Opinion & Analysis

Barney Adams Wants To Keep The Golfers We Have

Published

13 years ago

Aug 23, 2013

There was a time in his professional career when Barney Adams sat near the top of the golf industry. His Tight Lies clubs were the darling of the industry and his eponymous company was growing at a profitable rate. That was back in the 1990s, when the combination of the baby boomers’ interest in golf and the advent of the Tiger Woods era gave golf its biggest boost since the 1950s and 60s.

Golfers of that era demanded (or at least we thought they demanded) courses of extreme length, to attempt to match their skills with those of the touring professionals. Many were built to accommodate this desire.

Time travel forward to 2013, where golf finds itself in a different state of grace. Course development in the U.S. has ground to a halt, and golfers are left with tracks that measure 7,200-plus yards. The Tiger impact has nearly extinguished itself and the boomers, sadly, have aged. And Barney Adams has sounded a trumpet blast of reaction to the excesses of the 1990s.

In a brief treatise he titled “A Solution to Golf’s Product Rejection,”Adams reveals a hypothesis called the Tour Test. His proposal would bring skill levels and courses in line, and work to keep current golfers in the game longer.

Adams eschews the vapid distance promotions of extreme courses, opting to focus not on length, but on shots into greens. That’s why he identified specific data on the clubs that male touring professionals hit into greens.

“Tour players will hit 6 or 7 irons into the green 26 percent of the time, an 8 iron 36 percent of the time and 9 irons or wedges 22 percent of the time,” said Adams, who gleaned the data from the PGA Tour’s ShotLink system.

Since amateur golfers typically have much longer clubs into greens and are affected psychologically by forced carries and other hazards that barely attract a touring professional’s attention, the combination of the two elements results in less success and enjoyment from approach shots. The joy born of a successful drive (often hit with an expensive driver) is offset by weak play into the green.

Amateur golfers, not touring professionals, drive the economic realities of the game. Golf now more than ever needs to direct its focus toward the amateur golfer and make the game enjoyable. Initiatives like “Tee It Forward” and “While We’re Young” promote themselves as bettering the game, but they don’t go far enough. After a thorough read of Adams’ treatise, it becomes quite evident that it’s not where you start the hole that matters, but the point from which you approach the green. Adams has determined that the magic bullet is the 8 iron. If an amateur golfer is able to hit an 8-iron (often an amateur’s favorite iron) 36 percent of the time into the green, success and enjoyment ensue.

Adams dreams of relocating yardage disks away from an emphasis on 150 yards, down to 135 yards, the average 8-iron distance of the male amateur golfer (he has similar data for women). He envisions the twin end results of his labors, neither of which he directly mentions in his monograph:

“The first is the issue of slow play; very simply, if golfers learn to play from the correct approach area play will speed up,” Adams said. “I realize slow play is a study unto itself, but this movement is definitely on the right side of the equation. The second is cost; I believe in value. Once you get courses playing correctly, you’ve increased value. The marketplace will determine actual cost far beyond any words by me.”

Throwing money at a headache is a basic and doomed approach to problem-solving. Adams prefers to break down the entire situation and determine the best element to target to resolve the dilemma. If American golf can trust itself enough to try the Adams Tour Test approach, it just might find the cure (rather than the panacea) it desperately needs.

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Ronald Montesano

Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

37 Comments

Golfer X

Sep 6, 2013 at 8:42 pm

Way too easy, have a marshal, actually knows the game; tell him to kick a the foursome off the green when they start to plumb-bob a 4 foot putt. That’ll will get some action.

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Ronald Montesano

Sep 2, 2013 at 7:37 am

I played a two-man scramble this weekend. I am a 5 and my teammate is a 10. The event was won by two guys who must have a combined 5 between them. Two divisions and we fell at the bottom of the upper division. Our score would have won the lower division. Sometimes there isn’t a place for you and you play for love and competition.

In the case of tee decks, there always is a proper place for you. If ego gets in the way of enjoyment, you lose. The scorecard (outside and in) cares only about the number you write down. Hitting a 240 yard approach that you can’t handle has little chance of elevating your esteem nor relieving tension. I’m told recreation is meant to do both.

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Sean

Aug 25, 2013 at 5:16 pm

I see the majority of golfers hitting fairway woods and hybrids into par fours. I ask myself, “How much fun can that be?” How often will the golfer have a birdie putt hitting those clubs into par fours?

Yet, they persist playing from tee boxes too far back. It has nothing to do with handicap, it does have to do with how far one hits the ball.

