Brad - Olympic Ideal continues:
Bill - Too Much continues:
swimming, and cycling - and all of these sports are Olympic sports.
logistically it will be a staging nightmare. Golf courses require a substantial land area for new construction but even using an existing course will be a major undertaking in course preparation, staffing, crowd control (although there may not be much of crowd) and media coverage. As opposed to an event such as swimming or track where ticketholders attend discrete competitive events of one to two hours, team golf can extend up to five or six hours per match. Most persons attending the Olympics want to experience a range of competitions during the visit. From a television perspective, golf does not lend itself to the Olympic format of quickly moving from one venue to another. At best, it will be a choppy presentation.
Let’s take the advice and direction of the recognized leaders in golf such as Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington, and Ernie Els, and add golf as a permanent event in the summer games. Including golf under the Olympic Rings can only enhance the game we all love, and will continue the growth of the game for years to come that these professionals and many others in golf have worked so hard to establish. I am sure each of these players display their Claret Jug, Wannamaker Trophy, or Masters Trophy prominently in their trophy case, and it would be hard to imagine an Olympic gold medal would not be on par with each of their lifetime golf accomplishments. - MG -
Photo courtesy of Glen Echo CC
Second, the major golf manufacturers have little need to commit substantial resources to the competition. Between the individual tours and the existing international team competitions, the additional exposure from the Olympics hardly justifies the expenditures. Television viewers who enjoy golf (and would supposedly watch the games) already are familiar with the names Titleist, Taylormade, Callaway, and other brands on bags, shirts, hats, and balls. In today’s world, if someone can watch the Olympics games on television, in all probability they can watch professional golf coverage. This is not about Speedos and snowboards.
16
WINTER
2010/11
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MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE