For all the talk about the problems in golf — whether it be due to combating professional tours, low viewership numbers, falling stock prices or brand sell-offs — it’s hard for all of us to agree on one specific root cause.

Many reading this will deny that there’s a problem to discuss in the first place. This is true depending on the lens through which you view the game. If you’re not a fan of men’s professional golf, you may hold the opinion that the game you play a few times a month remains unchanged. If you enjoy reading more about the economical side of the game (as I do), you might have a different perspective.

No matter your perspective, it’s hard to ignore the constant hum of negativity surrounding a game that is as multi-faceted as it is stuck in its own ways. Suddenly, it feels like a huge injection of “modernization" has been administered to golf in an attempt to make it… better?

For example, the ongoing drama in men’s pro golf remains fluid. One month we’re wondering when a merger between the PGA TOUR and LIV Golf might happen, only to have this narrative flipped on its head weeks later. Insinuations that LIV players would have to “give back” some of their contract money as a means to rejoin the PGA TOUR have been laughed off as lunacy.

The case for a merger seems all but lost at this point, even in the wake of abysmal television viewership numbers for both tours. We are constantly told actual viewership is hard to quantify due to the number of cable and streaming outlets broadcasting the events, but numbers we are able to track are anything but encouraging. It should be noted that the Majors continue to be the biggest draws for casual and die-hard viewers alike.

Meanwhile, news breaks on the golf entertainment juggernaut Topgolf Callaway splitting off into two entities following a steep decline in Q2 earnings and stock ratings. What seemed like a wonderful partnership in 2021 has degraded into a coexistence that appears lost and at odds with one another. This is despite numerous Top Golf locations continuing to pop up all over the globe, including the recent announcement of an expansion into Saudi Arabia.

We also can’t forget about the ever-present yet worsening slow play and crowded tee-sheet problems we all feel at our neighborhood courses. Golf’s COVID boom may be on the decline, however a significant subset of new golfers remain engaged while contributing to the bottlenecks on fairways. Old men yelling at clouds will point to this being the worst problem plaguing the game as opposed to embracing its growth and longevity.

Simply stated: none of the above paints a rosy picture for the game.

I believe all of this is more a perfect storm of sensationalistic opportunity as opposed to a larger assumption that golf is dying. The COVID Boom was always going to fizzle out at some point. Global economic factors have as many peaks and valleys as any Top Golf reservation sheet, however major golf brands are not immune from poor investments. And the pros? Well… they’ve always done their own thing anyway.

It’s unclear if what golf is experiencing at the moment is problematic or just a natural lifecycle of a longstanding global pastime. What is abundantly clear is just how different the game feels as a whole. New technologies are paving the way for new ways to engage in the game. Fledgeling products like the upcoming TGL “live simulator golf” series or the continued expanse of Top Tracer-equipped driving ranges are but two examples. The new golfer entry point feels “older” now as teens and 20-somethings are picking up the game for the first time (and have a little extra spending cash to do it). These factors have traditionally looked much different than they do now.