I didn't like any of the answers you provided, but a few of them were close. I think there's a LOT to the issue. (I can see this being a long post, so I apologize in advance)
Most of the people I know personally got into golf because they were mentored into golf, either by a friend or family member. When I was a teen (80s) I had quite a few mentors I respected, and one of them was the Youth Pastor at my church who was an avid golfer. He had a set of clubs in his office at church and that's how it all started. I asked him about the clubs, asked him about the game, he taught me the interlocking grip, taught me how to putt like a pendulum, and it wasn't long before we were on a golf course driving range with him teaching me the basics of a golf swing.
Where are the mentors today? Who are YOU mentoring (not just in golf, but in life)?
We grew up hearing about generation gaps. At some points in history they're large. Sometimes they're small. But thanks to many things, I think today's generation gap is larger than I can ever remember. When I was growing up, I would NEVER talk to an adult with the disrespect that MANY (maybe most) kids today have. They think just because they reach the age of 18 and are still breathing that they are somehow equal to every adult in the world, and that's simply NOT the case. If you're one of the people who thinks that, let me clue you in. Just because you are legally an adult does NOT mean you deserve the same respect as someone who has achieved far more in life than you probably ever will. Tell ya what...go get a degree and/or become successful in a career, become self-supporting, and start giving back to your community and I'll give you the same level of respect that I give others of us who have done the same. Until then, accept the fact that you have NOT arrived, you have FAR more work to do, and you are NOT the stud that you think you are.
No matter how much I'd love to mentor kids with these attitudes, the simple fact is most of them don't WANT to be mentored. They want to do it THEIR way and refuse to "conform" because their peers have brainwashed them into thinking that conformity is the enemy of personal freedom. And as long as they're not receptive to mentoring, it's impossible to lead them into anything, much less a hobby/sport like golf which requires STRICT conformity to the rules in order to be appreciated.
Lisa and I hit the range at Valley Golf Saturday and again had to put up with some guys, probably late teens or very early 20's, who have a lot to learn about etiquette. As near as I could tell, the three of them were having a challenge on who could kill the ball the deadest, and yelling after every shot. Sometimes they'd sky the ball and end up hitting the roof just over the practice tees, yelling and laughing about that, too. After about 30 minutes of listening to them, one of the guys from the pro shop came up to see if they needed something. My wife explained it later. It's an automated facility, and you adjust the height of the tee using a little touch pad. Well, apparently they were also having a little contest to see what would happen if one of the other guys was constantly changing the height of the tee while the one guy was hitting (probably the cause of the shots hitting the roof) and one of them accidentally hit the "CALL" button for the pro shop.
The younger generation has equated self-discipline with following rules, and following rules is conformity, and conformity is bad. Taking advice...well, that's like following rules, too.
The only way to get kids these days to do things is to convince them that they WANT to do it. Then you have to convince them that there is a logical reason for every rule. Otherwise you get people who argue with every rule, saying things like "you can't prove there's a need for the rule so it shouldn't be a rule" (anyone read the anchored putting ban thread?).
Golf is doomed as long as the younger generation is so high on themselves that they refuse to follow any of our advice, much less our traditions.
Oh, it may survive on the PS3 or XBox, but the game itself doesn't have much of a chance with the current "youngsters" in my opinion. I can only hope that THEIR kids reverse the trend and actually learn to show respect for others, respect for history, and a desire to maintain tradition that their parents didn't seem to have.
