Picking Up The Club

They say most business deals are closed on a golf course. But what happens when the economy is keeping people off the green.

During a recent visit to the Greenbrier Golf Resort in West Virginia I spent some time with its legendary golf pro emeritus, Tom Watson, the winner of 39 PGA Tour events, and many majors including the US and British Opens. I asked Watson what the weak economy is doing to the business of golf. Watson says with high unemployment and those working not getting raises, golfers don’t have the extra money to tee off. So the industry is in a slump. But Watson is as confident of a turnaround as he is about winning.

“I think we just weather the storm. People are going to play golf when they want to play golf. Golf is always going to be there. It’s the greatest sport there is from the standpoint of you do it yourself, you get all the gratification for a great shot but you have to take all the blame for a bad shot.”

Despite the downturn golf remains a billion dollar industry. And maybe if more folks book a round to close a business deal, the economy will get better, along with their golf scores.