We are constantly bombarded with golf’s bad press and the whining that the game is dying, shrinking, and losing players by the thousands. So what’s the answer? Raise green fee prices!
Wingpointe Golf Course
A local course is going to be shut down here in Salt Lake called Wingpointe. It’s the airport course. As its life comes to an end, they’re offering a farewell price of $25 per round, with cart, roughly half of what that would normally cost. Guess what? The place is jammed. We called for a tee time and the entire sheet was jammed.
Economics 101
Price goes down, demand goes up.
Price goes up, demand goes down.
Simple economics, right? So why the hell do many who manage golf courses not get this? What’s better? Having a course with 10 players on it at $50 a pop, or a course with 100 players on it at $25 a pop? And what about the money those extra 90 players spend on range balls and in the cafe? Some may even buy some balls or even apparel and gear in the pro shop. How much more could the course make in BEER sales alone with an extra 90 players a day?
Another shop in town gets that. A certain times of year, like when they are aerating, they offer smoking deals like the 50% off one above. Guess what? The course is packed. And when it offers those great prices it builds up a customer base. It builds up relationships with customers who will come back.
I know all this is just crazy talk. You golf courses and dumb municipalities who run them go ahead and carry on. When you’re sucking wind and losing money, go ahead and raise your prices even more. Run the rest of your remaining customers off. You might as well go out of business sooner. Perhaps someone will buy your course for pennies on the dollar and run it better than you.
Pop quiz: What college football team is currently ranked #5 in the AP poll and is still undefeated?
Answer: My University of Utah Utes.
Such a great color…
In the festive spirit of college football and college sports in general, Kentwool is now making a new rainbow of colors for their Tour Profile golf socks called the Gameday Collection. The Gameday Collection features color schemes from most colleges out there, including my Utah Utes. Kentwools are the ONLY socks I wear. Period. That’s it. These wool socks are unbelievable and by far the best socks I’ve ever worn, bar none.
For info on the new product line see the HogWire press release from Kentwool.
And below are some links to other Kentwool reviews I’ve done.
Kentwool Tour review.
Kentwool Graduate Compression Socks.
Kentwool Men’s Sport Socks.
PGA TOUR
The Presidents Cup
Dates: Oct. 7-11
Venue: Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, Incheon, South Korea
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Wednesday 10 p.m.-3 a.m. (Live) / 2-7 p.m. (Thursday replay)
Thursday 8:30 p.m.-3 a.m. (Live) / 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Friday replay)
Friday 6 p.m.-4 a.m. (Live) / 3:30-8:30 p.m. (Saturday replay)
Saturday 9:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. (Live) / 7 p.m.-1 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Tournament Airtimes on NBC (Eastern):
Saturday Day Three Re-Air (Noon-3:30 p.m.)
Sunday Final Day Re-Air (Noon-6 p.m.)
Broadcast Notes:
Format: The biennial match play event will feature five foursomes matches contested on Day 1; five four-ball matches on Day 2, four morning foursomes and four afternoon four-ball matches on Day 3, and 12 singles matches on the Final Day. The total number of matches this year has been reduced from 34 to 30, and a team must earn 15 ½ points to win the Presidents Cup. Each player must compete in at least two of the four sessions of play prior to the singles matches on the final day.
Event coverage: NBC Sports Group will dedicate nearly 60 hours of live news, analysis and tournament coverage surrounding the 2015 Presidents Cup, Oct. 5-11, including more than 25 hours of live tournament coverage on Golf Channel kicking off each night in primetime. Golf Central’s Live From the Presidents Cup will feature comprehensive news, highlights, and expert analysis; player/captain news conferences; exclusive “look-ins” that will show players preparing for their matches; the Opening Ceremony (Wednesday, Oct. 7, 5 a.m. ET) and Closing Ceremony (Sunday, Oct. 11, 3:30 a.m. ET) and compelling feature stories throughout the week.
Captains to Set Day 1 Foursome Matches Lineup Live on Tuesday, 7-11 p.m. ET: Captains Jay Haas (United States) and Nick Price (International) will announce their respective lineups for Day 1 foursome matches live within Golf Central’s Live From the Presidents Cup on Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 7-11 p.m. ET.
United States Team: Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Jimmy Walker, Zach Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar, Chris Kirk, J.B. Holmes, Bill Haas and Phil Mickelson.
International Team: Jason Day (Australia), Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa), Adam Scott (Australia), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Branden Grace (South Africa), Marc Leishman (Australia), Anirban Lahiri (India), Charl Schwartzel (South Africa), Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand), Danny Lee (New Zealand), Steven Bowditch (Australia) and Sangmoon Bae (South Korea).
