[Phil McDade]

This from the local on-line paper in Madison WI:

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/CTstaging/296341

[Dan Herrmann]

Phil,
The price of fertilizer has reached the point of absurdity.  It's absolutely nuts.



I think the article is right - you'll start seeing less "perfect" fairways.  Money will still be spent on greens, but the other areas will suffer.

[Andy Troeger]

I don't see much upside to this if its as dire as the article makes it out to be. Seems more likely that golf gets more expensive, some courses don't make it (or more than currently) and that drives people away from the game 

Fast and firm is great, but this sure isn't the way to get there IMO.

[Scott_Burroughs]

Dan,

I think your post is full of sh!t.

[Adam Clayman]

Andy, one theory is that increasing the challenge through less than ideal turf will return the sportsmans mindset. It may not increase sheer numbers of golfers but solidify those who appreciate the challenge getting them to golf more.

[Andy Troeger]

Adam,
Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but most of the golfers I know would be more likely to play "winter rules" than change their mindset 

There's a benefit to serious golfers who like firm and fast and brown conditions and have the money to play nice courses that can handle the extra costs and/or the potential of less play. I don't see that as being important enough to outweigh the potential negatives in this case.

What's good for GCA'ers might not be good for golf in this case. Its about changing the mindset, which doesn't usually come by force from my experience.

[John Kavanaugh]

This is great news for your local course.  As golfers spend less time and money on travel and more near home they create the culture of neighborhood golf that was lost in the day of cheap transportation.  This is the second step to bring us back to the British model of close knit quirky clubs that reflect their neighborhoods instead of the perceived wants of strangers. 

The first step was the threat of terrorism that motivated developers to build British style clubs in remote locations on our home soil.

The third step will have us back playing with hickories.

[Peter Pallotta]

John - I think you are spot on with the first point in your post. A really good point that was.

But I'm too much a staid and inside-the-box thinker to understand or comment on your other two points... 

Peter

[John Kavanaugh]

Just to give credit where due...The third step is paraphrasing Albert Einstein.

[Peter Pallotta]

Ah, that explains it....

Peter

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