HDPM
03-27-2005, 08:12 PM
The caddy thread about expensive golf got me thinking-
IMO the key to the current cost of golf was the introduction of the buggy to American fat asses. The buggy allowed a bigger revenue stream for courses which allowed longer and better maintained courses which then required vile housing developments to be built to make the money to pay for the course which required a buggy to navigate since the new Condo Canyons course required the player to have long walks on residential streets between holes. A spiral that started with the American desire to make money and be lazy.
The buggy also got rid of caddies at many places which did a couple of things. Kids had a harder time getting involved in the sport and the kids who were interested couldn't afford it as easily. So now instead of having caddies and a cheap muni course down the road from the country club where the caddies could afford to play, you have an expensive public course and a first tee program. Seems like a lot of effort when you could have just had a cheaper course.
Granted, golf is still affordable many places. I am a member at a cheap private club. The membership cost a dollar in the poor economy a couple years ago. And dues aren't very high for unlimited golf. And our local muni is dirt cheap with a strong junior program. My club is an interesting study in the effect of the buggy tho. The front nine was designed pre-buggy era. It is a nice traditional nine with short walks between holes and no radical designs. The back nine was built in the buggy era. There are plenty of houses to hit balls into, there are long walks between holes. There is paving everywhere. The design sucks. (Although IMO the land is worse on the back nine, but still, IMO the design is worse.) However, our members are cheap. So they always wanted to own their own buggies. So the course doesn't have a lot of buggy revenue. But it does have all the maintenance problems caused by buggies - like having to build a new buggy highway when the old one gets too many pot holes. So we have to pay to fix the blacktop. And we have no caddies and a lousy clubhouse (buggy revenue might have provided the money for a better clubhouse) So I figure we have the worst of both worlds. Buggies, blacktop, no caddies, but no money. It is weird.
Equipment figures into this some. The longer courses helped put the premium on distance, although I suppose the companies would have put technology to work regardless of what else was going on. Also, some of the problems are inevitable as the price of real estate goes up. When the land costs more, more development must go in to pay for it. So longer more expensive condo canyon courses.
Anyway, I guess I am enough of a curmudgeon to think that golf would be OK played on shorter flatter courses by people who walk and hit golf balls that can curve. I don't see why people like the condo lined modern atrocities thay have to pay a lot of money to play on. I don't play a lot of golf courses so I am no expert on architecture, but I really don't get the modern trends. I don't mind paying $25 to play some muni course that is OK vs. paying 200 to ride a buggy on the roads around some pete dye thing or another.
I don't know how to solve it, but I have a few ideas. The USGA needs to reign in the golf ball. And it also needs to try to clean up the cart problem. I am not sure how they can, but I would require any score for handicap purposes to be penalized for the use of a cart unless an affidavit by a treating physician was supplied to the state gofassoc and the USGA. So your 85 shot in the buggy would be adjusted down as a penalty. I think four strokes per round would be fine. Now go try to win your member guest handicapped better ball, although I am sure people would just cheat their way around it. I am not sure what else they could do, and perhaps nobody would go along with this anyway.
I would just like to see more people walking 6400 yard golf courses carrying 10 clubs instead of barrelling around in a buggy with 300 pound golf bags. And I would love to see some kids who need to make a little money get to caddie for people who have made a little money. It is much better than seeing the money go to EZ Go, Yamaha, or the paving company.
IMO the key to the current cost of golf was the introduction of the buggy to American fat asses. The buggy allowed a bigger revenue stream for courses which allowed longer and better maintained courses which then required vile housing developments to be built to make the money to pay for the course which required a buggy to navigate since the new Condo Canyons course required the player to have long walks on residential streets between holes. A spiral that started with the American desire to make money and be lazy.
The buggy also got rid of caddies at many places which did a couple of things. Kids had a harder time getting involved in the sport and the kids who were interested couldn't afford it as easily. So now instead of having caddies and a cheap muni course down the road from the country club where the caddies could afford to play, you have an expensive public course and a first tee program. Seems like a lot of effort when you could have just had a cheaper course.
Granted, golf is still affordable many places. I am a member at a cheap private club. The membership cost a dollar in the poor economy a couple years ago. And dues aren't very high for unlimited golf. And our local muni is dirt cheap with a strong junior program. My club is an interesting study in the effect of the buggy tho. The front nine was designed pre-buggy era. It is a nice traditional nine with short walks between holes and no radical designs. The back nine was built in the buggy era. There are plenty of houses to hit balls into, there are long walks between holes. There is paving everywhere. The design sucks. (Although IMO the land is worse on the back nine, but still, IMO the design is worse.) However, our members are cheap. So they always wanted to own their own buggies. So the course doesn't have a lot of buggy revenue. But it does have all the maintenance problems caused by buggies - like having to build a new buggy highway when the old one gets too many pot holes. So we have to pay to fix the blacktop. And we have no caddies and a lousy clubhouse (buggy revenue might have provided the money for a better clubhouse) So I figure we have the worst of both worlds. Buggies, blacktop, no caddies, but no money. It is weird.
Equipment figures into this some. The longer courses helped put the premium on distance, although I suppose the companies would have put technology to work regardless of what else was going on. Also, some of the problems are inevitable as the price of real estate goes up. When the land costs more, more development must go in to pay for it. So longer more expensive condo canyon courses.
Anyway, I guess I am enough of a curmudgeon to think that golf would be OK played on shorter flatter courses by people who walk and hit golf balls that can curve. I don't see why people like the condo lined modern atrocities thay have to pay a lot of money to play on. I don't play a lot of golf courses so I am no expert on architecture, but I really don't get the modern trends. I don't mind paying $25 to play some muni course that is OK vs. paying 200 to ride a buggy on the roads around some pete dye thing or another.
I don't know how to solve it, but I have a few ideas. The USGA needs to reign in the golf ball. And it also needs to try to clean up the cart problem. I am not sure how they can, but I would require any score for handicap purposes to be penalized for the use of a cart unless an affidavit by a treating physician was supplied to the state gofassoc and the USGA. So your 85 shot in the buggy would be adjusted down as a penalty. I think four strokes per round would be fine. Now go try to win your member guest handicapped better ball, although I am sure people would just cheat their way around it. I am not sure what else they could do, and perhaps nobody would go along with this anyway.
I would just like to see more people walking 6400 yard golf courses carrying 10 clubs instead of barrelling around in a buggy with 300 pound golf bags. And I would love to see some kids who need to make a little money get to caddie for people who have made a little money. It is much better than seeing the money go to EZ Go, Yamaha, or the paving company.