CHAMPIONS TOUR
SAS Championship
Dates: Oct. 9-11
Venue: Prestonwood Country Club, Cary, N.C.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Friday 3-5 p.m. (Live) / 6-8 a.m. (Saturday replay)
Saturday 1-3:30 p.m. (Live) / 6-8 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Sunday 3:30-6 p.m. (Live) / 3-5 a.m. (Monday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Triplett defends: Kirk Triplett defeated Tom Lehman by three strokes for his fourth career Champions Tour victory.
Headlining the field: Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Kenny Perry, Tom Lehman, Jeff Maggert, Marco Dawson, Kirk Triplett, Corey Pavin, Lee Janzen and John Cook.
LPGA TOUR
Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia
Dates: Oct. 8-11
Venue: Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (East Course), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday Noon-2 p.m. (Tape delay) / 11:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. Wednesday (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Friday 5-7:30 a.m. (Tape delay) / 11:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. Wednesday (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Saturday 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (Tape delay) / 11:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. Wednesday (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Sunday Noon-3:30 p.m. (Tape delay) / 11:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. Wednesday (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Broadcast Notes:
Elite field: The field features nine of the top-10 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, including Inbee Park (No. 1), Lydia Ko (No. 2) and Stacy Lewis (No. 3).
Feng defends: Shanshan Feng finished three shots ahead of Pornanong Phatlum for her fourth career LPGA Tour win.
Headlining the field: Inbee Park, Lydia Ko, Stacy Lewis, So Yeon Ryu, Lexi Thompson, Hyo-Joo Kim, Shanshan Feng, Suzann Pettersen, Paula Creamer, Charley Hull and Michelle Wie.
EUROPEAN TOUR
British Masters
Dates: Oct. 8-11
Venue: Woburn Golf Club (Marquess’ Course), Milton Keynes, England
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 7 a.m.-Noon (Live)
Friday 7:30-10 a.m. (Live) / 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Saturday 8-11 a.m. (Live) / 11 a.m.-Noon (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Sunday 8 a.m.-Noon (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
British Masters returns for first time since 2008: This is the 63rd edition of the British Masters, but the first since 2008. The event was discontinued in 2009 after struggling to find a sponsor, but was revived this year with the support of Sky Sports and backing of Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood, who will rotate hosting duties and have input on the host course over the next four years. Poulter will act as tournament host this week at Woburn Golf Club.
Headlining the field: Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Shane Lowry, Lee Westwood, Danny Willett, Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington.
Pop quiz: What’s the first thing golf courses who just switched to a new automated sprinkling system do?
Answer: Over-water.
For decades Bonneville Golf Course here in Salt Lake City, Utah has been the most popular public course in the state and for good reason. It is awesome. For decades the course has been known for being a “hard and fast” course which calls for the player to accurately calculate approach shots, landing them at just the right place. Some shots needed to hit short and bounce up in order to stay on the putting surface.
Commonplace at Bonney now… bring your divot tool.
Over this summer the course has switched from manual, hand-watering to a new automated irrigation system. The change is done and the new sprinklers are working, really well. The course is as green as ever but it is very, very different. The greens are no longer the fast and hard greens I’ve grown to love (and hate in a good way on some days). They’re country club soft. Shots which once would bounce over the green when hitting the front half are now backing up. On the 3rd hole, a green which is very hard to stick, I hit a wedge to the middle of the green and spun it back off and down the hill. On #10 I did the same thing, hitting the middle of the green then spinning entirely off the surface.
Some shots this softness has helped though. I hit an 8-iron to the par-5 first, a back pin. My shot flew to the back pin, hitting about a foot short of the flag. Normally that shot would bounce over the green and leave an impossible downhill chip. Instead, I had a 15″ eagle putt.
The speed of the greens is considerably slower right now. This could of course be a factor of the blade length of the mowers, or it could be that they’re just slower because they’re more moist. Those of us who are used to “Bonney” speed and the fine and tough breaks those fast greens produces are now befuddled by putts which come up short and don’t break.
I’m not saying the change is good or bad. It’s just, “different.” The strategy has changed. Rather than hitting shots with the goal of hitting the front or even in front of the green, one must think pin high and go even longer than that. I’m finding that any club less than an 8-iron requires getting the to-the-pin yardage and aiming 10-15 feet past it.
Welcome to the new Bonneville.
Yay! It’s Presidents Cup week. This event is a competition between a USA team of golfers pitted against an international squad of players who are not Ryder Cuppers. So it’s basically the USA versus anyone but europe.
I’ve been waiting all year to watch this event. Okay, maybe not. I actually have no interest in this event whatsoever. I’m curious to know if any of you HOG patrons out there do care about this event? After all, the USA team has won it every time since the inception of this red-headed stepchild of the Ryder Cup, except for 2003 when the event was tied.
Actually I think the 2003 Presidents Cup was the last one I watched.
College football season is here (as is pro football of course) and that’s where my interests lie at this time of year, especially since my Utah Utes are now ranked #5 in the country.
« Previous
1
…
161
162
163
164
165
…
1,163
Next »
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
