in your opinion is golf getting younger?

[GPGolfer]

This video definitely screams golf is young - what are your thoughts????

[Fourputt]

I guess I don't see what you're getting at.  A company I've never heard of creates an ugly line of golf shoes and that means that golf is getting younger?  I don't see it as being any younger that it was when I was in my 30's.  It's a game for all ages, and I don't find any of my generation quitting.  If anything the guys I've played with for 30 years are playing more now than they ever did because we have more free time and most of us have the income to afford it.  I play with guys my age who have just taken up the game since they retired.

So no I don't agree with your premise.

[Kieran123]

Yes golf is getting younger.....I think the younger generation are changing the game for the better

Kikkor make some cool skate style golf shoes, ones that old people hate ( see above )

http://www.kikkor.com/Products/All

[newtogolf]

Fun video, but that doesn't look like golf to me, could be doing the same tricks with a hockey stick.  I'm sure the marketing departments for golf equipment and clothing manufacturers are all trying to figure out how to revive golf and attract the younger demographics but it's going to take alot more than a video  and skater golf shoes for that to happen.

[Harmonious]

The only thing I could see is that golf looks to be making inroads into the Warehouse Laborer demographic.

[clubchamp]

It's hard to say my guess is that it's probably not getting any younger. I'm sure younger people have interest but if you mean serious players probably not. I actually think that most of the younger generation doesn't fully get into golf until the are in their mid 20s- 30s. Golf is an expensive hobby and a lot of people don't have the money to play all the time so it's easier for them to participate in regular high school sports.

[golf4fun12]

I would say golf is and has always been getting younger. I see young kids play all the time now on the golf course.

[GPGolfer]

that video was something that spawned my question and in no way am I saying  - that's golf - though the guy in the video is a professional golfer...Look at recent tournament wins, leader boards and they tell a different story. I think golf is getting younger - which is a good thing, right?

[newtogolf]

Originally Posted by GPGolfer

that video was something that spawned my question and in no way am I saying  - that's golf - though the guy in the video is a professional golfer...Look at recent tournament wins, leader boards and they tell a different story. I think golf is getting younger - which is a good thing, right?

No question there are a number of good young golfers on both tours but I'm not sure that means the 12-18 or 18-24 demographics are playing more golf overall.  Based on what I've read on private clubs hurting for money and reports from the manufacturers say they want to target these demographics but they aren't sure how to attract them to the sport.  I agree it's a good thing, but I hear from my own kids and their friends, golf is still considered "for old people" and "boring" despite my arguments otherwise.

[Judson]

I myself being a teen that avidly plays golf would say that golf is not getting younger but that a new generation of golfers is moving in to continue the sport. I have many friends that either play seriously or just for the enjoyment of the game.

[JordanJCaron]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

No question there are a number of good young golfers on both tours but I'm not sure that means the 12-18 or 18-24 demographics are playing more golf overall.  Based on what I've read on private clubs hurting for money and reports from the manufacturers say they want to target these demographics but they aren't sure how to attract them to the sport.  I agree it's a good thing, but I hear from my own kids and their friends, golf is still considered "for old people" and "boring" despite my arguments otherwise.

I'mt not sure if these club manufactures really want to go after the younger demographic.  We don't have a lot of disposable income (drinks with friends trumps golf any day) and we can hardly afford green fees or memberships so why would we want to buy a new driver in exchange for 4 days of work?

James is a friend from my junior golf days and i'm more impressed with with business than I am his golf game which is saying a lot as he was an incredible talent.  He has simply picked out a niche market and done a hell of a job marketing to them.  Makes no sense for someone who wears the X games style clothing to buy and wear Foot Joy saddles does it?  Buying a pair of shoes that range somewhere between $90 and $135 is reasonable, buying new clubs isn't.

To the original poster, does this mean the game is getting younger?  By game do you refer to the the small minority of players that play the PGA Tour or the golfers who are out paying green fees?  I really don't see the game getting younger but I don't work at a public course.  Personally, the only ones who can answer that are the employees of the public golf courses.

[lumpuckeroo]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

I guess I don't see what you're getting at.  A company I've never heard of creates an ugly line of golf shoes and that means that golf is getting younger?  I don't see it as being any younger that it was when I was in my 30's.  It's a game for all ages, and I don't find any of my generation quitting.  If anything the guys I've played with for 30 years are playing more now than they ever did because we have more free time and most of us have the income to afford it.  I play with guys my age who have just taken up the game since they retired.

So no I don't agree with your premise.

I would agree with Fourputt.  They might be making clothes and shoes that are more appealing to a younger generation, but I don't think that means golf is getting younger.  IMHO I think all that means is that the younger generation has a different taste than my generation, which had different taste than my father's generation.  You can see that in the "athletic" style golf shoes, those did not exist when my father first started playing any more than cargo shorts were acceptable when I started playing.  I think it is simply a change in younger golfers taste.

