My niche in this game and the goal of ASPIRE Golf is to help golf course superintendents excel and do better, particularly when they or their golf courses are not doing well. I strive to open eyes, share new skills and better this profession, although as a “consultant” I am one of the seven dirty words you don’t want to hear in golf.

But, in my role, I need to take a 30,000-foot view of the industry and to that end, assumed a front row position at last week’s PGA Show in Orlando to wait breathlessly for the unveiling of Golf 2.0.

The concept, which targets the new era in golf, (thus 2.0) aims to substantially boost the number of golfers and much needed revenue.

Is Golf 2.0 a plan for our game’s future or wishful thinking?

We are all painfully aware golf is in a skid and that the number of golfers in the U.S. has declined. Fewer golfers across America and around the world leads to declining sales of golf equipment and fewer golfers who pay green fees to support golf courses. Maybe it is time to think outside the box and implement some new ideas to bring young people, women and the high handicap golfers back to the game. Where have I heard this before?

With that in mind, I listened carefully to everything presented and while it made sense, it sounded awfully familiar. I haven’t seen anything done yet…and surely, the proof will be in the results and eventually, in the long-term growth of the game.

To start, keynote speaker Jack Nicklaus told me what I already know.

• The game is too slow
• The game is too expensive
• The game is too hard to play

Nicklaus is concerned that the game is not growing at an acceptable rate and is actually losing future participants to other sports. Women and children especially are not coming into the game as they were over the past decade. Children are being drawn to other sports such as soccer, lacrosse, baseball, basketball and football. There’s nothing wrong with playing all sports, as I was raised in the same way. Eventually, I was drawn to and found my niche in golf.

When discussing the right time to introduce kids to the game, Nicklaus said, “When they can make it through three holes without chasing after any frogs, they’re ready.” He certainly has a living laboratory with his 22 grandchildren.

What did impress me was that the Boys & Girls Clubs of America is stepping up to the plate and giving its 4 million members the opportunity to learn the game of golf.

Frank Sanchez, Jr., President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America indicated that his organization is the “Official Youth Development Partner” of The PGA of America and United States Golf Association (USGA). With programming to launch this year, this partnership will impact the lives of youth.

“Eventually we want these kids to be able to step up on any course in the country and feel like they belong because they’ve been exposed to the game,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez was joined by baseball legend Ken Griffey, Jr. He impressed me with his family-oriented philosophy and involvement in golf. His family spends “Griffey Family Fun Time” on the links and it has served to bind his family together.

The state of the industry for me and I suspect, all of you is that the more people who play, more impact on golf courses. And that is critical to each and every one of us….

Several ideas to grow the game were broached:

• Building small golf courses in city parks and recreation areas
• PGA professionals teaching golf in the Boys & Girls Clubs
• Shortening existing golf courses
• Making six- and 12-hole golf courses rather than nine- and 18-hole courses.
• What do these ideas mean to our need for materials, supplies, irrigation….and most significantly, what will it cost to engage juniors and other new audiences?

Think about some of the latest technologies at our disposal:

• Robotic greens mowers
• Water sensors
• Apps for sun/shade studies that can be downloaded to our phones
• Advancements in quality turfgrass
• Will any of these advances matter if there are no golfers?

If there are no golfers, courses will go fallow and superintendents will be growing corn instead of grass.

And, if we don’t have golfers to play the courses, what’s the point?

While the jury is still out on Golf 2.0, we need to support and embrace its premise.