5 Reasons to give thanks for economic meltdown

[Richard Boult]

Richard Mandell posted an article last week at his Washington Times blog outlining:

Five Reasons to Give Thanks for This Economic Meltdown.

Reason #1:  A Far Overdue Contraction of Golf Courses

Reason #2:  A Downsizing of Conditioning

Reason #3:   Strategy, Not Aesthetics

Reason #4:  Allow Golf to be the Driving Force in a Golf Course

Reason #5:  More Affordability

He closes with, "The bottom line is the golfer does not need gigantic clubhouses, a valet pulling up in the parking lot, GPS, and our own personal wet bar in our cart.  We don't want to pay for it and the operator isn't making money from it.  We just want good golf!  I, for one, have great confidence that the silver lining in all this will reap great benefits for the golf industry in the future and feel it is a quiet (but major) first step in an industry correction that will return the game to the forefront, thus saving the business."

[Jim Tang]

Interesting article.  Thanks for the post.  I couldn't agree more.  Places like Bandon, Ballyneal and Sand Hills show that serious golfers don't need all of the amenities, which drive the price of staying/playing through the roof and seemingly turn the golf into an afterthought.

I know when I go on my annual golf trip with my buddies, the golf is all that matters.  We really don't care where we stay or eat or how long we have to drive to get to the next course.  We want 4 or 5 days of high quality golf from sunrise to sunset.  Period.

[Kalen Braley]

Jim,

I would agree with the article too, but the irony of your statement is Bandon has some of the nicest facilities I've ever seen.

The key here is golfers want a quality course, and it never hurts to have a nice facility too if it fits the model.  What they don't want is nice facilities and a mediocre course.

[Dan Herrmann]

Bandon's lodging is first rate, no doubt.  But where they really succeed to me is the lack of spas, fancy marble crap, and other unneeded stuff.

It's all about the golf.

[Kalen Braley]

Dan,

Fair enough..but as you say I wouldn't call anything they've done there anything short of top notch.  Even the trailer clubhouse at PD is being replaced with a real clubhouse if its not already finished.

[Dan Herrmann]

Kalen - amen.  Everything is absolutely first class.  Where they've succeeded is things like great lodging (where can I buy those showerheads?) and not by wasting funds on things like limos to get you from the Lily Pond room out to the driving range.  Those little busses are fine by me.

[Kalen Braley]

On the flip side...there is a muni my brother regulary plays in Utah County.

He's excited because the facility recently got upgraded. So I played a round with him to figure out what they did.

Spent about $6 mil total of which the vast majority went to a new clubhouse/golf shop/dining room with grill.  I asked him how often he ate or hung out in there....and he said pretty much never cause he's on the course and then heads home.  We then figured out that only a tiny amount went to the actual course for some drainange improvments here and there.  So the course is still a long boring slog for the most part with a couple of interesting holes and he rarely uses the facilities...so I said what are you really excited about?

He scratched his head and said...well the clubhouse is nice now.

I said yup...but too bad I'll never play here again because the course is a bore.

[Charlie Goerges]

Just to play devil's advocate, all the courses mentioned (with the possible exception of Sand Hills) were built during comparatively good economic times. So I don't know why bad economic times would equate with the creation of such courses.

"Reason #1:  A Far Overdue Contraction of Golf Courses"

On another thread I believe Chis Cupit had made the point that courses don't usually just close. They get sold at a loss until someone can make a go of it. Occasionally they get plowed under for other development, but it's not like when a bookstore closes at the mall and a TJ Maxx pops up in its place.

"Reason #2:  A Downsizing of Conditioning"

Conditioning is a bit of a loaded term. Nobody likes bad conditioning, but many disagree on what constitutes good or bad conditioning.

"Reason #3:   Strategy, Not Aesthetics"

If courses can't get built, I don't quite understand how strategic courses can get built.

"Reason #4:  Allow Golf to be the Driving Force in a Golf Course"

This has been all over the place in the past, I don't see how it will be terribly different in the future. There will probably just be less of every type of course built (muni, stand-alone, resort, housing etc.) in roughly equal proportions with housing possibly taking the biggest hit.

Again, not to be an ass (there is much to be said for each point in its favor) but I think it's worthwhile to question the given points especially considering the severity of the economic problems.

Charlie

[Craig Sweet]

Let's hope places like Bandon, Sand Hills, etc. do not go the way of The Yellowstone Club, Moonlight Basin, The Tamarack Resort, The Promontory Resort....

[Sam Maryland]

"Reason #2:  A Downsizing of Conditioning"

Conditioning is a bit of a loaded term. Nobody likes bad conditioning, but many disagree on what constitutes good or bad conditioning.