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Ronald Montesano

Aug 24, 2013 at 9:58 pm

The USGA is, in many ways, like the Vatican. You’ll not see it part with money. The bonus proposal is rife with potential for fraud.

Poor play is not enough to convince people to move up a deck.

I agree that moving up brings a different set of hazards into play, or at least a different look to the course.

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Matt

Aug 24, 2013 at 9:55 pm

Sure the average male golfer may hit an 8 iron 135 but ask that same male golfer how far he hits it and he’ll say 150 plus every time. The problem isn’t the length of golf courses from my experience they all have multiple tee’s to choose from but instead the fragile male ego. I’m a low handicap golfer with length similar to touring pro’s so naturally I play the back tee’s most of the time. Whenever someone joins up with me 90 percent of the time they play the back tee with me when they have no business being back there. I always tell them play whatever tee they’re comfortable with but once again that fragile male ego gets in the way. Sometimes I’ll move up just to make things easier on them.

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ABgolfer2

Aug 24, 2013 at 8:35 pm

Not rocket science. Encourage people to keep an index and play competitions. They’ll soon find a set of tees that works for their game. Want to get more people through the gates ? Have two shotgun start tee times per day and everything else is twilight at reduced rates. The best part of this article is the Barney Adams quotes were text not audio.

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mr_divots

Aug 24, 2013 at 3:18 pm

I have to say, one of the longest rounds I had this year came on one of the shortest courses I play. The COURSES need to do a MUCH better job of managing play and how they put golfers out on the course. This particular instance, they had the mens club and two womens clubs playing matches, with 8 minutes between them and general public play. 6200 yards took 5.5 hours. I don’t care what tees you play from that course, it should take no more than 3.5 hours to play such a track. That’s all on the courses trying to rake in as much money as possible in a down economy without much of an eye to the furture and what kind of experience they are providing presently. Everyone is scared to death to tell people to pick up the pace for fear of REVENUE loss.
Approach this angle and we may get somewhere.
USGA “Fast Play Rewards?” Finish in sub 4 hours and get $10 off your next round? That’s my idea anyway. USGA can do something with all their club approval profits and tournament cash and skip the private jets, thank you.

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Isaac Ward

Aug 24, 2013 at 1:11 pm

Totally agree with Zeeraq. Courses should ask for your handicap when you reserve tee times and then have the starter enforce them on the first tee.
0-2 Black Tees
3-10 Blue Tees
11+ White Tees
Seniors with anything over 9 HCP – Gold Tees
Women and Juniors with anything over 9 HCP – Red Tees

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- Joe
  
  Aug 25, 2013 at 7:39 pm
  
  Can’t agree more.. Look I’ve been a teaching pro before, I’m currently a trunk slamming pro.. And I’ve send a ton of great players, and a ton or terrible players..
  In my opinion women shouldn’t be allowed to play until after noon unless accompanied I a man.. Men should not step foot or be allowed on a golf course until they’ve reached an 18 handicap or better and been prepped on etiquette and rules
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Joe
    
    Aug 25, 2013 at 7:48 pm
    
    And why is it so important to grow the game… If you think the game is struggling your insane, we need less people showing up eventually searching for their pinnacle ball in the thick grass like its a family heirloom
    
    Reply Report comment
Matt

Aug 24, 2013 at 12:59 pm

I am a pretty descent golfer and I play a course where there are tips (black) back (blue) front (white) and red (women, seniors and if there is a day when I am not feeling like I am going to spank the ball I move up one set to the whites. This is not to speed up the game but to face reality for myself that hey I may not do so good from farther back today.
As for making a requirement for a handicap card, move to another country that is not a free nation. Elitist attitudes like that help to kill golf interest. not one of us came into golf a pro and we should embrace new golfers and help them with their games, help to build confidence and be good sports to one another. This attitude of if you suck then you cannot be on my golf course is sickening to say the least and down right disturbing. I have seen golfers in front of me and behind me that were not very good and I asked if I could play through and did just that and that speed up my game.
Golf is indeed hard, frustrating and time consuming but when I pay my fees and want to enjoy said paid for recreation time do not try to act like you are Tiger Woods, instead have some class and help the game. Just my two cents, from a golfer who at one time sucked lol.

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Jesse

Aug 24, 2013 at 11:39 am

Im the opposite, I find if I move up I struggle more and don’t enjoy it as much. If I play forward one tee it brings all the trouble within reach of my tee shot which is the way most courses are designed to do. I live at sea level and avg only 260 a drive so i play the tips and am usually short of trouble which allows me to score better, and in turn play faster. I would much rather hit a 5-6 iron from fairway or rough then a 7-8 iron from the bunker, or having to hit a wedge to lay up due to the bunker lip, or dropping cause I reached water.

