Getting Irish golf out of the rough

Imagine Croke Park packed to the rafters for a big game — close to 80,000 souls with a love of sport and time to invest in its enjoyment.

Now imagine the stadium utterly bereft of people — no noise, no buzz, no money being spent, no spectacle, no heroes for future generations to admire.

Losing 80,000 jobs is a catastrophe by any yardstick but when the game of golf in Ireland loses that number of active participants in little more than five years, it’s clear that something needs to be done.