|
|
Red, White ... and Blue?
Golf organizations in the U.S. need to do a better job of nurturing youthful talent December 8, 2005 By Peter Kostis
Contributing Writer, GOLF MAGAZINE A look at the Official World Golf Ranking reveals some potentially troubling news for the future of American golf: In golf’s upper echelon, there is a near-total absence of young Yanks. Tiger Woods is still young, of course, though he turns 30 on December 30th. What is missing from the rankings are Americans in the mold of Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, and Luke Donald—all in their 20s, and all ranked in the top 15 in the world.
Quick, name the highest-ranked American player under 25. Would you guess Sean O’Hair? That’s right, the 23-year-old O’Hair, who most fans hadn’t heard of just one year ago, is ranked 37th in the world. In fact, he is the only American "young gun" in the top 50!
I’m not trying to be alarmist, because I’m a firm believer that talent goes through cycles and often appears in bunches. England, for instance, is riding a crest right now, with young players such as Donald, Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, and David Howell winning on various tours around the world. There is no question that golf is a much more global game than it ever has been before, and foreign-born players such as Ernie Els and Vijay Singh are popular stars on the PGA Tour. But it still begs the question: Why is a nation of nearly 300 million people unable to produce as many top young Tour stars as Australia, whose population is just 10 percent of that?
Sean O'Hair is one of the few young American golfers who made noise in 2005.Getty Images
|
In part, the answer lies with the state of college golf and PGA Tour Qualifying School, which has just ended. American college golf programs are not the best incubator for or developer of professional talent. They do a fine job of giving student-athletes a place to play and compete, but a college coach’s goal is to win tournaments. In the quest for those victories, and with dwindling budgets, many college coaches simply give spots to the better foreign players with a tournament record and fail to “beat the bushes” for Americans with potential.
Collegiate golfers who do turn pro are often met with the harsh reality of Q-school, where changes are needed as well. Exemptions past certain stages of Q-school should be abolished. Everyone should go through three stages, thus evening the playing field for the younger players (only 10 of 32 Tour cards earned this year went to players who survived all three stages). If they survive the torture chamber that is Q-school, they’re faced with playing 35 to 40 times a year with much less time to prepare between events. Compared to the spacing of the college and amateur tournament schedule, this can expose flaws in players’ swing skills and sap their energy and confidence.
|
