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Pro golfers: Here's how we can repair the game

Pro golfers: Here's how we can repair the game

Ahead of the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral Miami , some of the most elite PGA Tour professionals spoke to CNBC about their thoughts on the sport and what it needs to be re-energized.

With ideas that range from hotter rivalries to bigger holes, TaylorMade-sponsored golfers Jason Day, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose all agree that the sport needs a kickstart.

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"I think we need a dominating force out there. We need rivalries with people picking which team they are on," said Jason Day, who grew watching Tiger Woods, which spurred him to dream of playing on the tour.

"It's hard to dominate like Tiger Woods. It was probably the best 10-15 years we've seen in golf," said Day, who is ranked fourth in the world by World Golf Rankings and coming off a win at the Farmers Insurance Open. "It's going to pick back up, we just need to keep working hard."

Dustin Johnson, though, said it's about faster play. "It just takes entirely too long to play golf sometimes," he said. "I don't think it should take more than four hours to play 18 holes."

"People waste a lot of time," he continued. "You should be ready to hit when it's your turn."

Sergio Garcia, No. 7 in the world, said he is in favor of a bigger, 15-inch hole for recreational players. "It's a way to give a different option and make it a little easier and more fun," he said.

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Garcia added that the economy and weather have made it tough for the sport in recent years.

"At the end of the day, I think it's been a tough three to four years for golf, mainly because of everything that happened outside of golf," he said. "Now people have to choose whether they are going to be a member of a yacht club, tennis club or gym; they have to choose. They can no longer do everything."

Justin Rose, eighth in the world, said it is important to protect the purest form of the game but recommends a second version of golf that's shorter and more fun. "We need to attract youngsters," Rose said. "Even if it's by getting people out to the facilities to play foot golf, we need to just get people out to the facilities."



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