In a recent article from the Summer edition of Golf Inc Magazine, Pete Dye, ASGCA Fellow comments on his concern that it has gotten too expensive to play golf. In the piece, written by Jack Crittenden, Dye shares stories from the past to illustrate how the game has changed.
According to the article, Dye believes the reason for an escalation in building and maintenance costs comes from the example set by professional tournaments that are televised every year: the courses for these competitions look perfect. Thus, homeowners buying lots around courses want the same level of maintenance, and players want their local courses to look “perfect” as well.
Dye recalls when fairways were kept at one-and-one-quarter inch, reports Crittenden. Shortening the grass forces everyday mowing and more specific sand quality and size, which has escalated the cost for courses.
Dye, with the help of his wife Alice Dye, ASGCA, has done his best to design golf courses for all players, writes Crittenden, and he is hopeful that golf will return to its roots, saying, “Someday I think it will all come back to the way it was because the game is so great.”
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