To help attract more new players to golf, the game’s greatest player is experimenting with fun and innovative options at one of the world’s most prestigious golf clubs. The Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus will host two separate 12-hole tournaments over Labor Day weekend at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, home of the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament. During these tournaments, golfers will be encouraged to play one tee in front of where they normally play, the hole will be almost doubled in size, and participants will be penalized for slow play.
At Muirfield Village Golf Club, Nicklaus has created a 12-hole scorecard as an option for members. The 12-hole composite (Holes 1, 2, 5-13 and 14) will be used for a 12-hole better-ball tournament on Sunday, Sept. 4, and another 12-hole, stroke-play event on Labor Day, Sept. 5. In both rounds, the club will use an 8-inch cup, rather than the normal 4.25 inches. To encourage faster play, golfers will be required to complete their round in 2.5 hours, and will be penalized one stroke for every five minutes over the allotted time limit.
“I love the game of golf and believe we have a unique opportunity right now to grow our sport,” Nicklaus said. “But we all have to recognize that the game in our country has been stagnant for a number of years, and actually has lost a significant number of golfers—close to four million in the last five years, according to the National Golf Foundation. The numbers of female and junior golfers—two segments that once represented a large percentage of the new people coming into the game—have dropped 23 and 35 percent, respectively, over the last five years. Many say the game is too hard and others say the game takes too long.
“I think the game is a great game and in no way am I trying to change it. There are few bigger traditionalists than me, but I realize we need to start thinking out of the box. So I ask all the traditionalists to be tolerant while we try something new, something fun to hopefully help us grow the game. It’s too important for us not to try. With so many sports and activities fighting for the time and attention of families, we need to think of ways to make our game more attractive and thus more inviting, especially to children and young adults. Perhaps what Muirfield Village is trying over Labor Day can help open a few eyes and a few minds.”
Nicklaus has been outspoken in recent months about providing new and current golfers options in a round of golf. For example, if golfers are limited by time or energy, encourage them to play 6, 9 or 12 holes instead of 18. Nicklaus has also encouraged clubs to occasionally expand the hole once a month or even once a week in an effort to entice some people who might have been reluctant to try the game because they fear it’s too difficult.
Muirfield Village intends to extend their experiment into October. Traditionally, as the golf season nears its end, the club has invited all members’ children who play on a local golf team, middle school or high school, to bring their entire team to play the world-ranked golf course. This year the tradition will continue, but with a 12-hole event utilizing the 8-inch cup.
In addition to the unique Labor Day weekend format, the event and the club will be playing in support of Patriot Golf Day (Sept. 2-5). At least $1 per person from every round of golf will be collected and donated, although members will be encouraged to give more.
