“You're going to see players forego the latest equipment, but hitting the course.”

Richard Oliver looks at the economic crisis impact on golf and shares several interesting anecdotes.

The spiraling economy, in addition to ripping chunks out of 401k balances, has delivered hits to discretionary spending. It has forced courses from South Florida to South Texas to alter price structures for green fees, offer aggressive specials and watch several country-club customers take aim at municipal-course flags.

“The best quote I heard recently was from one of the Titleist reps,” Jeff Hunter, director of golf at Sonterra, said Tuesday. “He told me he's never sold so many hats. People still want to buy something, but they're buying hats or shirts instead of that new driver.”

Now Wally, resist the temptation to, oh I don't know, reprimand this fellow. After all, the guy interviewed might have meant the Taylor Made reps! The T manufacturers are very easily confused.

Sonterra, like La Cantera and other country-club and resort tracts in the San Antonio area, is fighting to keep its golf landscape alluring, even in the face of droughts both atmospheric and economic.

If players are deciding against that 2009 Titleist 909D2 driver, the task remains to get them to pull out an outdated model and fire away as in the past.

“We were discussing it internally the other day,” said Steve Shields, director of golf at La Cantera. “You're going to see players forego the latest equipment, but hitting the course.”

You do need the golf course to his the driver, last I checked. So we haven't completely lost sight of our priorities.

Reaping the benefits of it in these parts are the Alamo City Golf Trail layouts, including the renovated Brackenridge Golf Course, and other daily-fee spreads such as Pecan Valley and Olympia Hills.

Jim Roschek, general manager of the Golf Trail, said that while numbers may be skewed by the ongoing renovations at the seven city-owned tracts, the number of rounds has been steady.

“What I've seen at times is there has been one or two little depressions in the past and things have looked up for us,” said Roschek, who arrived in San Antonio two years ago after overseeing the makeover of municipal golf in Kalamazoo, Mich. “Here, I don't know if it's because of the economy or that we have less (courses) open, but people are playing the munis.”

The reason, in part, are prices at $75 or less on the public layouts, an increasing temptation for players no longer willing to shell out fees in excess of $100 per round in trying financial times.

"Modern equipment has played a large part in this rush of young blood."

While Ron Sirak attributes the emergence of teens Rory, Ryo and Danny to Tiger, John Huggan says their success at a young age may be thanks to equipment changes.

Such a phenomenon is relatively new in men's professional golf, certainly in terms of so many new and unshaven faces arriving at once. Where the women's game has long seen wee lassies in their mid-to-late teens capable of contending in the biggest events, it has traditionally taken longer for physically less mature laddies to achieve similar heights.

And...

So it is that, where the separation between good and great used to have much to do with the aesthetically pleasing art form that was shot-making, today the game is more about raw power. Very early – much earlier than before – young players armed with the requisite talent and nerve to survive with the very best begin playing basically the same muscle-bound game favoured by their supposed superiors. Accompanied by squeals of anger and disappointment from purists everywhere, draw, fade and feather have been replaced by crash, bang and wallop.

Which is not to say that there is not a lot of fun to be had from watching this new generation of stars in action. 

True, but will the quality of play ultimately be impacted the way a rush of youth in the NBA has affected play, or is this just a natural progression of the sport?

Nothing That A Depression Won't Fix, Vol. 34

Bloomberg's Michael Buteau looked at golf fallout from the economic crisis and something tells me that this falls into the "needed to happen" category:

Maintenance crews at Atlanta Athletic, where golfing legend Bobby Jones grew up playing the game, will soon start cutting the fairways in a back-and-forth pattern, instead of the more decorative crisscross. The adjustment will save about 100 gallons of diesel fuel a month, or about $2,300 a year, said Ken Mangum, the grounds superintendent.

“You’re looking at every little thing you can to save a dollar,” Mangum said. Fewer flowers will be planted, something “spoiled” golfers will have to get used to, he said.

Shocker: R&A's Dawson Says Golf In For Rough Year Ahead

It's good to know the R&A is on top of things, as always. Mike Aitken fills us in on Peter Dawson's dire warning:

"I don't think we've seen the bottom of this and I don't think anyone is immune," said Dawson. "I'm no economic forecaster, but it's hard to see the situation turning around quickly. There may be quite a way to go.

"I think people who are members of golf clubs will be thinking twice about their subscriptions. Like everything else which is discretionary (spending], people will ask, 'Do I need to buy a new driver this year?' All these things will contract."

I tell ya, he is a visionary.

Aitken also files this piece on the state of club golf in Scotland, where memberships are not being renewed at a disturbing pace.

"Not having to spend millions upon millions of dollars to change golf courses for four rounds"

It's been so long since I've had anything to add to The List. Great to see what Greg Norman had to say this week:

Norman, who was in Australia to play the Johnnie Walker Classic last weekend in Perth, also said golf's international administrators should limit the impact of technology to save time and money rather than lengthen courses to accommodate for players hitting the ball further with increasingly advanced clubs.

