whereby they give scholarship waivers to deserving juniors. The Ace Grant Program identifies juniors who have the ability, but not the necessarily the resources to travel, and gives them entry into certain events. But it's really only a partial solution to the problem.

Let's look abroad at other models. Youngsters who are members of clubs in Denmark, where it's a rule that at least 10% of club members have to be juniors, receive free coaching, paid for by the national golf federation of that country, the equivalent of the USGA. These kids play regularly at their home club, compete in interclub matches, and if they reach a certain skill level, are sent to another coach higher up the chain. Finally, if they cut the competitive mustard, they graduate to the national level, where tournament entries, travel and coaching are covered. The national team consists of highly motivated boys and girls who want to reach the top.

These youngsters don't necessarily come from wealthy families, yet they have every opportunity to fulfill their potential. International golf federations frequently are funded firstly by government contributions, and secondly, every member of a golf club is levied a small amount on their membership dues which is specifically earmarked toward developing the game - specifically junior golf. This is often true throughout much of the world.

Take the small populated country of Australia (population 20.5 million, or smaller than the state of Texas alone). It's become hard to count how many great young Aussies there are on tour! Many, if they show talent, go through the Australian Institute of Sport, an organization that identifies young talent, shapes it and guides hungry, motivated kids who are ready to tackle the world.

Stuart Appleby lived on a humble dairy farm and played a rag-tag course where the grounds keeping duties were handled by the town folk, but thanks to the Aussie developmental programs, became one of the top players in the game.

In the States, it should all begin with more junior members at private clubs. The biggest noticeable difference in the systems here and abroad is, apart from the odd exception, juniors cannot join private clubs unless their parents are members.

What would happen to an Aaron Baddeley (an American-born player who moved to Australia as a toddler), whose parents didn't play golf, had he remained in the States? If you want to grow the game in the U.S., then open underutilized private clubs to local juniors at a modest fee.

There are hundreds of clubs in metropolitan areas where play on most mornings, for instance, is nonexistent. As a rule, clubs are losing members and struggling to survive economically and some have been sold off for real estate. Yet the next generation of customers is being ignored as a solution.

Place restrictions on the total number of juniors and limit their tee times if necessary, but if they have a low handicap, they should be able to play almost anytime. The club professional and a handful of club members could help school the rawest players in the game's rules and etiquette. But the upside is potentially tremendous - these are members of the future, and we have a chance to instill a passion for the game at a young age.

All this hit home a few years ago when I was doing a book signing in Chicago, a city with an abundance of great private courses. A lady in her 60's came up and wondered if I could help. She was a member of a private club and had two granddaughters who loved the game, but her club limited play only to the children of members. Although she had four or five private clubs within five minutes of her house, the children could not play any of them. So, she was forced to drive her granddaughters across town to a public course to take lessons and play, where they tried to find a spot among the adult golfers playing - a crazy situation. Sorry to say, I had no answer for her.

A very prestigious private club in London, Sunningdale, which will host the Women's British Open in 2008, has a very active junior membership. Parents don't have to be members and kids ride their bikes to the course. They have their own committee and junior club captain and many current full members of the club are former juniors who went through the program.

Ian Poulter, the well-known European Tour player, plays out of a fine club north of London called Woburn, which has over 100 junior members - half claim handicaps of 5 or better. The Woburn juniors play interclub matches, compete in junior tournaments, and if they are good enough, receive instruction by English Golf Union coaches.

Australia's Robert Allenby once told me that his junior membership fee to Royal Melbourne was $150.00, which gave him reciprocal rights at other great clubs in the famed Sand-belt area, which includes some of the finest courses in the world. It certainly is interesting to compare how the various models work - or how they don't.

When I first came to the U.S. and conducted junior clinics at a private club in Chicago, the majority of the young players were dropped off by their parents and had little interest in playing. The clinics were more of a babysitting service than anything. Yet if enthusiastic youngsters are allowed to join a club, I guarantee that they will have the passion and desire.

They will be hungry scrappers with lofty goals who are helped and encouraged along the way to reach those aspirations. Granted, it's expensive to play golf in the States - pricey real estate costs a fortune to maintain - but if you want to grow the game using the international model, then the rules of membership need to change or the private clubs could follow the dinosaur into extinction.

Annika Sorenstam's parents were shocked at how few juniors play at private clubs in the States. Whereas, back home in Sweden, there are always kids playing, practicing and competing in club competitions. Kids just like their two daughters, Annika and Charlotta, who both made it to the LPGA.

How many potential Tigers and Annikas are we losing in the U.S.? Since talented young athletes, of which there are millions, are not being given the opportunity to play this great game, then golf is the loser.

If national pilot programs were established in the States, it not only would help preserve the game, but ensure its crucial transition into future generations. Surely, some budding American stars would be identified and given crucial assistance as they moved through the developmental pipeline, just as the Aussies and Scandinavians have been doing for decades abroad.

Interestingly enough, the British have adopted a more positive approach to get more young players into the game in recent years, and are really starting to see the benefits of all their hard work. Seventeen year-old Oliver Fisher was the youngest player ever to play in the Walker Cup in 2005. The pool of talent in Great Britain is growing tremendously!

In my opinion, the U.S. really needs to jump on the bandwagon. Who knows, they might even win the Ryder Cup more often!

Until next time... "Hit 'em well"

David L.