Golf is back in the Summer Olympics in Paris this summer, marking the third consecutive Olympics with golf as an official medal sport.
But not every fan is all that excited by golf in the Olympics. Some see the Olympics as well behind the major championships in the sport in importance. Others just wonder if golfers really care about the Olympics after nearly a century of the sport not being in the Games.
For others, the problem with Olympic golf is that it doesn’t feel special. The Olympics are a big deal to fans because they showcase sports that aren’t on television every week – or at all – and fans get to see these sports in different formats and in unique locations.
Golf lacks that special quality in the Olympics. A 72-hole stroke play format can be seen on television on a number of tours each week. In addition, golfers play different golf courses each week, so a course in Paris can look a lot like a course in Florida.
There are a few things that could make Olympic golf a bit more special. For instance:
Add a team event
Perhaps you can’t get away from individual competition, because golf is such an individual sport. But other sports in the Olympics had both individual and team competition (think gymnastics and swimming). So a team event in addition to the individual event might be intriguing. Imagine Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler together taking on the world for the USA.
More: Olympics: Field of 60 golfers, famous course part of Summer Games for men, women
More players, but add a cut
Sixty players seems like a pretty small group of players for golf. That could very easily be increased to 100 players, but you couldn’t have 100 players reaching the final round. So like other sports that have qualifying heats, golf could just add a 36-hole cut. More golfers would be able to call themselves Olympians, even if they miss the cut, just like the 100-meter dash runner who finishes in 12.02 seconds in his one and only race. And you’d likely still end up with a strong leaderboard the final day.
Add a mixed-team event
This is so obvious that you’re likely going to see this at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles at Riviera Country Club. Again, you would likely add a few golfers to the Games from countries that have, let’s say, one strong women player but only an average male player who couldn’t make an individual field. On the other end, imagine Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda representing the USA, or Tommy Fleetwood and Charley Hull teeing up for Great Britain. Maybe have a limit of no more than two teams per country.
Maybe 54 holes instead of 72
This is more about the logistics of the event, assuming you add a third event for mixed teams or even a fourth event for single-sex team events. Men’s and women’s golf are both four days and 72 holes in the current Olympics. But to add a third event on the same course might require a little re-working of formats. To go from eight days to 12 days of golf might be asking a bit much. But if the men’s, women’s and mixed team events were 54 holes, that would still increase golf from the current eight days to nine days, while allowing for a day off between each event.
Limit a country’s players
Okay, this is a small thing, but if you are truly trying to grow the game around the world, then maybe the biggest golfing countries don’t need four players as a maximum each Olympics. Countries like Spain and the United States get four players from the world rankings, but they would still be well-represented with just three players. Take those other spots and give them to counties where golf is only starting to get a foothold. And the United States and Spain would still have three world-class players in the field.
Larry Bohannan is the golf writer for The Desert Sun. You can contact him at (760) 778-4633 or at larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @larry_bohannan. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Desert Sun.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Five ways to add oomph to golf at the Summer Olympics
