eighteen holes Archives • GolfStinks

Do you know what’s a bad feeling? When your golf season is winding down and you realize that you didn’t play nearly as much as you would have liked this year. That’s what is happening to me right now. Here we are in early October and I can’t even tell you exactly how many times I’ve played this year. But what I can tell you is, it was less than ten. And even worse…not one single time did I play a round of eighteen. That’s right, only a bunch of nine-hole rounds. That’s bad to begin with, but when you consider that I write for a golf blog…that’s nothing short of pathetic. Am I really that busy or just being lazy?

And that’s the thing – I really have no excuse for my lack of playing. I mean, I had plenty of opportunities, I just didn’t take advantage of those opportunities as often as I should have. And now, we’re getting into my favorite time of year for golf – autumn. The temperatures are generally in the 60’s and 70’s. The humidity is dropping. The leaves are changing. You can’t beat it here in New England. So if I’m going to make up for my lack of play this season, now is the time I’d like to do it. What’s even more frustrating is, the same thing happened to me last year. It was late last May when I first mentioned how much later in the year it was when I kicked of my golf season. And it was all downhill from there. As a matter of fact, since then, it has yet to go back uphill.

As mentioned last May, sometimes life gets in the way of golf. Sure, the kids play sports. So I attend their games. That takes up time during the spring and summer for baseball season. Then, during the late summer and into fall, soccer takes over. Hey, when you have athletic kids, it’s one sport after another. But it’s not just sports. Sometimes it’s work. Sure, there’s been a couple of times when I’ve had to put in a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday. Or maybe there are just other commitments like birthdays, weddings or random other get-togethers. The larger your family becomes, the more events happen.

But as I think about it further, I’m beginning to think I was just lazy. As I said before, there were opportunities. Maybe not always for eighteen, but nine is better than none, right? For instance, I work only five minutes from a nine-hole course. All summer long I have the opportunity to play nine right after work. But only once did I take that opportunity to do so. And with the kids sports on the weekends – sometimes the games are around noon, but sometimes not until 4:00. There’s no reason I can’t play either before or after their games. There was even one time that I was so desperate to play eighteen, that when I asked one of my buddies to play and he responded he only had time to play nine, I didn’t even bother to answer. I skipped it altogether. And I wonder why I haven’t played as much as I’d like!

Now that I’ve had the time to write this out, I realize now, no matter the commitments, there’s always time to squeeze in some golf. It might take some creative scheduling, and I might have to settle for nine holes. But either way, there is always time. I always make time for the things I enjoy and love. So why should I treat golf any differently?

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Can there ever be too many golf courses? (photo by Saskia2586 / CC BY 3.0)

Now that The Masters is over I have to tell you, I am all golfed out. Honestly, I may have watched about a half-hour, in total, of the tournament. But between all of the coverage on ESPN and various other sports networks and news shows, specifically the Tiger coverage, I feel like I was in the galleries all four days! I don’t think I can watch another five minutes of a tournament for the rest of the year!

However, that does not curb my desire to get back out onto the many courses which my home state of Connecticut has to offer. But a couple of stories in my local news lately have me wondering…are there too many golf courses?

The obvious answer for one who loves to golf, especially those of us who enjoy playing different courses all the time, is “not a chance.” How can you have too many golf courses? After all, the old saying “variety is the spice of life” indeed equates to your golf life also. Maybe the more appropriate question wouldn’t be to ask if there are too many golf courses, but instead to ask, is a new golf course really necessary? Or, is there a better use for that land?

In my current hometown, a town of about 45,000, we have two nine-hole courses. Recently, the idea to use a piece of undeveloped public land to build another nine-hole course was proposed by a local developer. The Economic Development Committee approved the proposal, but many spoke out at a recent Common Council meeting. In favor of the course were some local business owners hoping the course brings more people into the city. However, many spoke out against the course. Some concerns were tax and rent payments (or lack thereof), privatization of public land, outside investors and the plan meeting environmental standards. However, one major concern asked, what if the course fails? You are left with nothing more than carved up land, which would make later development more challenging, and the city expected to foot the bill. One can see where the concern would be.

My personal opinion? There are already two nine-hole courses in town. Additionally, there are four eighteen-hole courses within ten miles. Is another nine-holer necessary? As for bringing people into the city, how many golfers regularly travel to other towns to play nine-holes, especially when the surrounding towns have eighteen-hole courses? Add to that the fact there are already two nine-hole courses in this town, then how much more business is the course actually going to generate?

This reminds me a bit of a situation from the town in which I used to live – my hometown (population of about 60,000). It offered one eighteen and two nine-hole courses. But when the idea to build a new middle school on the grounds of one of the nine-hole courses was proposed, it was met with some hostility. The course in question was, to put it lightly, a bombed-out disaster of a mortar range which I had the displeasure of playing exactly once and swore to myself to never play again. It was in fact, with no exaggeration, that bad.

But, the course was very popular with the senior crowd. It was flat, wide open and an easy course to walk if you chose. And not too mention, cheap. Due to its low (if any) maintenance costs and the popularity with seniors and first-timers, I’m sure the course made some money for the town. But the question actually was: What’s more important, keeping this crappy course around to satisfy a few people who have other options, or building a new, better, safer school, in a better, safer neighborhood for 1,200 students year-in and year-out?

To me, the answer here seems obvious – kill the course. But I guess there are some of us who believe the future of our children isn’t as important as having to spend an extra six bucks to play a different nine-hole course.

Now don’t get me wrong, being a golfer, I always looking forward to playing a new course and feel a new course is typically a great idea. But, we also have to consider the cost. Be it a risky investment at the cost of the taxpayer, environmental issues or the future of our young students. All of these issues, and then some, have to be addressed before we can truly learn the value of a golf course.

Am I Too Busy For Golf, Or Am I Just Lazy?

Are There Too Many Golf Courses?

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