The Hudson Valley No Longer Loves Golf?

Are you looking forward to hitting the links this Spring? If so, you're in a shrinking minority as Americans move to other interests, leaving golf behind.

The Washington Post recently reported that the number of people who claim to play golf at least once a year has fallen to its lowest point in recent history. As for a new generation of golfers, the amount of players between the ages of 18 and 30 has fallen 35 percent over the past 10 years.

2013 marked the 8th straight year where more golf courses closed than opened in America. The National Golf Foundation estimates that an average of 137 courses shut down every year. And as far as golf equipment goes, TaylorMade-Adidas Golf, the world's largest golf club maker, saw sales plummet a whopping 28 percent last year.

So why have people stopped playing golf? Experts blame many reasons including cost, time and changing priorities. Even the greatest golfer of all time, Jack Nicklas, seems to understand that golf just doesn't make much sense for our modern American lifestyle. He told CNN in January:

I'd like to play a game that can take place in three hours... 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.

Of course another reason for fading interest could be due to lack of "excitement" around the sport. There's not many role models for younger players to look up to anymore. After Tiger Woods' fall from grace, and his poor showing in recent tournaments, the one star that used to inspire new players to hit the course has decided that he even needs to take a break from the sport.

With the amount of great courses here in the Hudson Valley, we're curious to find out if the decline in golfing has hit our area as hard as the rest of the country. Answer our poll question below and let us know if you plan to play golf more, less or the same amount that you did last year.