Bubba Watson's Hovercraft

First off, I am an avid golf fan, I have been ever since Tiger Woods hit the scene. Lets face it, watching golf is definitely an " acquired taste". Having said that every bit of "outside the box" entertainment is always something that is going to draw someone who normally does not watch golf, to at least check out the highlights on the sports news after the football plays of the week and before the cricket highlights.

Now don't get me wrong, I think this was a complete publicity stunt by the company that makes these golf carts; Neoteric Hovercraft. They give Bubba Watson a free hovercraft, and every news station picks up the story; CNN even took a break from their normally biased political rants to air the story. So the company in turn paid $50,000.00 ( the guesstimated price tag on one of these units) for a million dollars worth of advertising, as well as exposed the game of golf to an entirely new audience. Not bad marketing campaign. Coincidently enough, the company that makes the hovercrafts is now back ordered, every golf course wants one. And why wouldn't they? If you are going to play a round of golf, would you go to a course that was up to date with all the technology, or not? With one simple investment, a mediocre golf course can shoot to the top of the food chain. At in the same breath, a golf course that was once very disireable by golfers, may not be such a hot spot.

I would like to be a fly on the wall in the ordering department of the company that manufactures the "Cadillac" of golf carts. I would be curious to see what golf course receive front on the line ordering and what ones orders are pushed to the dusty pile of paperwork on the new guys desk.

In case you are wondering, the golf cart on steroids leave no traces on the well manicured grass that most courses spend countless hours making sure is up to par. And from what I can tell is no louder than a vacuum cleaner.

I for one welcome the " out of the norm " antics such at this to spice up the game. And take a break from Tiger's over exposed extra-marital affairs.

This situation is no different then anything else, there is always going to be a resistance to new technology taking over old and dated equipment. The closest comparison I could think off the top of my head, would be the ebook explosion. There is always going to be people who prefer old-school non-digital formats who struggle with the tug-of-war between the modern world and what used to be "modern".

The golf world is an entirely different landscape the it was fifteen or twenty years ago. It is no longer just game that your crusty old uncle goes to play. Guys take their girlfriends, college students have caught on to the new fad. And with the most health conscious generation now being the dominant force in the world, you can expect many physical demanding activities such as golf becoming more popular then ever.