I’ve Loved Being A Club Golfer For The Last 35 Years But Here’s One Huge Change I’d Make To Improve The Game

If we were to start again from scratch, how would the game of golf be different today? For those of us with a vested interest in navigating the modernisation of the sport, this is a question that often gets asked. My own answer is fairly simple, albeit radical and at the moment hard to imagine... Reduce the number of holes from 18 to 12.

Time is the enemy of almost all those for whom golf plays an important social and sporting role. As a 40-something with two young kids, most of my golf outings involve fewer than 18-holes already and yet, because of the age-old format, I play less competitive golf than ever. To avoid getting stuck, I'm forced to play the majority of my golf when the course is quiet, first thing in the morning or at the end of the day.

How often do you have an hour or two to devote to golf but not the five or six required to travel to the club, play a full round and a have a drink after? It seems logical that if a round of golf took less time, we’d all play more often.

Of course, solving slow play would certainly help but that wouldn't be the panacea that would either unlock golf to more people or help established golfers get more from the game.

What’s more, when I look back at my own time as a junior I can’t help but wonder how I ever started to take it seriously at all. My first ever golf scorecard is still lying around at home and the big number at the bottom is 147.

Yes, 147!

My only clear recollection of that round was holing out on the 18th green in the dark, demoralised by what I thought was a terrible score. As someone who has never been renowned for his patience, I’m far more proud of that effort now than I was at the time.

The point here is that golf is hard, very hard. As our attention spans have shrunk in line with modern technologies and social media platforms, can we really expect beginners to stick with it long enough to reap the benefits?

Why 12-Hole Golf Is Good For The Game

The good news is there are more benefits to 12-hole golf aside from the obvious time-saving. Here are a few that sprint to mind:

1. Less land and resources required to build and maintain courses - In an age when our consumption is coming into greater scrutiny, reducing the impact of a golf course can only be a good thing.
2. Cheaper courses and memberships - With less resources required to maintain courses, it seems logical that membership subscriptions and green fees would come down. Existing 18-hole venues could also sell a portion of their land, raising money to put back into the club.
3. Better courses - Think about your own club. If you could retain a sensible routing, you could remove some of the weaker holes and even improve the ones leftover.
4. More choice - By reducing the time required to play it, golf would become a more realistic sport for many people. Add in the previously mentioned cost benefit and you have the recipe genuine growth. As interest swells, so more golf courses would surely pop up.

What’s more, there are a number of clubs that have already put this idea into practice. Most notably perhaps is the spectacular Shiskine course on the Isle of Arran. As the photograph above shows, it’s a spectacular layout that makes the most of the land available to maximise the enjoyment of those lucky enough to play it.

I know that for many, changing such a central aspect of the game would be impossible to sign up to. I understand that position, I’ve played the game, mostly as a club member, for 35 years now and fully understand the excitement that comes with the prospect of playing a full round of golf. However, I can’t help but feel that my own enjoyment would not change and I’d end up playing more. Surely that has to be a good thing.

Before dismissing the idea, give it a minute or two of thought. If you're against it, I'd love to know why... Let me know your thoughts in the box below.