"I think the powers that be could have done a better job of managing the technology breakthroughs that took place over a period of time and implemented different rules for us, the professionals, and not having to spend millions upon millions of dollars to change golf courses for four rounds," he said.

"I would still say we are in a position where we can see lesser growth — but growth."

The most disturbing thing about FBR pulling out of the Scottsdale stop (thanks Steven T.) is not that a penny stock investment group can't go on, but that the Commissioner is talking about "bumps in the road" and offering this as reported by Doug Ferguson. Finchem is discussing extensions with Travelers and Accenture during a press room gathering Tuesday:

"In these times, any level of growth is a victory," he said. "And if I had to guess right now where we come out after another year of this, I would still say we are in a position where we can see lesser growth — but growth."

Is the growth mantra is appropriate right now? I'm guessing Greg Norman suggesting this (thanks reader John) would not agree with Commissioner:

"Prize money's being scaled back in Europe, I wouldn't be surprised if prize money's scaled back in the U.S. just out of respect to every citizen and taxpayer over there who's suffering dramatically," the two-time British Open champion was quoted as saying Wednesday on the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Web site. "It seems like on the PGA Tour the players are still playing for a million dollars first week, like they're recession-proof.

"I think there's got to be a lot of sensitivity shown. If I was PGA commissioner that's what I would be recommending," he said.

The Day Corporate Cool Died?

I leave for a few hours and we go from a shoddy TMZ report with exaggerations and blatantly incorrect information about the Northern Trust Open, to prominent members of Congress using it to call for everything but a public execution.

There are a number of ways to look at the Northern Trust situation. Obviously it's hard to sympathize with a group that received TARP money going on to do over-the-top entertaining when other recent examples of such excess have turned prominent companies into dirty words (A.I.G.).

Northern Trust signed on as L.A. Open sponsor to build it's brand in the west. Well, today they went national today.

On the other hand, Northern Trust is a victim here. Having been forced to take TARP money they apparently forgot there were new rules of doing business attached to that money no matter how unnecessary they believed it to be. If CEO Rick Waddell and his board had any cojones, he'd hold a press conference tomorrow with a big $1.6 billion winner's check in his hand and an offer to give it all back to the government.

My initial reaction to these events has more to do with the PGA Tour and the future of the sport. You may recall that I spared you more detailed thoughts about the direction the L.A. Open has taken with Northern Trust and PGA Tour's Championship Management whispering in their ears to push out the L.A. Junior Chamber of Commerce, corporatize everything in sight and in general, make the event more like events the PGA Tour operates: bland, soulless and devoid of local character but "elegant" to the discerning corporate clients visiting from Chicago who can pass a blindfold taste test between Grey Goose and Smirnoff.

While some of you might giggle at my pleas for an 18th green manual scoreboard, it's little things like this that lie at the heart of the utterly disastrous direction the PGA Tour has taken where the corporate world takes total priority over the experience of the everyday fan.Do we really need an on course concierge? (click image to enlarge)

As Barack Obama spoke Tuesday night and made the boldest declaration yet to end corporate greed, malfeasance and excess, I couldn't help but think that the PGA Tour had better be holding emergency meetings through the night figuring out how to wean themselves from a fatal attraction to this peculiar world of arrogant excess that mercifully died on February 24, 2009.

Obama: "I intend to hold these banks fully accountable for the assistance they receive, and this time, they will have to clearly demonstrate how taxpayer dollars result in more lending for the American taxpayer. This time, CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks or buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over."

Countrywide was visible at the 2009 NTO (click to enlarge)This doesn't mean golf or the days of golf tournament sponsorship are over. Nor does this unravelling of greed and corruption mean that corporations are going to be going away as hosts of golf tournaments and supporters of the game. And nor do we want them to go away.

However, the folks running the game are going to have to rethink their complete and utterly nauseating obsession with pleasing often out of touch and sometimes downright moronic hooligans who want tinted windows on their elevated luxury boxes so they can look down on the little people, who have little genuine regard for the values golf stands for, and who consistently display a disdain for anything beyond themselves.

Greetings From L.A., Phil-Grinds-Out-A-Win-Edition

The general malaise displayed by Sunday's Northern Trust field resulted from a return of the dreaded Beef Stroganoff cream-of-too-much-butter pasta in the media center dining room following a week of stellar menu options.  Players could sense post round interviews would come before a refluxing band of scribblers and therefore played tentatively throughout Sunday's gloomy but warm finale.

That's my theory anyway.

Phil Mickelson sprayed it around Riviera this weekend and has a 62-72 finish and second straight Northern Trust Open trophy to show for it.Phil Mickelson tees off on the 4th Sunday (click on image to enlarge)

You can look at his win two ways.

Behind door number one, you could say his ball striking is a mess and he was lucky to win. After all, how many times of you heard of a Hall-of-Famer hitting balls after a 62?

And behind door two, you could say that much like Tiger, Phil's a man among boys. He can be shaky with the ball striking, still post two over-par rounds, and go on to win a big time event on a course that exposes the slightest miscues.

