In the Rough

You can’t pick up a newspaper, visit a website or have a conversation with someone at present without the current Credit Crunch or global market condition being mentioned in some form.

Companies are being affected on a daily basis with even the major companies recording record losses for 2008. With Christmas coming up this is surely to still be maintained and it could be a very tough for small businesses as well as large companies this Christmas.

Could the Credit Crunch be affecting Golf? The answer is yes and in a number of ways.

When people start to feel the financial pinch it is often hobbies and sports, which are cut back on. Golf can also be very expensive with golf membership costing an average of £1000 per year, then your travel expenses throughout the year added on top and also the cost of golf clubs, golf balls and golf clothing.

To golf there is also the social side, which usually means a few beers after a game or even a weekend away with the lads and a night or two stay in a hotel again both these can be very costly.

To let you into a little insight I have just ordered a brand new gap wedge as I wanted one and not because I needed one so it got me thinking especially after the guy on the phone said it had been a quiet few weeks in terms of sales.

Will golf membership renewals be lower this year in the current credit crunch the answer is probably yes. Will people have to take out a loan to pay for there golf memberships in the coming months the answer is probably yes for some people. Times are tough at present but the golf course could also be the perfect escape from all the financial problems people are having.

After a long hard day at work yesterday I decided to go to the local driving range and get rid of a bit of frustration I had. Golf and the driving range is usually the place I go when I need to clear my head or just to hit some golf balls. Now i know im not the only one that does this because our local range on a Monday evening is full of people with the Monday Blues.

Last night though i bumped into an old friend who i used to play golf with but hadn’t seen with a golf club in his hands for nearly six months due to his last “disastrous round” (his words not mine, although i did beat him by about 6 shots).

After the last round we played together he was saying his eyes were getting increasingly worse and the strain of playing golf was making things harder for him.

He mentioned laser eye treatment but it was more as a half hearted comment (i thought). Last night though his swing was a lot more fluid and he was striking the ball very well, after a brief catch up he mentioned that he was missing golf that much (he used to play twice a week) he decided to get laser eye surgery and after a bit of rest he was back playing in no time.

To my annoyance he is not only seeing better generally (his squinting has stopped), he is hitting a golf ball well. After the last 18 months of me beating him we have decided to play again next sunday and i must admit im a little worried after seeing him hitting the ball so well last night.

On last nights performance and from speaking to my friend Laser Eye Surgery could really help your golf performance should you be struggling.

The absence of Tiger Woods since his wrist injury has shown a drop in TV listings for the British Open at Royal Birkdale, WGC Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship (USPGA) at Oakland Hills.

Since woods has been missing through injury there has been 3 big golf tournaments (2 majors and the World Golf Championship). During 2007 Tiger Woods won the World Golf Championship and USPGA tournaments.

The World Golf Championships in 2008 attracted 34% less viewers than in 2007 when Woods shot a brilliant final round 65 to win the tournament by 8 shots. For the USPGA viewers were down 50% on the 2007 year. For the British Open in 2007 it was Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia battling it out on the final day with Harrington eventually winning. The British Open stats again show a sharp decline with a third of people switching off compared to the 2007 results.

Over the last couple of years golf audiences have been dropping but could Tiger Woods be really affecting the viewing numbers out there?

Is the golf course the best place to close a deal or can the 19th be a better place?

Whether it is a new partnership or a future partnership the golf course could be the best place to go as you can guarantee for a few hours there will be no mobile phones constantly ringing, emails that need replying to or other people’s influences involved in the potential deal.

Many of times during a round of golf with friends work has come up in conversation and covered more than a few holes so with potential clients work can be a subject of conversation for a good nine holes. By being on the course as well you always find out more about each other if it is needed.

Personally the 19th hole is the best place and is mentioned as a meeting room by most businessmen who play golf.

With the Beijing Olympics fast approaching the debate has serviced yet again of whether Golf should become an Olympic Sport.

Golf has become one of the biggest sports on the planet and with the masses of people that follow golf and the large audiences it now attracts Golf would probably deserve Olympic status just on them facts alone, but is the debate that simple?

Golf would be a success at any Olympic Games but it breaks down to how it is formatted. Does it become a matchplay competition or a team competition? How many players can each country bring? Are the courses good enough in the future host cities to warrant a good competition?

All these questions would need answering before it can be settled, personally though I am for fully behind golf being an Olympic Sport.

The biggest question of all though is do we really need to have another sport where America will be guaranteed gold and Tiger Woods will win yet another medal for his trophy collection?

Many football clubs throughout the season have golf days for team bonding and golf charity events to raise funds for much needed causes with Sir Alex Ferguson just one of the many names who have an organised chairty golf day.

but are any of the well known footballers any good when they get on the course, well the simple answer is yes.

Fulham’s Jimmy Bullard was once described by Denis Pugh ( Colin Montgomerie’s coach) as a player who could of made it in the pro game. Bullard is currently a 1 handicapper and is regarded as the best footballer on the golf course. Jimmy’s incredible handicap has come from his love of the game and also the fact he had two long injury layoffs which enabled him to find the course.

England striker Michael Owen is also a keen golfer and is currently playing of a handicap of just 8. Michael himself often takes part in Pro-am tournaments when his football commitments allow for it.

Jamie Redknapp had to retire at the age of just 31 but that hasnt stopped him enjoying his sports and Jamie can now be found on a golf course playing of a handicap of 10.

Another former liverpool legend Alan Hansen has hit the golf since his retirement and has shot down to a 3 handicapper since then. Alan though has had past experience of golf and has even won a tournament all be it an under 14 county championship in 1970.

Making up the top 5 footballing golfers is BBC football’s very own Gary Linekar. Linekar another sportsmen who holds charity events is currently playing of 4 and is boast of win over golf legend Ernie Els. Ernie gave Gary a 6 shot lead in a matchplay event and Gary played one of the rounds of his life for a 71 and a 2&1 win more importantly.

With golf now implementing a random drug check with golfers you would think that the sport will now be completly keen however it has emerged that there will not be the facility to check for growth hormone drugs.

Under the new guidelines they will not be able to test for the growth hormone drug due to complication for the blood tests needed.

Golfers on both the european tour and us tour will be drug tested after round from this summer.

Golf has announced that they are bringing themselves in line with other sports by testing a selected number of golfers after each round of events. The news comes as no great shock as it has been expected after growing speculation that a very small number of golfers would fail randon drugs tests.

It was only last year that one of golf’s legends Gary Player said that he thought there was cheats within golf. After the The Open championship in 2007 Gary suggested that golfers were now looking to seek an advantage as there wasn’t any testing in golf. The comment made obviously sent waves of questions through the golf world and only now will we really see if there is cheats in golf.