Not to state the obvious, but the economy is in a dismal state. The news is full of dire reports of mass layoffs and foreclosures. We’ve all seen enough of that to make us sick.
Golf is certainly not immune to the effects of these frightening times. If you’ve lost your job, golf naturally drops down the priorities list pretty quickly. We’ve already discussed how tournament sponsorships are being affected. We’re also likely to lose even more courses this year than we have over the past few years. And unlike those years when most courses that go out of business get plowed under for condos and housing, this year the courses that fail may well sit there, becoming ungroomed grass and weed farms. The PGA Tour Network, the radio voice of the PGA Tour, is threatened by the Sirius XM freefall.
If you plan to buck what could very well be a widespread trend this year and make golf part of your personal economic stimulus plan, you may find that you can stretch your golfing dollars a little farther. In the spirit of making lemonade when the world gives you lemons, here are five ways that the current economy might just give golfers a bit of a break this year.

The meticulous individual is one who displays “extreme or excessive care in the consideration or treatment of details.” In watching Camilo Villegas triumphantly not win the Buick Invitational over the weekend, this term was in the forefront of my dim-witted consciousness.
Tiger is practicing full bore AND had another kid, Nick Watney wins at Torrey Pines, the Tour considers cracking down on player appearance, and whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.
After playing around with the squarish geometry craze of high-MOI drivers, the folks at
Good day fellow golf nuts, and welcome again to Hittin’ the Links. The golf world is starting to heat up. What a finish to the Buick Invitational! Even without Tiger, Torrey Pines puts on a great show.