A 2012 TO RELISH? WE CAN HOPE

Golf, as a sport, is on a decline. There, I said it.

As much as I would love to say that all is hunky dory on the greens, I don't think that's the case. In the US and Europe, golf courses are closing, and golf retailers are suffering from the fall out of the economic crisis. Really, the only places where golf is growing is probably in China, and India. And even then, one would question if this growth is broad-based, and long-term.

The fact that the attrition rate for this most difficult of games is so incredibly high only compounds the issue.

So where can we turn to order to look for an answer to this malaise?

If we look back at a time when golf exploded, the answer is quite clear. Tiger Woods.

In one bold stroke, Tiger united the world in cheering for a man of mixed heritage; a phenomenal athlete that broke all molds. Golf needed a demi-god, and the young man provided. Fourteen major titles later, we can safely say that the successes in golf - both professional and commercial - have come largely because of that one man.

Sports need heroes. It also needs rivalries to make the competition interesting.

Football has Real Madrid and Barcelona/Man United and Liverpool. Tennis has Federver versus Nadal. Badminton has Lin Dan and Lim Chong Wei. The list goes on. Would the Barclays Premier League be the way it is if all 19 teams were separated by five points, with any given one having an equal chance of winning any weekend? We wonder.

In the last 13 or so majors in golf, we've had first time winners. While this is all and good for the young, highly talented pros out there plying their trade with great commitment and enthusiasm, it might not be the perfect recipe to incite the spectators out there to watch golf on TV, or to rush out to buy a golf club.

Perhaps 2012 will be different. We've got a healthy Tiger, and a Rory raring to go now that he's tasted his first major victory. We hope the Ulsterman's first win won't be his last, and will only whet his appetite for more (as opposed to lulling him into complacency, the way it did many others before him...Michael Campbell, Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover....). We've also got hungry youngsters out there, dying to make a point. Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day and company have what it takes to be the game's next iconic, and charismatic stars. We need them to step up and win a few.

The year of the dragon promises to breathe fire. I will be pulling out my fireproof jacket, and hope I will be able to use it.

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