As the Open Championship cavalcade rolls into Carnoustie this week, the sporting spotlight is firmly on the Royal and Ancient game. And while yet another outstanding feast of golf is sure to unfold, many at grass-roots level are concerned that golf is not doing enough to reverse a slide in playing numbers and club memberships.
With an average round of golf lasting more than four hours, critics claim that golf is becoming increasingly out of step with a ‘time-poor’
PowerPlay Golf, which was launched to great acclaim earlier this year, is a shortened, yet highly strategic and competitive game which aims to help ‘time-poor’
Devised and managed by former Walker Cup captain and chairman of selectors, Peter McEvoy OBE, PowerPlay Golf is just like normal golf but with one key difference: each green on the 9 holes has two flags, one a white flag in an ‘easy’ position and one black in a tricky ‘Sunday afternoon’ spot. Each golfer has to choose to play for the ‘skull ‘n’ crossbones’ black flag on three holes during the 9 holes. Double Stableford points are on offer for scoring birdies or better.
“I wanted to create something for the regular golfer that would give that real competitive fix over 9 holes,” explains McEvoy. “Strategy is a key part of it and choosing when to take your PowerPlays can make or break the round. So it’s fantastic for TV, too – golf’s version of Twenty20 cricket.”
Delighted by the response from elite players and golf writers who first trialed the game in the spring, McEvoy has been taking PowerPlay Golf around the country in a nationwide roadshow designed to gain support from golf clubs. And the response has been overwhelming.
“The good news is that over 100 clubs have already formally agreed to stage PowerPlay Golf events this summer,” confirms McEvoy. “The list is growing all the time. Open Championship and European Tour courses have already signed up. It’s a great advert for PowerPlay Golf, it seems to have hit the spot for many of our golf clubs and we’re thrilled that they’re supporting us.”
With the news that PowerPlay Golf is making such inroads into the grass-roots game, McEvoy’s next move is to put the game on to TV.
“I doubt if the Open Championship will be switching to two flags any time soon,” laughs McEvoy, “but we are well advanced in discussions towards a significant TV golf event. There is room for traditional golf and for PowerPlay Golf, too. It’s all about making the game of golf itself more attractive to a whole new generation of players.”
More details about PowerPlay Golf are available on the introductory website www.powerplay-
