Golf at the 2024 Paris Olympics is right around the corner, and with the eyes of the world fixated on the free-to-air coverage, I wonder if we should be trying something a little bit different in an attempt to engage a new audience.
I would argue that now is the perfect time to mix it up, following the example of sports like Cricket and Rugby in exploring shorter, more fast-paced formats of the game.
Don't get me wrong, I totally believe in preserving tradition within the sport, and I am all for 72-hole strokeplay remaining as the bread and butter of the game we love – but variety is the spice of life!
In this article, I discuss four ideas for alternative Olympic golf formats that could help to grow interest and participation in the game following this major sporting event...
1. Mixed Scramble (12-Holes)
Reports are already circulating about the potential introduction of a mixed team event at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, and I am all for it! The opportunity to see the best male and female professional golfers representing their country, in a team format on one of the biggest sporting stages, is exactly the type of innovation that golf needs.
While there is already some speculation about the suggested format for this event, I would love it to be a short-format Scramble over 12 holes.
Played in teams of four (in this case, two men and two women), each player hits a tee shot on every hole. The captain chooses the best tee shot, marks it with a tee, and all four players then play their next shot from that position. This process is repeated until the ball is holed and the score recorded.
This format tends to produce very low scoring, and ramps up the tension with each player having the chance to improve their team's position on every shot. Imagine the scenes after the first three players have missed a long-putt to win a gold medal, only for the final player to step up, sink it and jubilantly celebrate to rapturous applause.
2. Match Play (6-Holes)
Match Play is a much loved format of the game, delivering iconic moments in both the Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup as the tournaments climax in Sunday singles.
The recent omission of the Match Play event from the PGA Tour calendar was a mistake, in my opinion, but I believe the Olympics could be a great opportunity to resurrect it in a slightly altered form.
By reducing the number of holes to just six, the jeopardy on each tee, fairway and green is amplified, and it would be logistically possible to play plenty of games in one day.
Whether it's set-up in a league or knockout format, the chance to watch a series of short matches where your nation battles it out to progress to the medal matches would be an exciting way to introduce new fans to the game.
3. Mixed Yellow Ball (12-Hole)
Yellow Ball is one of my new favorite formats, after playing it for the first time earlier this year.
Teams of four players (two men and two women) play their own ball and record their results using the Stableford scoring system. Prior to teeing off on the first, the team determines which player will be playing the yellow ball for each hole. Each player must be designated this responsibility on three holes, and when playing the yellow ball their score counts double.
For example, if Player A scored a par for 2 points, but is playing with the yellow ball for that hole, they actually score four for their team. This is added to the best other score recorded by the three remaining players to calculate a total for that particular hole.
This format could be played over two or three rounds, with scores accumulating throughout the event, or could take the form of a Match Play knockout whereby the team who scores the highest points progresses to the next round.
4. Foursomes Match Play Knockout (12-Holes)
Another format seen in the bi-annual Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup competitions, Foursomes Match Play requires strategic planning, elite execution and the ability to stay in the moment.
Teams of two players represent each nation, using one ball to play each hole. The teams decide which player will tee off on the even numbered holes, and which will tee of on the odd. From there, players take it in turns to play a shot alternately until the ball is holed and their score is recorded. The team with the lowest score then wins that hole.
A 12-hole knockout match gives players limited time to ensure their safe passage through to the next round, and ultimately an opportunity to fight it out for a medal in the latter stages.
Short-format knockout events are a surefire way to turn up the pressure dial, and produce the legend-making moments that fans want to see.
Multiple Disciplines Could Be The Way Forward...
The success seen by other sports through the introduction of short-format games is clear for all to see, and despite some unsuccessful attempts to achieve this in the past, I can't see any logical reason why golf wouldn't try to do the same.
The Olympics has an unrivalled ability to pull people in to new sports, gripping their attention and fostering curiosity. In order to turn that into long-term engagement and participation, golf has to consider the product it's selling and decide whether it's more interested in peaking the interest of its current fan base or engaging the attention of an untapped audience.
With many sports at the Olympic Games offering medals in multiple disciplines, perhaps the way forwards is to offer a standard 72-hole strokeplay event alongside a short-format tournament.
This could offer a larger pool of participants, split across the events, with the top qualifiers in each nation going into the traditional competition, while also offering the next wave of hopeful Olympians the chance to go for gold.
Any move towards change can be daunting for a sport with such a rich history and tradition, but I believe that diversifying could be the route to rapid growth in engagement and participation for golf as a whole.
