Where Have All The (Golf) Writers Gone?

That's the question Ed Sherman asks for Golf World and while I think the golf media as a whole has managed to mask the issue pretty well, readers must be starting to notice just how much less in depth coverage is available.

While bloggers are again cited as the cause of all world evil--even though there aren't enough golf blogs to even count on two hands--the real issues have little to do with blogs and all to do with the death of print. With no space and the jobs for writers to possibly captivate a casual fan, the written word is not as powerful as it once was.

Selfishly, Harig says it is good for him and ESPN.com that there are far fewer outlets covering golf. But he doesn’t think it is bodes well for the overall game.

“The hardcore fans know where to go if they want to get golf news,” Harig said. “Where you are losing out are the average fans who might stumble on a golf story in the paper. They might like that story and they become more interested in reading about golf. Without those stories, you’re missing out on that person.”

Ferguson contends most of the younger players, who did not grow up reading newspapers, have little awareness of today’s media landscape. He tells of an exchange with Daniel Berger, who looked at his credential and asked, “Associated Press? So what’s that like, Bleacher Report?”