高爾夫在美國逐漸沒落 新技術可否拯救這項運動
Golf is stuck in the rough.
高爾夫運動已陷入困境。While other sports are growing in viewership, golf is slowing down. The July 22 World Cup game between the U.S.A. and Portugal earned a Nielsen household rating of 7.3. The 2014 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat earned an average per-night rating of 9.3. The 2014 Super Bowl between the Seahawks and the Broncos got a household rating of 46.4—up from 42 in 2009, when the Steelers and Cardinals played.
正當其他運動項目的觀衆人數不斷增長之際，高爾夫的觀賽人數卻在滑坡。市場研究機構尼爾森（Nielsen）公佈的數據顯示，7月22日巴西世界盃美國對戰葡萄牙的小組賽家庭收視率爲7.3。今年在聖安東尼奧NBA總決賽上馬刺隊對陣邁阿密熱火隊的場均收視率爲9.3。西雅圖海鷹隊和丹佛野馬隊角逐超級碗時的收視率爲46.4，高於2009年匹茲堡鋼人和亞利桑那紅雀對決時的42。Meanwhile, golf’s 2014 Masters tournament in April received a rating of 1.5, down from 2.0 last year.
而與此同時，今年4月份的高爾夫大師賽收視率僅爲1.5，低於去年的2.0。
And golf is not only slowing down on the screen. According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), golf course closings outpaced golf course openings in 2013 for the eighth straight year. Last year, 157.5 courses closed (the 0.5 represents a 9-hole course) and only 14 opened. In a recent newsletter, the NGF stated that the annual net reduction in the number of golf courses is now in the 130-160 range.
高爾夫的衰落不光體現在電視熒屏上。美國國家高爾夫基金會（National Golf Foundation）的數據顯示，2013年高爾夫球場的關閉速度連續第八年超過開設速度，過去一年共有157.5家高爾夫球場關門歇業（0.5代表一個9洞球場），而新開業的只有14家。該基金會最近發佈的新聞通訊稱，目前高爾夫球場每年的淨關閉數量介於130-160家之間。Jim Furyk, the 2010 FedEx Cup champion currently ranked No. 12 in the world on the PGA Tour, finds the decline a bit puzzling. “We are definitely in a difficult phase in golf right now,” he tells Fortune. “It’s surprising to me, because [in the past] golf was a really nerdy sport. It’s a lot more socially acceptable now.”
2010年聯邦快遞杯（FedEx Cup）冠軍，目前職業高爾夫巡迴賽（PGA Tour）排名第12的吉米o福瑞克對這項運動的每況愈下感到困惑不解。他對《財富》雜誌表示：“這讓我震驚。因爲[過去]高爾夫確實不討人喜歡，但現在人們對它的接受程度要高得多了。”On the other hand, PGA Junior League Golf has expanded from 1,500 youth participants in 2012 to 8,900 in 2013, a 490% increase. In 2014, participation doubled (18,000 kids). And if you ask Donald Trump, golf is “booming.” In a recent video interview with , Trump said the National Golf Foundation “is run by a person who is incompetent” and he refuted the NGF’s findings: “I think their numbers are totally wrong.” His basis for this claim: he said that his own golf courses and resorts are having their best year, “by far.” But Trump’s luxury courses (the initiation fee at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, FL is around $250,000; at Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, NY, it’s $350,000 plus $18,000 annual dues) do not represent the majority of golfers and golf clubs.
另一方面，參加PGA青少年巡迴賽的小選手人數從2012年1500人增至2013年的8900人，增幅爲490%。今年的參賽人數更是翻了一番（達到1.8萬人）。對房地產開發商唐納德o特朗普來說，高爾夫運動“欣欣向榮”。最近接受視頻採訪時，特朗普說美國國家高爾夫基金會“領導者不稱職”。他不認同該基金會的結論：“我覺得他們的數據完全錯了。”做出這一結論的基礎是什麼呢？特朗普指出，他的高爾夫球場和高爾夫度假村正經歷着情況最好的一年，“而且要比其他年份好得多”。但特朗普的豪華球場不能代表大多數打高爾夫的人，也不能代表大多數高爾夫俱樂部（設在佛羅里達州西棕櫚灘的特朗普國際高爾夫俱樂部的入會費爲25萬美元左右；設在紐約州布賴爾克利夫馬諾的特朗普國家高爾夫俱樂部的入會費爲35萬美元，每年還要繳納1.8萬美元會費。）。You could reasonably trace the sport’s decline to the pace of play. While a sport like hockey or basketball has plenty of nonstop action—athletes moving up and down the ice or court constantly—golf can be painfully slow. Colin Sheehan, head coach of the Men’s golf team at Yale University, thinks speed might be the issue. “What we really need is a culture of fast play, where there is less dilly-dallying,” he says.
