'People Are Cutting Golf Out of Their Diets"

Roger Vincent had a story in Sunday's Los Angeles Times about the difficult state of the golf course and golf real estate business in this country. Having read a similar version of this story more than once in the last 12 months, I would say there wasn't a lot that was new here, other than an update on where we are with course closures in the U.S. in 2009 (114 through September, according to Vincent and the National Golf Foundation, offset by 44 course openings).

Still, it's a worthwhile read, since it pulls together all of the relevant statistics and details about the struggling golf business, as well as focuses specifically on the Southern California market. Imagine, for instance, being able to buy a Los Angeles area country club of $6.5 million (as Vincent reports of Chevy Chase CC in Glendale)? You couldn't get a bathroom in Malibu so cheap...

-- G.R.