We were in the middle of our regular golf round the other day, when one of my buddies brought up the Wall Street crash. Then, someone said "I wonder what will happen to the tournaments that Merrill-Lynch sponsored?" We were all a little stunned as the real effect of the financial crisis on professional golf began to sink in on us.
Merrill, Lehman, Washington Mutual, AIG all sponsored PGA tournaments. Even if any of them are still around next year, how anxious are they going to be to front millions of dollars on golf? Expanding that thought a bit, how much are all the companies that sponsor PGA and LPGA events going to be able to spend if their business is off 20 to 40% ? Chances are the Pro's are all wondering the same thing about their endorsements.
We live alongside the 15th green of a very popular public golf course ranked #4 in the state of Arizona, and we have noticed big changes out there. The course if still beautifully maintained, but there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of players over the past six months. More telling, the number of golf parties parking behind our house to putt the 15th has dropped off a cliff. This time last year, we would normally see a party over at the 16th tee box, while another group was putting out the 15th green, with another foursome waiting out on the fairway to hit their approach shots. Now, there may be 30 to 45 minutes between players.
Most importantly, I am not getting any golf balls. Last year we had about 260 balls fly into our yard from pulls, shanks or screw-ups. I always put them into a pot out on the patio, except for Titleist Pro-V 1's. If those aren't knicked up or old, I put them in my golf bag. We haven't had a ball in the yard in weeks. No players...no balls. Interesting how that works.
Taking all this into consideration, I think 2009 is going to be a tough year for golf. Any Pro who doesn't have their contracts locked down may be a bit nervous, and the golf courses may really be in trouble. We know how expensive it is to keep a course in top-notch playing condition. We watch the workers and specialized equipment out there every morning cutting the grass and green, grooming the bunkers, fertilizing, re-seeding, watering. Lots of overhead and on-going expense. That's why it costs what it does to play golf.
No doubt some people in golf are going to get hurt by this crisis. Like the rest of us, they will , hopefully, work their way through it. In the meantime, I'm going to keep my eye on the local golf courses for fire-sale green fees.
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Hit 'em long, straight and often!
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