2007 U.S. Amateur Finale
Courtesy: San Francisco Chronicle

Amateur golfers, particularly those who belong to clubs, appear to be disinterested in competition.

Rick Young, a Canadian golf writer, has a column this week in which he notes a growing trend among recreational golfers away from tournaments.

Even though his story uses Canadian sources, I have no reason to believe this is somehow a strictly Canadian phenomenon. Indeed, Young quotes the U.S captain of this year's Walker Cup team, Buddy Marucci as saying most good young amateurs want to turn pro quickly and start making money (ironically, that's exactly what reigning U.S. amateur champion, colt Knost, said he would do following the Walker Cup action in Ireland).

But there is never simply one reason. Many other factors can conspire to create this situation, the most likely of which is the time element. It takes too much time out of busy schedules these days to devote to competitions.

I can remember some 20 years ago when I was a member of a club north of Toronto that all of us looked forward to the various club tournaments that were held (and there were quite a few - from best ball scrambles and two-man team play to the club championship itself).

When the sign-up sheets were posted, names appeared almost instantly and the sheets filled up quickly.

According to Rick Young, that's not happening anymore. And it's a shame because half the juice of playing golf is going head-to-head with something on the line.