Finally, some good news: Rounds up in '09

Golf Datatech reports that through September rounds played are up year-to-date over the same nine-month period in 2008, albeit by a small margin, 0.5 percent. Still...

Rounds at public courses are up 0.8 percent, while rounds at played at private facilities are down 0.7 percent over a year ago.

In September alone, rounds were up 4.1 percent over September '08.

Hawaii, a state that depends largely on tourism, predictably has been hit hardest by the recession. Rounds there are off 15.5 percent year-to-date from '08. The biggest percentage jump has occurred in Kansas, where rounds are up 10.5 percent from a year ago.

-- John Strege