Golf is growing, and there are more good young players, but you

Retief Goosen, the quiet yet steadfast champion from South Africa, once spoke with clarity born of experience: “Golf is growing, and there are more good young players, but you don’t see them going abroad. It’s so expensive to travel.” Behind these simple words lies a profound truth about opportunity, limitation, and the hidden costs that shape destiny. For while talent may spring forth in abundance, the ability to carry that talent across the world is often bound by chains of circumstance.

The origin of this reflection comes from Goosen’s own journey. Rising from the fairways of South Africa to win two U.S. Opens, he knew firsthand the trials faced by those far from the great centers of golf. For every champion who can afford to cross oceans and test their skill on the world stage, there are many others whose gifts remain unseen, confined by the expense of travel. In this truth lies both sorrow and warning: that greatness, though present, may wither in obscurity if the path to recognition is blocked by barriers beyond skill.

This pattern is not new in human history. Consider the ancient Olympic Games. While Greece celebrated the glory of athletic competition, it was often only the wealthy city-states that could send forth their champions. How many strong and swift men, hidden in small villages, never stepped upon the sacred fields of Olympia simply because they lacked the means to journey there? So too, in every age, talent is unevenly scattered, but access—the road to visibility—is not equally shared. Goosen’s words remind us that brilliance alone is not enough; the world must also provide a path for it to shine.

There is also a deeper symbolism in his reflection. The travel he speaks of is not only across continents, but also across barriers of class, wealth, and opportunity. It is a reminder that excellence often depends on more than personal effort. Communities, institutions, and societies must choose whether they will build bridges for their youth, or allow walls of inequality to stand. When young players cannot step beyond their borders, the game itself, no matter how it grows, is diminished. The world loses the chance to see new champions rise, and those champions lose the chance to fulfill their destinies.

Goosen’s words should stir us to see beyond the greens and fairways, for they speak to all of life. How many poets, inventors, or leaders have been silenced not by lack of genius, but by lack of access? How many voices have gone unheard because the cost of “travel”—the journey into broader arenas—was too high? The expense may be money, but it may also be prejudice, neglect, or lack of support. In all these forms, it is the same tragedy: potential unfulfilled, brilliance unseen, greatness denied.

The lesson, then, is clear: if we wish for the flourishing of any field—be it sport, art, or knowledge—we must remove barriers that keep the talented confined. It is not enough to celebrate growth; we must ensure that growth is shared. Communities must invest in their youth, organizations must create opportunities, and individuals must mentor and uplift those whose paths are narrow. For true greatness is not when one player rises, but when all who possess gifts are given a chance to rise.

Practically, this means supporting access: scholarships for athletes, funding for education, platforms for unheard voices. It means recognizing that we, too, are stewards of opportunity, and that by extending a hand, we may open doors for those who would otherwise remain unseen. In our own lives, it means asking: who around us has talent, but lacks the means? How can we be the bridge for them?

Thus, Goosen’s words, though spoken of golf, echo across every field of human endeavor: “It’s so expensive to travel.” Let them remind us that the cost of greatness should not be borne by the few, nor should destiny be denied to those who cannot pay. Let us labor to make the path broader, the journey more accessible, so that the world may be enriched by every gift, every voice, every champion waiting to be revealed. For when barriers fall, both the game and humanity itself are made greater.