Golf’s thorny road back to the Games. Now he’s grateful for the Olympics, but he’s languishing. Missing more top players and team format

The packed Golf National en Yvelines near Paris is proof that golf belongs at the Olympic Games and is in great demand. But as life goes, not everything is perfect. In 2016, golf returned to the event under five rings after 112 long years. Its fans are understandably grateful. But there are a few major reservations.

• Between 1904 and 2016, golf was not played at the Olympics
• Only 60 players participate in the tournament
• Fans are calling for a team format

The first time golf appeared in the Olympics was in 1900. Who knew then that four years later in St. Louis, it would be the last time for a long time. No other sport has been missing from the Olympics for as long as golf. Moreover, the 1904 edition was considered very successful and attractive.

It was planned to include a golf tournament in the programme of the Games in London 1908. After all, it was in this country that the game was so popular. It was even to be played over 108 holes. But there was a miscommunication between the top golf officials, the owners of the St. Andrews course and the organizers of the games.

Many futile attempts have been made to bring back

Four years later in Sweden, the idea of a golf tournament again failed due to the lack of a good 18-hole course and the little tradition of the sport in the country. The First World War caused another postponement.

The more golf became professionalised, the further it moved away from the ideas of the Olympic representatives. Golf had a big chance to make a comeback in 1996, when the games were held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. After all, this is where perhaps the most famous course in the world is located, where the Masters is played every year. The organisers felt it would be an iconic place to bring golf back to the Olympics.

Only, the PGA Tour calendar was already highly inflated, the PGA would have to make some concessions. And there were also concerns that an Olympic tournament on the Augusta National course would overshadow the legendary Masters.

It was clear by then that golf’s return to an event under five rings would not be easy. But in 2008, the Olympic Golf Committee (IGF) was formed and created a plan to bring golf back to the Olympics. A key meeting of the International Olympic Committee in 2009 decided that golf would finally get the green light in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. And a dark age lasting 112 years came to an end.

It takes more of the best players

The popularity of any competition will always be built on how many quality athletes participate. We can see this in the Olympic hockey tournament, for example. Since NHL players stopped coming to the Olympics, the popularity of hockey at the games has plummeted.

Or another question – how many people actually care about the Olympic football tournament when the best players in the world are not playing. Even for die-hard football fans, it’s a “do the math” tournament. Nothing attractive.

The same will be true in golf. The more of the best players on the course, the more the mass of fans around the greens and on the TV screens will grow.

Of course, everyone is grateful for golf’s return to the Olympics. But it’s impossible not to have reservations. In 1904, the tournament attracted 77 players (74 Americans and 3 Canadians); today it’s only 60. The biggest problem is that these are definitely not the 60 best players in the world. The starting field is laid out according to an outdated world ranking to include as many nations as possible.

The United States has eleven players in the top twenty in the world rankings (OWGR). And that’s not counting recent U.S Open winner Bryson Dechabeau and other players who play the LIV Golf League series, so they don’t earn points in the OWGR, but everyone knows they are among the best in the world.

Instead, the roster of sixty players includes golfers that even the biggest golf fans have to Google to find out about.

Of course, giving unknown players a chance at such a tournament may not be downright wrong. Maybe a new superstar will emerge on the scene. The problem is more that 60 players is too damn few in this day and age of professional golf. Even the biggest major tournaments, including the aforementioned Masters, have a wider starting field.

In short, there are more than 60 players in the world who have a chance to win Olympic gold. Most importantly, until the Games organizers understand this and change the qualifying criteria, they will never be able to make Olympic golf one of the most prestigious events in the world.

This is not to put down the Olympic golf tournament in any way, of course, but it is worth noting that it could have been a much bigger deal. These days, though, golf is probably mostly grateful to be at the Olympics at all.

The lack of a team format

Although golf is primarily an individual sport, the rich history of the Ryder Cup (USA vs. Europe) in particular shows that golf can also be attractive as a team sport. Interestingly, as early as 1904, the team format was also played. The Canadians, with their four players, were unable to field a complete team, so only three American teams played the tournament.

Nowadays, however, golf is already a global sport. In the long run, the Americans would probably be as dominant as they are in basketball, but it would certainly be a spectacle to watch. We’ll see what the next few years show us.

According to The Athletic, however, the idea is already on the IOC’s desk, awaiting a review and subsequent decision. It would not only add value to golf at the LOH, but also consolidate its still somewhat precarious position.

At the very least, the reaction of the fans suggests that they would definitely like such a competition. Even so, nearly 30,000 turned out for the first round in Paris. In addition, in four years’ time, the US Olympics (Los Anegels) will come around. At the moment, it looks like golf should remain in the Olympics in the years to come, despite all the doubts. And that is what matters most now.

Source: Paris 2024