The sport that has been around since 1457, built on rich tradition and comradery. Due to a lack of interest in today's youth the sport is on the decline. This can be seen through the number of golf courses that close and open on a yearly basis. Last year alone over 154 courses closed compared to the 14 courses that opened. With those numbers it is apparent that something needs to be done. Many of the elders that control high positions in the golf community are unwilling to change many of the long standing rules in golf causing the problem. They believe that golf has been like this for so long and they see nothing wrong with the rules of the game and are stubborn to modernize it. For example; baseball, another sport struggling with how long it takes to complete has recently implemented times in between innings to speed up the game. Without action the game of golf could slowly die out. 

Learning how to play a sport or doing any activity comes from parents at a young age. Since the age of seven my father has taken me to the driving range to work on my golf swing. This was all that was taught to me until about my freshman year in high school where my father started playing golf almost every weekend and this is when I really learned the game. Since then I have fallen in love with the game and can already tell that this is something I will do for the rest of my life. I am interested in this topic because I want this sport to be around when I am old and retired. This research affects my future opinion on this topic, this could affect the sport of golf forever and thus has a direct effect on me. Playing golf seriously for four years and two years of competitive high school golf, I have personally seen the lack of youth in the sport. Every time I go to a golf course to play a round, it is mainly all elders, with a few middle aged men, and maximum one or two youth players. Not only have I been playing golf for about 5 years now, but I also played competitively for two years and consider myself a student of the game. I follow the PGA tour, the college scene, and even the life of recreational golfers often referred to as the weekend warriors. This combined with my ambition to grow the game qualifies be to write a research paper on this topic. The struggles of golf need to be shown to the golfing world so that something can be done to fix it.

The first article in Forbes "How a Declining Middle Class is Killing Golf" states the decline of the American middle class and how it directly correlates with the decline of golf. Golf is an expensive sport and with the recession in the economy it makes it more difficult for the average golfer to try and fit it into their budget. Without the weekend golfer, courses have struggled to maintain keeping their margin in the black, leading to numerous course closings. The article talks about how the majority of golfers dwell in the middle class income. The dip in the economy has hurt the middle class the most, making it difficult to budget anywhere from forty to eighty dollars for a round when the mortgage and utility bills still need to be paid. The source had no bias as it was not written by any high ranking official in the PGA, it merely wanted to bring to light one of the main issues causing a decline in the sport of golf. The author has no ties to major corporations or anything that would create bias in his writing. 

The second article was published by the Golf Channel "Growing the Game, How Golf Gets it Wrong" and the main point is that there is no issue in the game of golf but currently going through a natural ebb and flow of popularity. The article tries to convince the reader that there is nothing wrong in golf and that everything should continue to operate as normal. It states that the number of youth players has risen. However that statistic is misleading because tracking the number of youth players begun only a couple of years ago. The major values of the article is to try and preserve the game of golf. Those who hold positions of power in the PGA want to keep the traditions of a strict dress code, high prices, and very upscale conduct. They feel the sport has functioned a certain way for hundreds of years so they feel no need to change anything. The author has obvious bias because he works for the Golf Channel, one of the main resources of airing golf to the public. They want to try and convince the public that there is nothing wrong with the sport so they can continue their operation and keep making millions upon millions of dollars.

The third article posted by Fortune "Golf: Can it be saved? And can new tech save it?" acknowledges that golf is losing its popularity and offers solutions to fix it. They bring up three ideas that can help save the game of golf. First is making the holes bigger to make the game easier. Golf is one of the toughest sports you can pick up so making it easier could help keep newcomers from leaving. Second, they offer the idea of making courses with 12 holes instead of 18 to cut down on how long it takes to complete a round. Thirdly, they want to make the game of golf more tech savvy, with such a young and hip generation they want to try and attract them to golf through new technology, allowing players to see their stats and averages. These ideas could help bring golf back to the prominence it used to have. There is no bias in this essay as it is written by just an average golfer. Someone who tries to get out and get a round in on the weekends, who works a normal job during the week. Someone that most people can relate to. This also helps him get his point across because he is just another average golfer taking part in the fight to try and save the sport he loves. 

The question proposed is arguable because there are people who believe there is nothing wrong with the sport and nothing should be changed. However even the people that realize there is a problem all have a different take on what should be done to fix it. There are many possibilities on what to do allowing me to pick in my opinion the best one and write a paper defending why that is the real way to save golf. Among the sources I have found, I have seen the biggest disagreement between if there really is a problem in golf, if golf is really on the decline or if it is just a normal depression that will be gone in a few years. The different perspective of the sources makes me re-evaluate the thoughts I have on the subject. The more sources I read the more carefully I have to think about what I want the main focus of my paper to be about. I may have to narrow down my research question by making it more specific, this would help me stay more focused on the topic I want my paper to be about.