I'm definitely voting for option two.

Fred Couples approaches the 1st hole Sunday as fans and photographers look on (click to enlarge)A similar conclusion could be drawn about Fred Couples, only his problems were on the greens (well, until the shank on 18). He outdrove Phil and Andres Romero several times and his overall iron play was stellar. Not bad for a 49-year-old part-time golfer.

As for the media center reports, Doug Ferguson does a nice job encapsulating a bizarre final day.

John Bush at PGATour.com shares some pretty impressive "With This Win" deals, including this one which should give Phil slightly more satisfaction than the 500 FedEx Cup points he picked up:

The win moves the left-hander out of a tie with Vijay Singh and into solo possession of 13th place on the all-time wins list.

Freddie's record isn't too shabby either:Andres Romero plays a remarkable recovery on No. 5. Note how far right he's lined up to compensate for the sidehill lie (click on image to enlarge)

Fred Couples, the 2009 United States Presidents Cup captain, made his 27th start at the Northern Trust Open a good one, finishing tied for third. His amazing record here includes wins in 1990 and 1992, as well as 25 made cuts, 19 top-25 finishes and 13 top-10 finishes.

Mickelson on 14 (click on image to enlarge)Helen Ross wonders if in spite of the win, if this is really the confidence booster Phil had hoped for.

Ferguson also notes that Couples was playing with a heavy heart, making his play that much more impressive.

Jim Achenbach does a beautiful job explaining why Riviera is such a great spectator course.

This reminds me how much I detest modern courses that are virtually unwalkable because they sprawl from one housing segment to another. Sometimes the ride from green to tee is longer than the ride from tee to green. In my mind, there is a disconnect in this design scheme. One hole never seems to flow naturally into the next.

One last Phil shot, the 9th tee shot (click to enlarge)Unless you are Walter Driver and Fred Ridley looking for validation of the change-courses-not-the-ball philosophy, don't read the rest of the column where Jim says that it's time for the governing bodies to start looking out for the Riviera's of the world, and then advocates...oh I can't even type it. And to think we could have bickered about this Jim!

Speaking of the ball going too long, I had heard from a marshal that Shigeki Maruyama was nailed in the back by an incoming range ball Saturday while he was in the 11th fairway...past the barranca. For those of you who don't know the course, this requires about a 330 yard carry.  A reliable source says Shigeki is still awaiting a show of concern/acknowledgment of pulse from the culprit, the one and only J.B. Holmes.No. 18 continues to be one of the great stages in the game (click to enlarge)

That's all for now, but I have a few more NTO posts to mop up with this week. For now, hope you enjoy the black and white images and other iphoto distorted stuff. As someone who loves the old imagery of L.A. Opens past, I thought it'd be nice to see 2009 the way tournaments used to look. And besides, it was a B&W kinda day Sunday, don't you think?

"Part of the issue is perception"

Scott Duke Harris and Pete Carey offer more examples of corporations cutting back their involvement in golf for fear of giving the wrong impression.

And the Pebble Beach pro-am has indeed downsized this year, but probably not as much as your 401(k). Declines in corporate sponsorships and ticket sales are expected to bring the tournament's donations to charity down about 10 percent from a record $6.74 million in 2008.

"Given everything else going on, it's a little bit of a success story," said Ollie Nutt, president and chief executive of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. The group uses the tournament's proceeds to support about 200 charities in the region that provide youth activities, education, nutrition and legal services for the needy.

The Pebble Beach classic has had a winning formula that allows Hollywood celebrities and capitalist chieftains to play alongside top pros. It has raised $73 million for charity since 1947, including $50 million since 2000.

But this year, several regular corporate sponsors bowed out; there are 18 skyboxes, compared with 20 last year, and about 11 hospitality tents, down from 15.

"Part of the issue is perception," said Nutt, suggesting that companies don't want to be seen lavishing perks while laying off workers. But the budget decisions, he noted, are genuine.

"It's unfortunate that golf is somehow made to be the whipping boy for this economic malaise."

Peter Kostis raises a point I've been wondering about: why does golf have to be so ashamed of itself in this down time while other athletic pursuits seemingly go on with their usual antics and inflated budgets.

It's unfortunate that golf is somehow made to be the whipping boy for this economic malaise. Why not all the excessive, guaranteed contracts in baseball and basketball?

Unfortunately, the darkness has settled over fans and regular golfers too. I can't help but feel that we're in a time when people are almost afraid to be seen having fun. That somehow, with so much bad news on TV and negative sentiment out there, laughing and enjoying yourself has become almost politically incorrect.

Is there any way golf corrects this, besides hoping for a healthy Tiger to return and continue his historic run?

"The culture of golf has changed to the point where the country club as a center for social life makes little sense."

Brad Klein seems to be saying, forget about the way things were done, move on and deal with reality. Can't say I disagree with any of his "six dimensions to golf’s new business paradigm," though I do think that it's a bit early to completely reinvent the country club concept.