Death of golf in US linked to economy: Norman

London: Australian golfing great Greg Norman claims the poor state of the economy in the United States has led to the decline of golf in the country.

“The disposable income of the Americans has been negated, and this income allows us to be members of golf courses," said Norman.

"I know people who were members of 40 golf courses. So if people are really aware of their cash outflows, then they will sit back and assess what can be done to trim their budgets and how money can be saved.

“What they start looking at then is golf. The first decision is how they can cut down on their memberships. This is done by assessing the number of rounds that they play in each golf club and decide to cut their membership. All of a sudden this has a domino effect on the revenues of a club. The effect is on the sustainability of a golf club; revenues go down; the food and beverage outlay goes down; there are no cash flows, so there is no maintenance; as a result staff are eliminated; lack of staff leads to lack of service; this leads members to say that the course is no longer in good shape and leads to cancellation in membership.”

“Conversely when the economy’s raging, then everybody wants to join the club and buy the T-shirt, but that’s not happening so much these days, not just in the US but in a lot of places. Fiscal responsibility is crucial.”