Golf

With a sagging economy, many golf courses are making drastic budget cuts. They are cutting back on services, limiting mowing, restricting the use of fertilizers and chemicals and cutting the hours of operations of their restaurants. To promote business, they are expanding tee times and giving cut rates and coupons to golfers.

Construction around golf course communities has slowed in the last few months.

Amid this quiet despair, The Thistle Golf Course is finishing its 15,600-square-foot clubhouse.

Walking through Douglas Williams’ garage is like walking through a golf museum.

Dozens and dozens of golf bags full of clubs line one wall, and more bags and more golf clubs lie throughout the garage.

Near another wall is a white bucket full of used golf balls, at least 100. A smaller bucket is full of more golf balls. Stacks of egg cartons also contain dozens of golf balls.

I have been involved with youth programs for most of my life. Gene and I had four daughters and for years we were immersed in Girl Scouts, church youth groups, softball teams, gymnastics, a children’s choir, and the junior golf program at our club.

Besides being a wonderful sport that nearly everyone can play at any age, golf is a great social venue.

You might invite a friend to bowl or to play tennis with you, but you probably would not invite a friend to participate in your senior men’s ice hockey league. You might invite a friend to your club or neighborhood pool for the afternoon, but that visit would not involve swimming competitive laps. Imagine a basketball, football or baseball invitational tournament in which folks of all ages and abilities compete?

I think not.