Rough times ahead for grassroots golf?

    Tom Sweetman, for CNN

    Updated 1201 GMT (2001 HKT) January 12, 2015

    Rory McIlroy (left) hosts a junior golf clinic in New York in 2012. The world No. 1 is an ambassador for junior golf -- a role that could be vital in keeping the younger generation interested in the sport.
    Photos: Golf state of the game report
    Follow me? – Rory McIlroy (left) hosts a junior golf clinic in New York in 2012. The world No. 1 is an ambassador for junior golf -- a role that could be vital in keeping the younger generation interested in the sport.
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    Tiger Woods' career has had a massive impact on interest and participation in golf and many hope McIlroy can have the same effect. "We had a good spell with Tiger Woods during the 1990s and 2000s and Rory is positioned to be another person who can do that," TaylorMade CEO Ben Sharpe told CNN.
    Photos: Golf state of the game report
    Out of the Woods? – Tiger Woods' career has had a massive impact on interest and participation in golf and many hope McIlroy can have the same effect. "We had a good spell with Tiger Woods during the 1990s and 2000s and Rory is positioned to be another person who can do that," TaylorMade CEO Ben Sharpe told CNN.
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    Golf at grassroots level is in a state of decline, with 400,000 people leaving the sport in the past year in the U.S., according to the National Golf Foundation.
    Photos: Golf state of the game report
    Grassroots decline – Golf at grassroots level is in a state of decline, with 400,000 people leaving the sport in the past year in the U.S., according to the National Golf Foundation.
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    "As an industry we can't put our head into the sand, we have to evolve and continually modernize," Sharpe says. "What we want to do is get golf clubs in people's hands and get them hitting golf balls."
    Photos: Golf state of the game report
    Head in the sand? – "As an industry we can't put our head into the sand, we have to evolve and continually modernize," Sharpe says. "What we want to do is get golf clubs in people's hands and get them hitting golf balls."
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    Eighteen-time major winner Jack Nicklaus is in favor of seeing a quicker and cheaper game of golf introduced. "I'd quite like to play a game that I can get some reasonable gratification out of very quickly and something that is not going to cost me an arm and a leg," Nicklaus told CNN.
    Photos: Golf state of the game report
    A speedy recovery? – Eighteen-time major winner Jack Nicklaus is in favor of seeing a quicker and cheaper game of golf introduced. "I'd quite like to play a game that I can get some reasonable gratification out of very quickly and something that is not going to cost me an arm and a leg," Nicklaus told CNN.
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    Former pro turned golf pundit Brandel Chamblee says the pace of modern life has impact on participation in golf. "It's Twitter, cell phones, video games -- these are the activities that kids are involved in," Chamblee said. "Mum and dad are working, and kids are playing video games. That doesn't leave a whole load of time or people to populate these golf courses."
    Photos: Golf state of the game report
    Kid-friendly approach – Former pro turned golf pundit Brandel Chamblee says the pace of modern life has impact on participation in golf. "It's Twitter, cell phones, video games -- these are the activities that kids are involved in," Chamblee said. "Mum and dad are working, and kids are playing video games. That doesn't leave a whole load of time or people to populate these golf courses."
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    FootGolf, which involves players kicking a football around a golf course complete with bigger holes, is one of a number of alternatives to help breathe new life into golf.
    Photos: Golf state of the game report
    Thinking bigger – FootGolf, which involves players kicking a football around a golf course complete with bigger holes, is one of a number of alternatives to help breathe new life into golf.
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    mcilroy junior golfWoods returnGolf holeGolf swingNicklausgolf chamblee 2002FootGolf 1

    Story highlights

    • Golf suffering a decline in popularity in its traditional heartlands of the U.S. and UK
    • 400,000 left the sport over past year in U.S., according to the NGF
    • New ideas and initiatives introduced to change its fortunes
    • "We have to evolve and continually modernize," TaylorMade CEO says
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    (CNN)While the professional game of golf gears up for 2015 in rude health, at grassroots level the sport finds itself in the rough.

    With more prize money on offer for the stars than ever before -- 97 players won over $1 million on the PGA Tour last year -- and lucrative sponsorship deals, golf can rest safe in the knowledge that the future is bright for those competing at its top end.
      At the opposite end of the spectrum, however, the sport stands at a crossroads, with recent years having brought about a major slump in popularity in its traditional heartlands of the U.S. and the UK and Ireland.
        As golf continues to hemorrhage players, the steps it chooses to take next could prove crucial in turning its fortunes around.
        Some 400,000 people reportedly left the sport in the past year in the U.S., although the National Golf Foundation (NGF) states: "The numbers quoted don't reconcile with NGF data and they're not something that we reported or would report."
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        NGF results do show that the sport i