[newtogolf]

Originally Posted by JordanJCaron

I'mt not sure if these club manufactures really want to go after the younger demographic.  We don't have a lot of disposable income (drinks with friends trumps golf any day) and we can hardly afford green fees or memberships so why would we want to buy a new driver in exchange for 4 days of work?

James is a friend from my junior golf days and i'm more impressed with with business than I am his golf game which is saying a lot as he was an incredible talent.  He has simply picked out a niche market and done a hell of a job marketing to them.  Makes no sense for someone who wears the X games style clothing to buy and wear Foot Joy saddles does it?  Buying a pair of shoes that range somewhere between $90 and $135 is reasonable, buying new clubs isn't.

To the original poster, does this mean the game is getting younger?  By game do you refer to the the small minority of players that play the PGA Tour or the golfers who are out paying green fees?  I really don't see the game getting younger but I don't work at a public course.  Personally, the only ones who can answer that are the employees of the public golf courses.

Young or old, golf can be an expensive sport to get involved with, but then competition level skateboards, trucks and wheels aren't that cheap either, nor are skater shoes, and clothes.

The two demographics are different, in the 12-18, they are targeting parents wallets through their kids.  Manufacturers are sponsoring golf camps, youth lessons, and some courses even have discounted youth rates to encourage mom and dad to get their kids involved in the sport.  Nike and Adidas have done a decent job in making golf shoes and clothes look less "golfy", and the push to ease dress codes on courses is also an attempt to attract younger players.  In the 18-24 group they hope to sustain the interest established in the earlier years and promote it further in the form of golf scholarships, internships, etc.

Golf is one of the few sports that recognizes the sport is expensive and encourages the pre-owned market, supporting trade-ins and certified equipment.  Most other sports ignore the pre-owned market or attempt to discredit it.  The reality is a set of decent pre-owned clubs and some woods can be purchased from a Callaway pre-owned or Taylor Made pre-owned for a few hundred dollars, even cheaper at garage sales or eBay.  I don't see the costs as much of a barrier as the stigma golf has created as being a "pompous, boring sport" old people play when they can't play other sports.  I thought that as a kid and hated whenever golf was on television.  Now I wish I learned the game when I was younger.  The combination of mental and physical skill it requires makes it one of the most overall challenging sports I've ever seriously played.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by GPGolfer

that video was something that spawned my question and in no way am I saying  - that's golf - though the guy in the video is a professional golfer...Look at recent tournament wins, leader boards and they tell a different story. I think golf is getting younger - which is a good thing, right?

How do you figure.  Palmer won in his 20's, so did Jack, and Miller did too, as did Mickelson and Woods.  That happens in every sport and every generation.  The young come up and the older players move on.  That's no different now than it has ever been.  As per another comment, the game is too expensive for most kids to play unless their parents are unusually well off.

My home course runs junior golf camps every summer, but I haven't seen any increase in participation  in the last 15 years.  The camps have always been well attended, but most of the kids rarely show up again after the camp is over.

My home course also hosts several local high school teams, both boys and girls, and while most of the boys are usually into the game, the girls seem do it more as a social outing.  They are there more for the extracurricular credit than for any real love of the game.  Only about one in ten actually seems to be there for the golf.

I still don't see anything you've put forth that serves as evidence of any change in the age demographic.

Originally Posted by Judson

I myself being a teen that avidly plays golf would say that golf is not getting younger but that a new generation of golfers is moving in to continue the sport. I have many friends that either play seriously or just for the enjoyment of the game.

Good comments, and quite in keeping with what I see.

[mck]

Originally Posted by GPGolfer

that video was something that spawned my question and in no way am I saying  - that's golf - though the guy in the video is a professional golfer...Look at recent tournament wins, leader boards and they tell a different story. I think golf is getting younger - which is a good thing, right?

I think your confusing "tournament wins and leaderboardes" with magazine covers and commercials.

[bwdial]

Golf shoes, hats and clothes are getting uglier, I'll give you that.

[sean_miller]

I see very few juniors playing, but maybe they just don't play as many rounds as old people so they're less visible. A couple local courses have absolutely no junior programs and I've never seen a single teenager there. Compared to other activities (most of which can be done for free somewhere once some basic gear is purchased or borrowed), golf must seem like a boring activity played mostly by old people. Certainly not cool or hip, no matter what Ricky Fowler does. Maybe the kids think he's cool, but he sort of reminds me of a Power Puff Girl.

[Johnnyooze]

Id say golf isnt getting any younger. The line seems to hover around mid twenties. Younger than that more people fart around the driving range and minu course then are serious. Im 27 and when before last summer, golf was an excuse to go day drinking with my buddies. Plus since most kids are in school/college, theyd rather use their free time/money partying and playing vids. Those shoes look cool and id pick up a pair, but if theyre not leather then the waterproof factor comes into play, and a ugly grass stain would build up on the left toe. The vid reminds me of the billys balls pong pong lol.