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- Larry Sherer
  
  Aug 25, 2013 at 2:09 am
  
  Ever think of hitting a 3 wood or less? I play alot of public courses and a 260 drive puts anyone in short to mid iron range from the blue tees, white tees would puts a wedge in the hands on most 4 pars….only problem I see with a 260 drive is most guys hit it 220 and call it 260. When sky csddie first came out we all saw alot of 300 yard drives become 260…
  
  Reply Report comment
Ronald Montesano

Aug 24, 2013 at 11:12 am

So my take is…this is not controversial at all?

Seriously (mighty ha-ha!) thanks for the input. There is no perfect approach to growing the game, keeping the golfers we have, adding new golfers. Every leisure activity takes away from another, so unless we eliminate competing leisure activities or bring people into the golf industry workforce, the game will struggle to add people (as with every other biz.)

Matt…sorry, I’ll try to improve my writing~
larrybud…you get it~
8thehardway…I will get at those figures and get back to you~
Zeeraq…I love the idea, but it plays out as despotism. Folks in a free society don’t want to be told where to…anything~
J…true words, easier spoken than implemented. Some dudes and chicks want to chill on the course and have no interest in rushing their leisure~
The rest of you…The idea is a psychological one. Get people thinking 135, not 150. Each course can figure it out for itself. The most economic is to move tees up a half to full deck. As with this forum, owners should poll their players/members to solicit advice for a solution.

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8thehardway

Aug 24, 2013 at 7:05 am

If people go this route…
Sales of new Tight Lies clubs plummet
9-hole Executive courses crack Golf Digest top 100 courses list
95-year-olds get back into golf and play from the 5,000-yard ‘tips’

And why only publish the ‘male touring professionals’ comparison… what clubs do LPGA and Senior pros use for their second shots 85% of the time? Any gold in them nuggets of info?

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Zeeraq

Aug 24, 2013 at 2:45 am

How about this: have a maximum handicap for each tee box. Before the round, players would have to show a handicap card to validate their playing the back tees. No handicap card, move to the forward tees. It would speed up play and encourage more players to keep a handicap index. Should be interesting to see this implemented at a course as a test run.

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- larrybud
  
  Aug 24, 2013 at 9:29 am
  
  So what do you do about the 95% of the players who don’t have handicaps? As a course owner, are you going to turn them away?
  
  Sounds like a great plan to grow the game!
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Zeeraq
    
    Aug 25, 2013 at 2:18 am
    
    Oh for the love of… okay genius, let’s look at this little quote from my comment: “No handicap card, move to the forward tees”. Can’t be sarcastic without the basic 1st grade reading skills to back it up, buddy. It’s not a good look.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Ronald Montesano
      
      Aug 25, 2013 at 1:40 pm
      
      It still comes down to enforcing it. If your course charges $50 a round and you turn the foursome away, you lose $200 plus any other sales (beverage cart, pro shop, grill room) you might have made. Ideally, your way is the way.
      
      Reply Report comment
John

Aug 24, 2013 at 1:18 am

this won’t do anything to increase course development nor bring more players to the game. economics has more to do with why growth stopped than 7200 yard courses. fix the economy (put more money in people’s wallets) and folks will spend more time on recreation. hope you guys don’t put too much effort into the shrink every course down to 5500 yards approach.

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Garry Aynbinder

Aug 24, 2013 at 12:26 am

I don’t see how teeing it forward or rushing people on the course is going to grow or improve the game….no question the game IS growing….the issue with golf is one that transcends the game and is almost a reflection of life and society itself….still to this day golf is expensive and time consuming and most people don’t have much of either to invest to try and get good at this crazy game.

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- wcavanau
  
  Aug 26, 2013 at 11:48 am
  
  Sorry, but the game isn’t growing. Look at the participation reports and the rounds played reports.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Garry Aynbinder
    
    Aug 27, 2013 at 12:59 am
    
    You need to get out of your box…golf is now in the Olympics…and courses are going up left, right and centre…around the world…just because its not happening in your backyard doesn’t mean its not happening…also more money in the game…and look at the quality of amateur players from around the world…ask guys like Nicklaus, Palmer and Woods if the game is growing….stats…ha..
    
    Reply Report comment
J

Aug 23, 2013 at 11:08 pm

Move up.

Speed up.

Thanks for the innovation.

I’m stunned no one else has thought of those two mysterious concepts.

