Six appeal: innovation is good but golf’s problem is lack of exposure | Ewan Murray


This weekend’s GolfSixes tournament is a worthy venture for the European Tour which is at least attempting to broaden the game’s reach with a fresh approach

Scottish football fans can occasionally be heard to bemoan the loss of the Tennents’ Sixes, an event staged between 1984 and 1993 when, as the name suggests, six-a-side was the order of the day. It was quick, competitive, fun, the attendances were good and terrestrial television stepped forward to provide plentiful coverage. This was at a time, moreover, when football in general wasn’t renowned for breathtaking innovation.

This weekend, golf’s latest attempt to retain relevance in an ever-changing landscape where many fear the sport is being left behind will resonate over two days at the Centurion in St Albans. There must be something about the number six; GolfSixes is the concept coined by the European Tour to let 16 teams of two face each other over six-hole stretches for the biggest chunk of a €1m prize pool. Every player in the field is guaranteed €15,000 for turning up.

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