Divot Mix

"Some of the most interesting holes are those where the best line to the flag is not direct." -- A.W. Tillinghast

Course closures outpace openings in 2006

According to the National Golf Foundation, there was negative net growth in golf facilities in 2006 for the first time in 60 years, as the number of courses that closed (146 18-hole equivalents) was greater than the number of openings (119.5).

In releasing the data, NGF said it was not an alarming occurrence, but a confluence of events – openings returning to more normal levels and weaker facilities being culled.

In the late 1980s, the number of openings was about 100 per year. There followed a wave of increased construction in the 1990s that peaked in 2000 with nearly 400 openings. Since then the wave has subsided to near historic levels.

The culling of courses is not viewed as a negative by NGF. The organization expects overall course supply to stop expanding in the absence of increases in demand. It is primarily the weaker courses that are closing and, in many cases, owners who sell are profiting from long-term real estate appreciation. Finally, a better quality overall golf supply means a better quality experience for players.

NGF recorded a 56 percent jump in the number of closures between 2005 and 2006, from 93.5 to 146. These 146 closures represent about 1 percent of the total supply of golf courses in the U.S. Closures were primarily public (97 percent). They were disproportionately short courses (executive and par-3) – 20 percent were short courses vs. 8 percent of total facilities. And, they were disproportionately stand-alone 9-holers, 46 percent vs. 28 percent of total facilities. Closures were predominately values courses; with nearly half having peak green fees under $25. Closures occurred in 39 of 50 states.

Record attempt on course

World record hopeful Glenn Turner is celebrating playing at 300 different 18 hole golf courses in just 292 days. The 47-year-old from Preston, England, is now into the 10th month of his year-long record attempt and looks set to achieve his target of playing morethan 365 courses during that period, despite wet and windy weather.

Turner has played at courses in Spain, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England during the past 10 months and is set to finish his tour on March 31, at Nigel Mansell's Woodbury Park Golf Course in Devon, England.

The professional golf tutor has taken a year off coaching, left his family behind for 12 months and traveled across the country in a customized motor home in an attempt to bring a new world record to Britain and raise £1 million for the 43 hospices that make up the Association of Children's Hospices and the Rhys Daniels Trust.

After he set the century milestone at Rochester and Cobham Golf Club in Kent, he said, “To achieve this milestone is a fantastic boost. The past ten months have been hard work on my feet and back, especially as I have walked the equivalent of 80 marathons so far on the greens so far and drove 16,800 miles in the motor home.

“But I've met so many fantastic people along the way that it has made me even more determined to set the world record and raise a large amount of money for the thoroughly deserving charities. My next milestone will be setting the new world record on Mar. 31."

To learn more about record attempt, and Turner's charities, visit www.worldrecordgolftour.co.uk.

R&A video documents course recovery

When American golfers saw Royal Liverpool Golf Club on television during the 2006 Open Championship, they may have been dismayed by the dusty brown conditions of the course.

But according to the R&A, hot and dry weather before and during the championship permitted a firm, running course that was considered to be a great success among the players and spectators alike.

But there were some who wondered about what all that brown turf meant for the future of the course. Now, The R&A Golf Course Committee, has produced a video recorded at The Open itself and again nine weeks after Tiger Woods won the Claret Jug. It records the recovery of the golf course after hosting a major golf event.

The video, which highlights the recovery and the sustainable nature of the course, is available online at https://www.bestcourseforgolf.org/video.