Golf spending has topped $22.2 billion, according to the most recent National Golf Foundation survey of 10,000 consumers. Greens fees and dues accounted for nearly three-quarters of the total, or $16.3 billion. A large part of this income comes from a minority of players: Those who play 25 or more rounds a year make up about a quarter of all golfers, but account for 53 percent of the spending.
Should you allow betting? How can you focus the conversation on your customer? What are the worst mistakes you could make out there (complaining about your game, taking a call on your cellphone)? Corporate Golf: How to Play the Game for Business Success, by Richard D. Connelly and Mark S. Grody (Marketing Golf Resources, Los Angeles, Calif.), covers every scenario you might face with a client on the course. From a friendly afternoon of golf to a company tournament, it's in here. The book costs $19.95 from www.barnesandnoble.com, or contact the author at mgrody@aol.com or www.corporategolf.com for a special discounted price of $9.95 plus $4 shipping and handling.
The first golf course to be a collaboration between Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, the King and the Bear, has been stealing the spotlight since it opened this past November. This 18-hole, par-72, 7,200-yard course features loblolly pines and open meadows on the front nine, while 200-year-old oak trees grace the back nine. The King and the Bear is located at World Golf Village, St. Augustine, Fla., and is managed by Honours Golf. (904) 940-6200
There are golf gifts, and then there are golf gifts that they'll never forget. We thought this one fits the latter description — for better or for worse. Golf's version of the pet rock, Adopt-a-Balls are the brainstorm of a Pinehurst, N.C., company called The Ball Finder ( www.theballfinder.com/adopt.html ). Each “rescued” ball is “bathed” and then sent to its new owner with its own cozy flannel pouch, sand for sunbathing from the sand hills of North Carolina, a wooden tee for resting, its own adoption certificate, and instructions for its care. The cost? Just $9.95 each, plus $3 for shipping.
Who needs wind shirts, anyway?