Charlie

I used to get a lot of pleasure out of playing Pelham in the Bronx.  on average the "condition" of the course was quite poor, but man they had very good greens day-in day-out.

our thought was we'd find a patch of grass to hit it off of, and as long as the greens were good we were happy.

SM

[Ian Andrew]

While I agree with all his points - the flip side of this is one hell of a nasty time for architects.

I was around for the early 1990's and saw all the lay-offs that came during that era. Many firms gutted themselves to keep going. If we get a flush out like that one - look out - since there are 10 times as many architects right now.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Ian is warm....


Giving thanks is artificial clarity. 


Having something good come of an economic meltdown is an entirely different sentence. 
Cheers

[Pat Burke]

Jim,

I would agree with the article too, but the irony of your statement is Bandon has some of the nicest facilities I've ever seen.

The key here is golfers want a quality course, and it never hurts to have a nice facility too if it fits the model.  What they don't want is nice facilities and a mediocre course.

Kalen, couldn't agree more.  Had the opportunity to play just such a place on Thanksgiving.
Good product, thoughtfully planned, designed, constructed and managed.    And they are making money in a miserable southern Cal market.  Goose Creek just fits in the sweet spot

[Tom Dunne]

Thanks, but I'd rather give thanks  for other things.

[Kyle Henderson]

Dan,

Fair enough..but as you say I wouldn't call anything they've done there anything short of top notch.  Even the trailer clubhouse at PD is being replaced with a real clubhouse if its not already finished.

It is finished and it's a neat little two story building half-buried in the rear tee for #1 (so the 2nd stiory is almost at ground level on the west side. Nice views from the upstairs grill and an outside patio with fire pit.

I have no idea what the old trailer looked like since I never saw the place before last week.

The constrauction site at Old Mac looks even more appealing !!!

[George Pazin]

Pretty callous to give thanks to folks losing their jobs; it smacks of condescension and arrogance in its most extreme form.

[Kalen Braley]

Dan,

Fair enough..but as you say I wouldn't call anything they've done there anything short of top notch.  Even the trailer clubhouse at PD is being replaced with a real clubhouse if its not already finished.

It is finished and it's a neat little two story building half-buried in the rear tee for #1 (so the 2nd stiory is almost at ground level on the west side. Nice views from the upstairs grill and an outside patio with fire pit.

I have no idea what the old trailer looked like since I never saw the place before last week.

The constrauction site at Old Mac looks even more appealing !!!

Kyle,

As trailers go on golf courses, the one at Pac Dunes was probably the nicest one I've ever seen, so it wasn't bad before.  And the deck/patio just south of the 18th green was a awesome place to grab a bite after the round...is that still there?

For a real opinion on trailers however, I'm afraid you'll have to consult with our in-house expert Bogey Hendren.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I am not sure about this topic and gallows humor. These are challenging times for many in the world.

[Kyle Henderson]

Dan,

Fair enough..but as you say I wouldn't call anything they've done there anything short of top notch.  Even the trailer clubhouse at PD is being replaced with a real clubhouse if its not already finished.

It is finished and it's a neat little two story building half-buried in the rear tee for #1 (so the 2nd stiory is almost at ground level on the west side. Nice views from the upstairs grill and an outside patio with fire pit.

I have no idea what the old trailer looked like since I never saw the place before last week.

The constrauction site at Old Mac looks even more appealing !!!

Kyle,

As trailers go on golf courses, the one at Pac Dunes was probably the nicest one I've ever seen, so it wasn't bad before.  And the deck/patio just south of the 18th green was a awesome place to grab a bite after the round...is that still there?

For a real opinion on trailers however, I'm afraid you'll have to consult with our in-house expert Bogey Hendren.

Didn't notice the old deck if it remains. It's not really necessary with the new one they built upstairs.
I have some photos to edit and sort (I'll post some soon), so I'll look for it.

[Charlie Goerges]

I am not sure about this topic and gallows humor. These are challenging times for many in the world.

Tiger and George,

You're right that times are tough for many, and no one should be thankful for such a thing, but gallows-humor is usually a show of solidarity and a way to deal with the difficulty.

As to the original blog post, I agree 100% that the idea is fallacious. That is why I made a few points to that end. But I don't think the real intent of the blog post was to celebrate others' misfortune, but to look on the bright side. That said, the title is callous and perhaps worse the individual reasons give too much time to the blogger's perceived "positives" without a real accounting of the negatives.

At any rate, there is never a better time to talk about the hard times than when the hard times are happening.

Charlie

[Richard_Mandell]

Just saw this thread and appreciate the discussion that has ensued.  I do want to respond to a few comments:

Right off the bat, the primary point of the blog entry is the re-direction of golf course architecture to a more genuine form (in my opinion), not to extol the misfortunes of people losing their jobs in this low point of the economy. 

Pretty callous to give thanks to folks losing their jobs; it smacks of condescension and arrogance in its most extreme form.