人們可能會把高爾夫的衰落跟這項運動的節奏聯繫起來，這很合理。冰球或籃球等運動極具連貫性——運動員在冰場或球場上不停地來回穿梭——高爾夫卻可以奇慢無比。耶魯大學（Yale University）男子高爾夫球隊總教練科林o希恩認爲節奏也許是個問題：“我們真正需要的是一種快速運動的文化，一種少一些磨磨蹭蹭的文化。”Jack Nicklaus, one of golf’s living legends, has been pushing for 12-hole courses since 2007; he even built a few. Some argue that the sport is just plain too difficult, and others have considered expanding the four-and-a-quarter inch width of the golf course hole all the way to 15 inches (about the size of a large pizza), which would be just over 350% wider. Sheehan has strong feelings about this proposal. “It’s ludicrous,” he says. “Golf is a game of history and tradition…. It’s ridiculous and takes away from the integrity of the game.”
傑克o尼克勞斯是依然健在的高爾夫傳奇人物之一。2007年以來，他一直在推廣12洞球場，甚至修建了幾座這樣的球場。有人說高爾夫太難了，還有人想到把高爾夫球洞的直徑從4.25英寸一下擴大3.5倍以上，增加到15英寸（和大號披薩餅差不多大小）。這讓希恩感到很不滿：“這太荒唐了。高爾夫是一項歷史悠久、富於傳統的運動……這種想法很可笑，也失去了這項運動的本意。”Young golfers may also be attracted to new innovations. That’s what Irish entrepreneur John McGuire hopes. At the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando in January, McGuire unveiled Game Golf, which allows users to quickly see their average shot distance for each club, average putts per hole, fairway accuracy, and other statistics. For $249, the Game Golf kit comes with a belt clip-on device that weighs about an ounce, and multiple “tags” that screw onto your clubs—one for each club. Before beginning a round, you screw the tags into the appropriate club-shaft, turn the belt-clip on, and tap the two together. This creates a GPS data-point; Game Golf has collected 2 billion of them so far from 33,000 courses around the world.
但參與高爾夫運動的年輕人也許會被一些創新所吸引。這正是愛爾蘭企業家約翰o麥圭爾所希望的。1月份，在奧蘭多舉行的PGA商品展銷會上，麥奎爾推出了Game Golf，用戶通過這個產品可以迅速查看他們在各個俱樂部的平均擊球距離、每一洞的平均推杆次數、在球道上的準確程度以及其他數據。Game Golf售價249美元，包括一個別在腰帶上的“小盒子”，重約一盎司（約28克），以及多個用螺絲固定在球杆上的“釦子”——每隻球杆一個。開球前，把這些“釦子”旋進球杆尾部，把“小盒子”打開，然後讓二者接觸一下。這樣就建立了一個GPS數據點。目前，Game Golf已經在全球3.3萬座高爾夫球場收集了20億個這樣的數據點提供的信息。In the six months since its release, some three million shots have been recorded using Game Golf, which equates to about 45,000 rounds. According to the company, approximately 5,000 rounds of golf are uploaded per week from 55 countries around the world. It has also earned USGA approval, allowing it to be used in tournament play. Eric Jones, a PGA professional golf instructor at The Bridges in San Ramon, Calif., sees teaching potential in Game Golf. “I no longer have to ask a golfer how they played,” says Jones. “I can see it. Hole by hole and shot by shot. I can evaluate strategy: where they are placing the ball, which clubs they are selecting, and what decisions they are making.” His players are improving by an “average of 1.3 shots to 10.6 shots per round” using the new technology.
