Gentlemen,
As I read this thread in the first couple of days the idea that kept running through my head was that courses going to the wall could be salvaged and become cheaper alternatives. I wasn't at all sure how many courses in the US have been struggling then closing even though here on GCA and occasionally in the press it is alluded to. To read Tom Doak say " …. there are hundreds or even thousands of struggling courses getting ready to shut their doors and go fallow…." was a surprise. However when I read what Tom Doak said I was strangely heartened, not that thousands were closing, but that revitalisation and resurrection might be possible. I hope beyond hope that his words become some sort of reality. To me the approach he is suggesting has much merit and doesn't seem at all outlandish.
Stricken and abandoned golf courses leave a hole in my heart so I am encouraged to think that, as there may be thousands in this predicament, then it is a perfect opportunity for the game to expand. I imagine the "redundant" course could easily have a maintenance regime which in terms of manpower and inputs was minimal. Dustier fairways with wispy long grass in the rough and relatively unkempt bunkers wouldn't be the end of the world for many aspiring golfers, lads and lasses, who just wanted to give the game a go. Who knows how many of these would be smitten and lead golf out of the wilderness it seems to have found itself in … particularly in the USA?
Is there any sense in America that municipalities there would take this approach? As Tom Doak says profit could not be the motivation but maybe altruism is not dead! Imagine being able to play nine hoes for $15 on a track that isn't overburdened with players (so no slow play!!) because there are another dozen of these types of courses within striking distance. The twin demons of time and expense banished! As Thomas Dai suggests there then could be many "…places where you just turned up, payed a small fee, hired some clubs and a ball and just knocked it about for fun…".
Small, inexpensive, community based golf courses are the lifeblood of golf in Britain and Australia are they not? History does repeat itself! Is the nature of this proposal too pie in the sky and just my flight of fancy for the week? I hope not. Golf could thrive under these circumstances. Hope springs eternal!
Cheers Colin