We Have An Intimate Little Industry

I like to follow golf because the fans know the players by their first names. From the time Arnie hits the ceremonial first drive at Augusta National, followers flock to Tiger and Phil to see superstars in the flesh.

It somehow makes me feel connected when Davis answers to his first name and Retief stops to sign autographs. The Masters is my favorite tournament to watch because so many generations attend and compete, from Jack and Gary to Bubba, Boo and Camillo. I’m even looking forward to seeing which putter Sergio brought and if Padraig can follow-up his Major victory.

I picked Hunter as my dark horse to cause mayhem for the rest of the field at Augusta, and I’ll always root for Vaughn to win the tournament to which he grew up so close.

What’s your favorite part of the Masters?

If You Can Throw Snowballs, It's Too Early For Baseball

Baseball’s opening day is a mixed blessing in Cleveland. No other day in all of sports imbues the city’s sports fans with such hope and sincere anticipation, especially this year as its playoff team returns intact.

Conversely, snow piles still encroach on the corners of parking lots, and Lake Erie is still frozen so thick that you can drive to Canada.

I remember going to opening day with my old man, each of us bundled as though we were going to see a gridiron grudge match instead of the boys of summer. It was the days of the old Municipal Stadium, a cavernous 100,000-capacity monstrosity where the wind would whip like your own personal arctic blast that rendered you hypothermic at some point in the second inning.

Fans commonly wore hunting gear and snow mobile suits. Vendors hustled more hot chocolate and coffee than beer, and I would eat a mound of jalapeños with my nachos just to feel a bead of sweat on my brow, even if just for a moment.

As I grew older, it became less fun. But I was loath to admit it to Dad. After all, time together was increasingly sparse as I sought independence. One year, I had to make my displeasure known as the forecast called for enough snow that the grounds crew carried shovels instead of brooms.

“Dad,” I started hesitantly. “Would you mind if maybe I took a rain check for opening day and maybe we could go to a game together in, say, July?”

Dad looked at me with a long, blank stare. I couldn’t read him. Then he spoke.
“Thank God,” he muttered. “I didn’t want to disappoint you, but I’m getting too old for this.”

“I’ve never liked opening day,” I said with a fear I might have nullified an important ongoing memory and time-honored tradition.

“Neither have I,” he said. “I wish you would have told me that 10 years ago. I’m cold just thinking about it.”

— David Frabotta, Senior Editor

Are We In a Recession? What Do You Think?

We may already be in one, but an "official" report says the weakening U.S. economy is slipping into a recession. A gauge of future economic activity dropped in February for the fifth consecutive month, according to the Conference Board.

Are you concerned about the golf industry's economic health? Why or why not? We want to hear from you.

Marriott Singled Out in ADA Suit

Litigation surrounding the single-rider golf car issue isn't going to wait for the Department of Justice to issue a ruling.

A federal judge ruled Jan. 28 that Marriott International’s golf division is in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act because it failed to provide “accessible” or “single-rider” golf cars to disabled persons at its managed properties, according to court documents.

Plaintiffs in the case are Lawrence Celano, Richard Thesing and William Hefferon, disabled golfers. They did not pursue monetary damages in the case, which really makes them look like the good guys in this case.

Marriott will end up paying several million dollars in legal fees to lose this case, and the company likely will be required to furnish the single-rider golf cars anyway.

But Marriott will not be the only ones. In a conversation with Golfdom, Thesing says he's going after other large management companies, too.

Should this be a battle? Doesn't golf have enough problems fighting the perception of exclusionary practices?

Economics and Golf

The economic news yesterday was not good. Consumer confidence is down. Meanwhile, wholesale inflation soared, just not like Superman in this case.

The New York-based Confidence Board reported Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index sank to 75.0 in February from 87.3 in January. It’s the lowest level since February 2003 when it hit 64.8. Analysts had expected the latest reading to hit about 83.0.

The Consumer Confidence Index measures how consumers feel about the economy, which in this case is not very good.

How could this affect the golf market in 2008? Rounds were down about a half percent in 2007. The economic experts say consumers shut their wallets when their confidence is down. Does that mean they’ll play less golf?

What are your thoughts?

— Larry Aylward

McCain Will Gain

Early last year, Golfdom conducted an informal presidential poll listing candidates Hilary Clinton, John McCain, Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani to vote for. Not surprisingly, Guiliani won our poll with 35 percent of the vote. McCain was second with 29 percent.

We didn’t list preacher-politician Mike Huckabee in the poll because we knew little about him. But Huckabee, a Baptist minister, has come out of nowhere as a GOP presidential contender.

We plan to conduct another poll soon, and Huckabee will surely be listed as one of the candidates. I have a feeling that some in our industry will latch onto to the former Arkansas governor. But Huckabee, who has been labeled as a closet liberal and has a few skeletons rattling in his closet, will fade and will not win over the golf course industry crowd.

Speaking of skeletons, they will do in Giuliani, and the prediction here is McCain will become the industry’s favorite and the GOP’s presidential nominee.

What's your take?

-- Larry Aylward

The Smoking Gun ...

We've got a potentially landmark privacy-rights court case in our own little green industry. It began when The Scotts Co. fired Scott Rodrigues of Massachusetts after a urinalysis indicated he used nicotine at home.

Scotts says it’s trying to create a healthier workforce because it’s the right thing to do, and it hopes to lower its healthcare costs (because it’s the right thing to do for investors). Jim King, Scotts VP of communications and investor relations, told National Public Radio that the self-insured company decided that it cannot afford to underwrite the risk of smoking any longer.

So they initiated a policy of not hiring any smokers. That's fine. Many companies are doing that, and it appears the courts will continue to allow companies to set their own employment policies, which is the right thing to do.

This is where it gets interesting. Rodrigues was a new employee, fully aware that Scotts’ had a policy in place not to hire smokers. He applied anyway. Unfortunately for Scotts, they gave Rodrigues a truck and some chemicals before his initial urinalysis came back from the lab. He was hired to spray lawns before his employee-screening results were evaluated. So Scotts will argue that Rodrigues wasn't really fully hired, even though he was working. Rodrigues will argue that he was hired and then fired, even though he didn't complete his probationary period. I guess that’s why they need the lawyers.

Rodrigues, a certified pesticide applicator, is suing Scotts for violating his privacy and civil rights (he says he was chewing nicotine gum while trying to quit smoking). He now works for a competing company.

Should employers be allowed to restrict employee behavior during their personal time? Should Scotts’ right to set its own employment practices outweigh the rights of individual employees?

— David Frabotta

What Are You Doing About Those Dang Deer?

Nothing runs into your car and damages it more like a deer.

I’ve had several near misses over the years of hitting deer (or them hitting me), but I met my fate the other night. I buck ran smack in the side of my car as I was traveling 65 mph down the interstate.

If I was one second earlier, I would have missed him. But if I was one second later, he might have come through the windshield and crushed me.

So I guess I’m lucky that he only caused my car about $1,000 in damages.

The deer situation where I live in northeast Ohio seems out of control. They are everywhere!

I know many superintendents welcome wildlife on their golf courses. But what about an overabundance of deer? Are deer causing you and your course problems? If so, what are doing about it?

— Larry Aylward