"Not a single player I spoke with after the Olympic announcement was made thinks the limited-field, individual stroke play event was a very creative or inviting idea."

Most of you know that I've written here and in Golf World's Bunker about the Olympic golf idea that is failing to generate excitement because it essentially adds another World Golf Championship event to the schedule. Another bland, 72-hole stroke play event that a sport rich with alternative formats, does not need. Throw in the lack of a team element and it's hard to see why golf fans should care about the event, even with a gold medal on the line.

Even you all, the erudites who typically offer such profound insights into the meaning of golf and life, bypassed any serious discussion of possible formats. 

But finally, we have a proposal that is maybe a tad confusing at first, but most certainly original and solving many of the key concerns. In an Augusta Chronicle column last week and now in a blog post, Scott Michaux tells us that he's not hearing much excitement for the current 60-player, individuals only setup. So he goes to former Augusta State man Oliver Wilson and others for inspiration, ultimately posting this college golf similar concept featuring a 144-player field with four-man teams:

Play 72 holes of stroke play, with a 36-hole cut that keeps each member of the top 10 teams (based on cumulative score of the top three scorers each day) plus any players among the top 50 scorers including ties. You would likely end up with somewhere between 60 and 70 players reaching the weekend.

Continue playing the remaining 36 holes, awarding individual gold, silver and bronze medals. Individuals who make the cut would be qualified to earn world rankings points.

Award the gold, silver and bronze team medals based on the cumulative totals of the team’s top three scorers every day.

This way the top-ranked players still get to play for themselves and Olympic glory while also being part of a team that requires no extra effort. And the bonus is guys down the pecking order of the leaderboard will still have to play their guts out because the team score and medal hopes are counting on them.

Here’s a list of teams and competitors if it was based on the world rankings list as of today. Players are listed by world ranking and the team's average world rank is in parentheses.

This field would include 37 of the top 50, 52 of the top 100 and world-ranked players from 45 countries. The current IGF proposed format would only include 26 of the top 50, as many as 39 of top 100 and players from only 30 countries.

He goes on to list all of the teams, which in itself makes for an interesting comparison.

But just to review. We're told the Olympic golf will be good for growing the game by inspiring some countries to fund developmental programs. Won't they be more likely if the field is a bit larger, involves a team component and is actually something people want to watch once every four years?