Bravo.

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Matt

Aug 23, 2013 at 10:52 pm

You are a horrible writer.

Reply Report comment
- John Smith
  
  Aug 24, 2013 at 8:41 am
  
  Actually, his article is extremely well written. If you don’t like the message or content, say so, or better yet, attempt to articulate your own wisdom on WRX. Would be amusing to measure your confidnce level once exposed to your peers.
  
  Reply Report comment
Jack

Aug 23, 2013 at 10:36 pm

The reason why so many of us love the game drives people away. It’s a hard game to play. Maybe have handicap requirements for courses. If you suck, go play an easier course. Just teeing it closer doesn’t make a par 3 with elevation change and a valley in between any easier for poor players.

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- Jordan J. Caron
  
  Aug 24, 2013 at 12:47 am
  
  I’m with you here. Most golfers should really stick to executive and 9 hole courses before they step foot in tougher courses. It’s almost like having minor leagues for golf. But not many courses would be thrilled with the idea of turning away paying customers.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Larry Sherer
  
  Aug 25, 2013 at 2:03 am
  
  Your talking about a course going private…public courses need paying customers and 70% minimum tee times filled, so requireing only people that play fairly well will never happen…
  
  Reply Report comment
CLIFF

Aug 23, 2013 at 10:14 pm

The only strategy actually revealed was have markers for 135yrds. How exactly does that that get people hitting 8 irons into the green? Does the article fail to actually describe the Adams Tour Test Approach or does the the ATTA fail to provide any ideas? Honestly im not entirely sure. If this genious idea has something to offer other then dont play from the tips, and play fast im not so sure its going to be a hit.

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Jeffrey

Aug 23, 2013 at 10:12 pm

His thought was for you to move forward a tee box or two. If the courses put more focus on 135 yards vs. 150, people would be more likely to enjoy the game. My two cents would be this, move the tees up on the weekend one box. There are those morons who have to play from the tips. I can’t remember the last time I saw a guy playing from the tips at my course that had any business being back there. Put the pins in the center of the greens. Lastly, and most importantly, clubs need to space out the tee times, having a foursome tee off on one, the very split second the group in front of them is out a driving range, is a nightmare. There is nothing worse to hurry up and wait.

Reply Report comment
Blanco

Aug 23, 2013 at 9:29 pm

So what is the actual approach/strategy that will have us all hitting more 8 irons into greens? That’s not clear whatsoever.

Reply Report comment
- Jordan J. Caron
  
  Aug 24, 2013 at 12:45 am
  
  I’m left thinking this as well.
  
  Out of all the technological advancements we’ve seen in the last 30 years, this game is still hard as hell. That’s the first thing that deters people from playing and getting hooked.
  
  The second is the time. Regardless of the speed of play a 4 hour round is at the minimum still a 5 hour round by the time you add in travel time and warm up.
  
  Thats why I believe there needs to be more initiative from the executive courses to market themselves better. People think golf is expensive because they only think the 18 hole 7200 + yard championship courses are the only option.
  
  But the 9 hole and executive courses have a huge opportunity. Since most new and casual golfers don’t care about the rules, they should be able to have illegal equipment (larger driver heads & balls that spin less and fly further) and hit to larger cups.
  
  In the end the game needs to be more affordable, easier and less time consuming to gain new golfers. I think the idea above increases the chances that new and casual golfers might play more.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - frank
    
    Aug 25, 2013 at 8:06 pm
    
    The key to getting to the right area of approach is teeing the ball up from the correct tees. I personally tee it up from the whites even though I could easily play from the blues or blacks. By doing so I club down to my 3 wood a lot more. That allows me to hit more fairways to a relative p-7 shot into the green. I put my ego aside a long time ago in order to have more fun and get home before my wife gets mad.
    
    Reply Report comment
- wcavanau
  
  Aug 26, 2013 at 11:46 am
  
  He is an advocate for the “tee it forward” campaign. I’ve read this same logic for moving up to tees that give you 7 and 8 irons into greens instead of 3 and 4 irons.
  
  Reply Report comment
Martin

Aug 23, 2013 at 9:05 pm

Makes a lot of sense.

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- Jlwctn
  
  Aug 24, 2013 at 11:42 am
  
  It’s all about hitting the green so that you can putt and get on to the next hole. Playing wedges out of the rough and the bunkers slows the game down, especially when it’s done by people who never practice it. 2 or 3 to get close to the green, 2 or 3 to get onto the green and 2 or 3 putts… Recipe for a long day…
  
  Reply Report comment

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Opinion & Analysis

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