Golf is growing enormously in popularity and British legend Tony Jacklin thinks it may be time for a rethink within the major professional tours in order to accomodate that growth.

The recent emergence of Tiger Woods has played no small part in that boom, particularly among inner city children and already there are few places among the tours for so many talented players.

"It seems to me that with the volume of players and the enormous competition involved there needs to be a restructing somehow of some of the tours just to create more opportunities for these players,'' said Jacklin, in Bermuda with wife Astrid and son A.J. as guests of the Bermuda Junior Golf Association at their Glidden Bowl which ends today at Belmont.

"It's all good and well to say the best will (stand) out and all that, but we're talking millions and millions of heads trying to make it. Other sports, be it basketball and soccer, have found a way to absorb the players and I think golf will.'' Jacklin, who now lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, and for the last two-and-half years has been playing on the Senior PGA Tour, drew reference to Gary Nicklaus, son of legend Jack Nicklaus, who despite being a fine player has had problems breaking through.

"He lives not too far from where we are and is a very, very good player. But when it comes around time to qualify for his tour card, for whatever reason, it's just a bad nine holes or something and he's been unable to catch it,'' said Jacklin, 53.

"Now he's in his late 20s and playing where he can, maybe on the Far East circuit or if they miss out on the American circuit they try for the European Tour card. If they miss that then they go to try to play in the Far East. It's an endless crusade that they are on.'' Jacklin, himself, has two sons with hopes of reaching similiar heights in golf, Warren, 24, who has been trying to get on the European Tour and 15-year-old A.J., who is competing in the Glidden Bowl. Dad was noticeably missing when A.J. played his opening round on Tuesday, explaining that the last thing the teenager needed was the extra pressure of having his father around.

Son follows in Jacklin's footsteps "A.J. has really only in the last couple of years taken the game seriously,'' said Jacklin.

"I know he wants to be a tour player and Warren tried for his European Tour card and just missed.

"He'll find a way where he can still be competitive but his whole life is not just the playing of the game. He's given it his best shot for four or five years and just realises it is tantalisingly just out of his reach.

"But that doesn't mean to say he's a failure in any way, shape or form.'' A.J., too, is planning to make a go at becoming a professional. His father made history in 1969 by becoming the first Briton to win the British Open since Max Faulkner in 1951. He also won the US Open in 1970, leading from start to finish and eventually won by seven strokes.

With that victory Jacklin became the only European Tour player since Ted Ray 50 years earlier to win the US Open. Those are big shoes for his sons to fill.

"A.J.'s got the physical ability to hit the ball well, he knows a lot about the game, studies the game and caddies for me sometimes on the Senior Tour,'' said the father. "He has tremendous opportunities to learn from observing these other guys.

"At the end of the day it's up to him. It's a weird deal because the more you practice the better you get, the better you get the more you expect of yourself and often the more you expect of yourself the less you are able to produce.'' It is not every day a player like Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Nick Price or Tiger Woods bursts onto the scene. There will be millions more with similiarly lofty ambitions who won't make the grade.

"It's important not to lose sight of the roots of the game and what the game's objectives really are,'' said Jacklin.

"When you are coming into the game, like some of these youngsters are, on this wave of popularity then there is an enormous amount of ignorance that goes with that.'' He spoke specifically about the effect Woods is having in his first year as a pro.

"There are a lot of distractions but it means that there are going to be millions more people playing the game, certainly in the United States, in the next five years. There will be more facilities for people who up to now have been deprived of the facilities.

"You are going to see the game open up to city kids, which is great because golf as a game is a great disciplinarian and I have always believed golf is a great game for kids to play. You don't have to be a world champion to enjoy playing golf.

"`Golf is such a complicated mix of physical ability, imagination and intelligence.''