Posted on 08/21/2010 11:28:16 AM PDT by Willie Green
MAMARONECK, N.Y. — A few weeds have popped up on the fairways, and summer's heat has scorched the grass here and there, but the golf course at the Hampshire Country Club is still tidy and scenic, its little waterfall still burbling through the rocks.
Not that there's anyone around to notice. The Hampshire's 18-hole course on Long Island Sound, along with its tennis courts, pool and restaurant, is closed this year. Members cited rising costs upwards of $25,000 a year for a membership as the roster fell from several hundred at its peak to about 100.
"There was a lot of talk last year about the increasing costs, people not sure what they could pay, the assessments always going up," said Barbara Mines, a member for 15 years who lives in a house on the Hampshire course. "I wasn't really surprised when it closed."
The same thing has happened in recent years at hundreds of other courses nationwide — even in the golf meccas of Florida, Arizona and California — as the economic meltdown and changes in family dynamics combine to threaten club life. Whether it's a $45,000 initiation fee for a private club or a $5 increase in the cost of a round at a public course, the price of a golf habit is giving some duffers pause.
"It's definitely connected to the economic conditions and the ability of potential private club members to pay the fairly significant initiation fees and annual dues," said Jay Mottola, executive director of the Metropolitan Golf Association, representing 120,000 golfers and 500 golf courses in the New York region.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
And who will be the ones ‘punished’? The people who make these facilities run.
That's because there are no train stations near the courses.
With the almost fanatical devotion of young parents to youth soccer, has anyone noticed that young fathers who used to spend hours on the golf course on weekends are now spending those weekends alongside a soccer field instead?
Since every drop of fresh water at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba comes out of an expensive desalinization plant
barry´ll have to play what public courses survive, eventually.
There also seems to be a correlation between the start of the golf channel and the fall in rounds played. It is easier to stay home and watch someone play than go out and play it yourself.
“Now, excuse me. This weekend’s tournament is on... “
So I take it that you won’t going golfing this weekend but will watch someone else have all the fun?
Yeah, those “rich” are just getting what they deserve! Let ‘em have it! Let ‘em see what it feels like! They’ve had it on easy street for far too long! Make THEM pick the cotton for once. That’ll teach ‘em.
And, if you’re like me, you get to use both clubs multiple times on one green. Someday I hope to stop skulling the ball.
“
US golf clubs in the rough as members drop away
“
Add in the closure of some golf courses due to death of grass
(bentgrass and poa) during the month-long heat wave...things are
hurting in the golfing world near the Mason Dixon Line.
(as reported on the Wall Street Journal radio show last week)
Well, I don’t play with caddies. I play cart golf. I can’t speak for Obama (nor would I...).
Punishing success makes life’s losers feel so much richer.
I’d already commented on playing golf when I’d made the comment about the tournament being on. And I played yesterday, again. I also watch golf on TV. I just finished watching the PGA down in NC, now have the Champions Tour on. I do both.
As to the cost; I pay $250/year plus 10 cart passes for $50 (9 holes each). That’s for all the golf I can play, 7 days a week. Our local CC is now public and charges $685/year, but I don’t play enough to justify it. I can play there for $25 with cart up to 8 AM, then $30 afterward if I want. It’s only a block away. A lot depends on where you live...
I played twice this week; yesterday as a matter of fact. No, I don't play on the weekends. I go when the course is fairly open to play.
LOL! I'm working on both. Last year my wife and son bought me an inexpensive membership, then again this year. For the 4-5 years prior to that I'd only been playing a couple rounds a year (health reasons). Now, I'm glad to be back in the game but have a lot of catching up to do. I'm getting there (had my longest drive of the year yesterday...204 yards), but there's still some work to do. That's one of the things that makes it such a great game. You're your own toughest competitor...
I saw a few of them on a golf course once, but they weren’t caddying... :)
Really!
Belong to a country club here in Colorado. They offer two memberships, recreational & golf. Recreational membership gives me access to a indoor pool & 50 meter (outdoor summer only) pool for lap swimming. A state of the art workout center and indoor/outdoor tennis courts. Golf membership gives you all of the above plus an award winning 18 hole golf course. The golf membership dues are outrageous, at least to me your quintessential duffer ... if I played low handicap golf I might feel differently. The recreational membership does allow me to use the golf course 12 times a season, just not on weekends, or, if there’s a tournament. This year I have yet to play one round of golf on the club course ... nor, at least to this point, do I feel inclined to do so.
Good for you. You support the support rather than just watch it.
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