Golf is making a mess of its reintroduction to the Olympics
No one knows what level of impact the Olympic Games will have on golf, which makes its return to the planet’s greatest sporting spectacle in Rio de Janeiro this summer after an absence of over a century. Unfortunately, golf might lose its seat at the table before any real impact - positive or otherwise - can even be measured.
As things stand, golf will be played at The Olympics in Rio this summer, and in Japan, four years down the line. After that, its overall contribution to the Games will be evaluated and a decision will be made on whether to extend its participation. In other words, it has two Games, and a grand total of 144 holes to make a really good impression.
The sport’s governing bodies fought tooth and nail to earn golf a spot at the world’s mostwatched sports event, convinced that this added exposure could bring new people to the game and give golf a much-needed platform for growth. It’s a formula that tennis has used to marked effect. While no one in that sport would argue that an Olympic gold medal supersedes a tennis grand slam, the Games has nonetheless carved out a coveted and vital spot on the tennis calendar. Andy Murray’s triumph on his home soil at Wimbledon in 2012 was the catalyst that propelled him to his only two grand slam victories to date, the U.S. Open later that year and then Wimbledon, on the very same Centre Court in 2013.
So clearly, golf has a tremendous opportunity for a much-needed boost to its popularity and global stature. And so far, most of the players seem happy to waste it, thanks to an indifference to golf’s place on the Olympic roster. ‘ Tome, golf i snot an Olympic sport’ is the oft-used refrain from those players, such as Adam Scott and Charl Schwartzel, who have been quick to announce that they will be nowhere near Rio.
And they may well be right. Golf certainly doesn’t have the feel of a traditional Olympic sport, but then the same could be argued about almost any discipline outside the traditional realms of track and field, cycling and swimming. So does golf’s validity really matter here? Instead of making sure the players were invested in the Games and what it could potentially do for golf, we’re now in the embarrassing position where players are either openly rebelling against it, or merely lukewarm about its appeal. Sure, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth have said all the right things, but both have made it clear that the Olympics is below a major or Ryder Cup.
If golf ’s rulemakers had been more imaginative with the format, this may have been avoided. A team event, or even a mixed format, with stars from the men’s and women’s game teaming up together to represent their country, would have brought something unique to Rio. Instead, it’s another routine 72-hole stroke play event. For all the effort golf has made to get there, it appears whatever opportunity the Olympics may afford, is in danger of being squandered anyway.
“Whatever opportunity golf had to make an impact is in danger of being squandered.”