In the year that the Open Championship celebrates its 150th anniversary, Rolex has been at the center of a white-hot new era in the sport.
Golf. A tournament for flagging seniors. Wearing terrible pants. Drinking warm malt liquor and not mincing words with a mature opinion or two. When I first picked up a club as a boy in the mid-1980s, encouraged by my Pringle-sweater-wearing father, that was the common perception of golf; to be fair, it wasn’t far off.
As a teenager, my local club became two places: a course where I learned to love the sport with my peers; and a place where I realized how many rules these ill-fitting robe-wearing, stone-faced men had set for us youngsters to learn and break. Golf is a great sport, but it has a personality problem.
Thirty years later, that era still echoes in some of golf’s more rigid corners, but much has changed. Golf is losing its silly feudal form and replacing it with a more attractive – and consumable – spirit. Golf is actually becoming cool.
In 2020, a British and Irish sports marketing research firm report found that golfers’ average age had dropped five years since the pandemic to 41. That’s not young – but people as young as eight and as old as 80 can play. They can play together, too.
Participation has also increased dramatically. The report shows that 2.3 million adults are playing golf compared to before Covidien – the same as Declan Rice, Marcus Smith, Ben Stokes, and almost every professional soccer, rugby and cricket player. Even more compelling is the fact that one-third of new adult golfers are under the age of 25. These guys don’t drink; they suck it up – and thanks to the influx of buzz and vibe around the sport, long pants look even cooler.
How Rolex longshots are helping make golf cool
Golf is getting younger and more popular, but the reasons aren’t entirely obvious. “There’s no one specific reason,” says Keith Pelley, CEO of the DP World Tour, citing factors such as the growing awareness of the physical and mental health benefits of playing and the advent of Topgolf, the popcorn-and-beer game.” He added, “But golf is definitely getting younger, growing, and cooler. 
In the 55 years since, replica Rolex has become the de facto number one brand in golf, the guardian of the game’s values through its partnerships with players, tournaments and tour organizers. Its involvement runs deep. From the Rolex Collection on the Ryder Cup and DP World Tour to supporting amateur tournaments in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, green and gold are everywhere.
