Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The upside of a downturn

The last 10 years I've driven by a beautiful-looking golf course. At the most, I would only see one, maybe two golf carts shuttling lucky ball-stickers as they trolled through the hilly, pine-lined fairways.
The last 10 years I drooled at a course I could not play...

...because it was private.

Those last 10 years our country was getting drunk on Dom and CDO-squared loans...

...now the world is choking down 2-buck Chuck with a toxic dash of Alt-A that will give you the runs.

Among the increasing fallout of this downturn, private golf courses are now in the sights of foreclosure. Gone is exclusivity...here to stay is Affinity memberships where everyone knows your name.

Golf courses of all breeds...because of their dependence on vanishing disposable incomes, are re-reading How to Win Friends and Influence People.

So it was interesting to me when I logged onto www.LastMinuteGolfer.com to find a tee time for tomorrow at any local course that would accept my money...lo-and-behold, this ahem-private golf course that gave me years of angst-dreaming, is accepting tee times!

After confirming my tee time, and after a few "who's your Daddy now(s)?", I settled down to realize what I will be able to do come tomorrow...

No, it's not playing golf on a weekday...it's not the fact that I haven't played in 6 months...

no, it's playing a golf course I've previously had no access to...

...and that's a rush.


Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

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