上市六個月以來，Game Golf記錄下了300多萬次揮杆，大約相當於4.5萬場高爾夫。麥圭爾的公司表示，每星期他們都能從全球55個國家收集約5000場高爾夫的信息。美國高爾夫球協會（USGA）還同意在巡迴賽上使用該產品。在加州聖拉蒙市The Bridges高爾夫球場工作的PGA職業教練埃裏克o瓊斯看到了Game Golf在傳授高爾夫技能方面的潛力。他說：“我不再需要去問人們他們打的怎麼樣。我可以看到，每一洞，每一杆都看得到。我可以評估人們的策略，包括他們把球放在哪裏，他們選擇哪隻球杆以及他們做出什麼樣的決定。”用了這項新技術後，瓊斯的學員“每場球平均能提高1.3杆到10.6杆”。Following a round, golfers can log on to the Game Golf website to view stats and data, and then, naturally, share them with friends. The idea is to help a golfer in New York compete for longest drive with his brother in California, or a woman in Florida attempt to hit more fairways than Lee Westwood, the 32nd ranked golfer in the world, whose statistics are also publicly available on the site.
打完一場高爾夫後，參與者可以登錄到Game Golf網站上查看自己的狀態和數據，當然，也可以和朋友們分享。這樣，在Game Golf的幫助下，在紐約打高爾夫的人就可以和在加利福尼亞的兄弟比較誰的擊球距離遠；在佛羅里達的女士也可以和全球排名第32位的李o韋斯特伍德比較誰在球道上更爲精準。韋斯特伍德在Game Golf網站公開了自己的擊球數據。Westwood is one of three pro golfers who own equity in Game Golf—the other two are Furyk and 2010 U.S. Open Champion Graeme McDowell (who appears to be aggressively diversifying his business interests—as Fortune reported, he is among an elite group of athletes to have just signed with Teneo Sports.) It’s still up for grabs if this technology can drum up more participation in the sport. Furyk won’t speculate, and only says, “Golf is supposed to be fun. I think that this well help make golf more fun.”
韋斯特伍德是參股Game Golf的三名職業高爾夫選手之一，另外兩人是福瑞克和2010年美國公開賽冠軍格雷姆o麥克道爾（麥克道爾看來正在積極地多方面發展自己的商業興趣——《財富》雜誌已經報道過，他是和諮詢機構Teneo Sports簽約的一批運動精英中一員）。這項技術能否吸引更多的人來打高爾夫尚無定論。對此福瑞克不打算進行猜測，他只是說：“高爾夫應該是一項有趣的運動。我覺得這會有助於它變得更有趣。”To be sure, Game Golf is just one of many new technologies hitting the course: high-tech putters (TaylorMade’s Spider Si), drivers (Nike’s VRS Covert 2.0), golf balls (Bridgestone’s B330 series), shoes (Callaway’s X Cage-Pro), and even tees (Tornado Tee) are released every few years. (Meanwhile, Golf Digest recently wrote about the increasing usage of drones in golf, for photography purposes.) These are great for the avid golfer, but an amateur might not understand the need for these upgrades. Game Golf may not be the best known company trying to modernize the green, but it appears to be the one most aggressively targeting the young and social media-savvy. Can that resuscitate the sport?
當然，Game Golf只是高爾夫運動引進的許多新技術中的一項，其他新技術還包括高科技推杆（如TaylorMade生產的Spider Si推杆）、球杆（如耐克的VRS Covert 2.0球杆）、高爾夫球（如普利斯通的B330系列）、球鞋（Callaway的X Cage-Pro）甚至球座（Tornado Tee）——每隔幾年就會出現新的技術，此外，《高爾夫大師》（Golf Digest）雜誌最近提到了在高爾夫球場上越來越多地使用無人機，目的是拍照。這些對高爾夫迷來說都是很棒的東西，但外行人可能不理解這些技術方面的升級有何必要。在試圖讓高爾夫運動實現現代化的公司中，Game Golf也許不是最出名的，但它看來是最積極地以年輕人和社交媒體名人爲目標的公司之一。這能讓高爾夫運動復甦嗎？McGuire believes it can. But, of course, products that seek to make golf better won’t have much of a future if there aren’t any golfers to use them.
對此麥奎爾毫不懷疑。不過，如果打高爾夫的人不使用這些新技術，這些希望改善這項運動的產品就不會有什麼未來可言。
