Jerry,
Interesting, because the whole consumer value proposition seems to have been hopelessly perverted with trillions in fiat money floating around. In both of our companies, the disparity between the ephemeral pittance of money given to the hoi polloi - relative to their bottom-line purchasing power - has not even begun to keep up with what looks like a catastrophic rate of inflation.
$1,000 seems "reasonable" because it is not an apples to apples comparison with even a year or two ago - after the smoke clears, maybe a different story.
If the intent of all these relief payments was intended to keep (borrowing a movie term) those "below the line" from getting slowly eroded into a death-spiral of insolvency, it seems to have completely backfired and this phony-ass golf boom may be living on borrowed time.
No secret we grow, ship and distribute veggies and fruit - so have a front row seat to refute the preposterous notion that inflation metrics being reported by the idiots in Washington are on the level. In fact, I believe they have been grossly and deliberately manipulated. Whether the intent of these outright lies is to stave off a panic-driven collapse of the economy is anybody's guess - but I just paid $90 to fill up my 12 year-old small block diesel.
My freight rates to NYC (where the actual "lofty perch" manipulators ply their trade - effectively making them immune to real-world realities) *have not* risen 9%, they have risen 40% and more. If non-discretionary items like food and energy run out of control, how much dinero is left for golf?
Go back before the Wuhan virus (there he goes again, being xenophobic) and I believe a far larger cross-section of American consumers enjoyed a revenue stream sufficient to splurge on - for instance - an occasional $250 green fee. Monies earmarked for these luxuries have largely been reallocated to make ends meet for basic living . . . and ObamaCare ended up benefitting the insurance lobby (sneer), not your plumber or roofer.
I've got two absolutely key people battling cancer right now and spend an unbelievable amount of time fighting with Anthem since the auto-response to nearly every legitimate claim is a denial, followed by a protracted fight, which delays care etc etc. Monies that went to, uh, golf - a healthful exercise - now go towards co-pays and obscene deductibles.
By the time American workers have been bled nearly to death, there are also insufficient monies left to invest in stocks or funds, which makes this hedge against inflation impossible - further weakening the vast majority . . . . but enrich the ghouls who produce nothing in this country aside from moving and manipulating financial data.
I've a close, lifelong friend who recently resigned from his golf club because after busting his ass for 31 years as a manager in the retail union, what looked like a rock-solid - borderline lucrative - retirement package is being eaten up. No, he and wifey are not eating dog food with hamburger helper, but all the extra bells and whistles he earned - like golf - by necessity have been thrown overboard.
But the members at high-tone clubs - some of whom who make their money on the backs of deplorables - are riding the wave. Throw a few crumbs to the hoi polloi to keep them quiet, pay off both sides of the sewer aisle for carve-outs (and hide money offshore, since corporations also do not pay death taxes) and I'm not real bullish about the future financial health of the mid-level private clubs.
My conclusion is all this funny money - intended to keep the people who do the actual work in his country (like truck drivers) solvent as a bridge - eventually ended up enriching corporate America, who simply took advantage of this covid scam to raise prices, collude with competitors, run Main Street out of business - and vacuum money out of the economy with impunity.
Let's say - since the system is hopelessly perverted and higher individual tax burdens cause far more harm than provide a benefit - if another 10% of the capital left out there eventually migrates into the hands of the ghouls and their minions, at what point will golf return to the decades when our sport was only available to the elites?
I'll be interested to monitor how destinations like Myrtle Beach do - that is sort of "golf's Branson" . . . . . but when mighty Bandon starts to struggle (remember, 6 courses), that will be the canary in the coal mine.
$1,000 green fee might as well be a million at that point. I'd like to know everybody's opinion because I was asked to pen an Op-ed piece yesterday on a similar subject and not sure if my reasoning holds water under scrutiny.
P.S. Lapper, you are not important enough to respond to. And if you are going to insult somebody, try to do it with a little panache for a change. Take the under - I've got inside information, you know how that works, right? I'll bet you do . . . . .