George:  Do you really think that I am giving thanks for people losing their jobs?  Come on!  I was also around in the early 1990's and lost my job twice due to that recession.  You are jumping into a sensitive subject that I am not really referring to (but have first-hand experience that is on the forefront of my mind today).  I am just discussing GOLF ARCHITECTURE, nothing else.  Please don't read into it too much.



Charlie:  Thanks for your input.  Let me respond:

"Reason #1:  A Far Overdue Contraction of Golf Courses"

Many golf courses have already closed in the past few years to be turned into purely residential developments because of the over-construction of golf in a particular area.  That trend will continue.  Again, I am sorry about job losses and this is not the place to discuss that.  My blog and GCA are places to discuss golf architecture.

"Reason #2:  A Downsizing of Conditioning"

Conditioning is a bit of a loaded term. Nobody likes bad conditioning, but many disagree on what constitutes good or bad conditioning.

We can discuss the definition of conditioning all day long, so I won't get into that too much, but the bottom line I was making is that we as an industry have put too much emphasis on perfect conditioning.  That costs money and the costs are passed on to the golfer. 

"Reason #3:   Strategy, Not Aesthetics"

If courses can't get built, I don't quite understand how strategic courses can get built.

At some point more courses will get built, but courses will always be renovated.  Nonetheless, the point I am making is that there are too many waterfalls, stone walls, massive bunkers, and wall-to-wall irrigation systems in an effort to create a pretty picture.  Again, that costs money and drives up costs for all.  If we just focus on the elements that make the game fun, not only will the game be more fun and strategic, but also more affordable.

"Reason #4:  Allow Golf to be the Driving Force in a Golf Course"

This has been all over the place in the past, I don't see how it will be terribly different in the future. There will probably just be less of every type of course built (muni, stand-alone, resort, housing etc.) in roughly equal proportions with housing possibly taking the biggest hit.

Again, not to be an ass (there is much to be said for each point in its favor) but I think it's worthwhile to question the given points especially considering the severity of the economic problems.

Charlie

Charlie:  This must be different in the future or we will repeat the same mistakes we have made in the most recent past.  I can't tell you if, but hopefully that will happen.


I think if everyone goes back and reads the whole blog, they will see that the focus is on golf and not on people losing their jobs being a good thing. 

[Charlie Goerges]

Richard, thanks for the reply. Sorry if I seemed a bit blunt, I feel that it's more important to get the ideas flowing than to acknowledge every exception and state every caveat.

As I mentioned, there is much to be said for each point, but I guess it is just my pessimistic outlook today that makes me think that the idea that we'll learn from this is fallacious (plus the lack of money). I wish it were true though. But while tight times will cause a reduction in expenditures, it may result in reductions in areas other than those mentioned or not in the way that you've envisioned.

For example, to save money, rather than cut maintenance expectations some courses may just use a "one size fits all" approach to save on hours rather than maintaining less area. Especially if there's no easy way to let rough areas go "native".

Sorry I can't respond with more right now, perhaps other's will chime in a bit.

Charlie

[Richard_Mandell]

Charlie:

I understand the pessimism.  It is easy to be pessimistic, but without some pleas for change (sorry, Mr. President-Elect), the pessimism will be reality.  I like to think that a lot of us on GCA have the same overall hope for the game and this is just a small step (big rant) in our hope for affordable and fun golf Utopia.  I think that the reference to "Gallows-humor" is way over the top, but do appreciate your reference to it below:

I am not sure about this topic and gallows humor. These are challenging times for many in the world.

You're right that times are tough for many, and no one should be thankful for such a thing, but gallows-humor is usually a show of solidarity and a way to deal with the difficulty.

That is the attempt with my blog (as well as all blog entries that I have done and will do in the future).  In no way should anyone think that this was some warped attempt at others misfortune (gallows humor).  It was a serious piece pointing out the costly deficiencies in the game.

I am curious as to your definition of "one size fits all" regarding maintenance. 

Regarding native areas, it is pretty easy to let some rough areas go native and is really predicated not necessarily on maintenance budgets, etc.,  but on the acceptance of those "less than perfect" areas by the golfer.  This is a good example of how one can ratchet back on conditioning, provided that ratcheting does not:

1)  create slow play issues.
2)  Make the game more difficult for the average golfer.
3)  Cause one to create poor agronomic conditions.

Ironically, though, a poor agronomic condition is the typical "emerald green" that many golfers think are good conditions. 

[Charlie Goerges]

Just a quick reply RE gallows humor. It is not a bad thing.

"gallows humor 
–noun
humor that treats serious, frightening, or painful subject matter in a light or satirical way."

[Richard_Mandell]

Charlie:

Thanks for the vocab lesson.  I wasn't familiar with the term, 'gallows humor'.  I feel a bit better about the reference.