What do we want? Instant gratification. When do we want it? Now … right now. In fact, we want it quicker than that. These are breathless, crash, bang, wallop times. In fact, I just about ran out of breath there, halfway through typing the word ‘breathless’. If 72-hole strokeplay golf is the clucking old maid in this rapid-fire, digital age of speed and convenience then the Golf Sixes is the new kid on the block with all the gadgetry, gizmos and gusto. “Everything is so instant these days and golf is one of the few things that isn't,” suggested Chris Wood, the English Ryder Cup player, ahead of this weekend’s inaugural, suck it and see short-format showpiece at the Centurion club near St Albans.
The on-going quest to find golf’s equivalent of T20 cricket or rugby sevens roars on and there seems to be a tangible sense of excitement and intrigue surrounding an event which has sold some 10,000 advanced tickets. Guid things come in sma’ bulk and in this era of distractions and squeezed leisure time, it seems it’s a case of the shorter the better. They should have invited wee Jimmy Krankie to be the official starter. “Other sports have fallen into line with the modern era by trying to make things a little quicker,” suggested Andy Sullivan, another Ryder Cup campaigner. “I don't think we'll ever lose the 72-hole format but hopefully we'll see more of this and bring the fun side out. We want to show people that golf isn't an old man, boring sport.”
Of course, you can’t have a sporting event nowadays without pyrotechnics whizz-banging here and thumping music blaring there while the inevitable presence of a series of celebrity figures merely adds to this slightly naff, background fluff. The actual format of the golf, though, should come to the fore in a compact, six-hole arena which will heighten audience engagement and, hopefully, make for an exciting, fun, yet highly competitive series of encounters. Greensomes, where each player hits a tee-shot, selects the best one and then plays alternate blows thereafter, is the format of choice with the 16 competing nations split into four groups. They will all play three matches today with the top two from each group progressing to the knock-out stages on Sunday.
The Scottish duo of Marc Warren and Richie Ramsay will go up against teams from Belgium, Thailand and Spain in this opening series of round-robin tussles. A decade ago, Warren partnered Colin Montgomerie to World Cup glory in 2007 and the 36-year-old is relishing the opportunity to compete in the team format again. “As an amateur you take it (team golf) for granted a bit,” said the former Walker Cup winner. “Looking back to that World Cup, Monty was a similar play to what Richie is in the sense that they are both very accurate from tee to green.
"Richie is a bit straighter off the tee than I am whereas I'm a bit longer off the tee. That can bode well as I can give it a go off certain tees and if it doesn't come off, I know that I can rely on my partner getting it in the middle of the fairway. I think we can blend well together and hopefully we bring out the best in each other.”
Keith Pelley, the chief executive of the European Tour, admitted this dipping of the toe in new waters had left organisers “making it up as we go along” but the effervescent Canadian is confident the Sixes will cause a stir. “This is an evolution,” he said. “Everybody in the golf world is looking at us this week and that’s pretty exciting.”
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