Today I dusted off my clubs and ventured to the driving range in preparation for a golf date next week with some out of town relatives.
Forgive me father, but it has been about six years since my last game of golf.
In that time, I certainly did not improve, yet my skills also did not deteriorate. They just stayed mediocre at best, the level at which they remain even when I golf on a regular basis.
The funny part about visiting a golf course and/or driving range is my initial inclination to judge these people with their ungodly expensive golf clubs, ridiculous outfits, and way too serious attitude about hitting a little ball in a hole.
Then I think about the fact that I spend hundreds of hours a year riding a bike while wearing a lycra costume with what is supposed to be a menacing looking snake on it. I also more than occasionally race against other like minded individuals and put way too much emphasis on the results of these contests between what is usually a bunch of mid to upper class white guys with way too much time and disposable income on our hands.
Then I decide to stop judging golfers.
4 comments:
I just went golfing on Thurs for the 2nd time ever. It was a pretty good time, except Sleepy Hollow is definitely more challenging than Seneca. While the Cleveland Metro Parks have some nice courses, I'd like to see them start opening up more areas to mountain bikers. Why should golfers and horse back riders have the level of offerings that they have, while MTB riders (probably a much larger population than horsemen and golfers) can only utilize one area of the parks, which was only opened in the last year? And the Cleveland Metro Parks on 9/3/08 declined to add any additional MTB trails.
I actually do like playing golf a lot...and it's one of my favorite sports to watch, oddly enough.
The Metroparks recent decicion regarding mountain biking is a load of crap. Mountain bikers who would use Metropark trails must outnumber those who use the bridle trails by 10 to 1, I would think. Yet we can't get more than a couple of miles of singletrack in the entire park system.
I'm certain there are significantly more golfers in north east ohio than individuals who would use a single track network in the metro parks; likely by a factor of 100, maybe even 1000 or more. Think of how many people you see toting around clubs at every course you ride by, then realize there are 40 courses in the area. Now think of how many people were at the last MTB race and remember that there is only one within a 200mi radius. Additionally, a golf course can generate some revenue for the park, while we all would revolt about paying for a trail pass to ride on public property.
We need to recognize that we are a minority and find ways to work with the parks, using facts to back up our suggestions.
Well, according to the official budget from the Metroparks, the golf courses lost about $374,000 in 2007, and the projection for 2008 is a $450,000 loss. See page 13 of the report at:
www.clemetparks.com/pdf/Cleveland%20Metroparks2008Budget.pdf
If you figure the usage of the golf courses on a per person basis, then figure the cost per person based on the yearly losses for golf, I'd be happy to settle for that much money per person who would use the trails mountain biking.
But remember, the mountain bikers really don't want money as much as they just want access.
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