Each of us is literally made up of вЂњdeadвЂќ matter, of the atoms of previous lives that have been recirculated to produce us. We are all, as he will say later in the poem, вЂњthe leavings of many deaths,вЂќ just as we all are the seedbeds of many births. I fear 2020 will be a car crash for golf clubs but this was an accident waiting to happen and sadly for many, this wake-up call will have come too late.Section 7 begins with one of WhitmanвЂ™s most audacious boasts: if you think itвЂ™s вЂњlucky to be born,вЂќ then, he is quick to let us know, вЂњit is just as lucky to die, and I know it.вЂќ How does he know it is lucky to die? By this point in the poem, Whitman has convinced us that these atoms belonging to us, composing us, did not originate with us but in fact have been circulating through the universe from the beginning of time and will be circulating until the end of time. They need to be more creative in the subscription packages they are offering and they have to start controlling costs.ДЄ further challenge is the online disruptors but I will leave that discussion for another day.

Golf clubs need to adapt and take a more business-like approach to the running and finances of the club. The Coronavirus crisis is merely going to accelerate matters with 2020 likely to see many clubs going to the wall. The top clubs will undoubtedly survive and will continue to evolve slowly however, the vast majority of clubs are going to struggle and many will fail. Young men are deciding that golf club membership is not a вЂmust haveвЂ™ and instead choose to be nomadic in their playing habits.ДЄdd into this the high cost bases that have been created by pay increases out of line with the general wage market and reduced cost control and black holes are starting to appear in the cash flows. Poorly managed capital projects that go sailing over budgetДЇor some time, clubs have been slowly waking up to the fact that the golf landscape is changing and there is no longer an unlimited supply of golfers willing to pay what they decide is the going rate.The new catering contract that has resulted in higher prices for the food and still the club is losing money on food and drink.

The greenkeeper who is over the hill and the course is suffering.The club steward who everybody hates but has been there for five years now and nobody seems keen to decide to get rid of him.Up and down the land golfers are shelling out ever-increasing sums each year and spending the next year despairing over issues such as: They have forgotten how expensive it is to raise a family or to pay the mortgage on that overpriced home. My golf subscription has increased by 30% in the last seven years in a post-financial crisis world where average earnings only grew by some 5%.ДЄs hard-working and worthy they are, many of those running clubs have become detached from the realities of the world. Sadly, to most of those running golf clubs, the members are purely cash cows whose duty it is to stump up, without question, whatever is required to balance the books. No mention of deferral schemes or hardship funds just pay up, or you risk the future of the club. All nonessential expenditure including capital expenditure is being reviewed and cut back where possibleДЇinally, under the heading of вЂAnnual SubscriptionsвЂ™ we get the recognition that these are hard times, blah blah blah but we need your subs so pay up, please.The local authority has agreed to relief from business rates.The Secretary and office staff are still working apparently.Most of the staff have been furloughed under the governmentвЂ™s scheme to pay 80% of their wages.The greenkeeping staff are still working, subject to social distancing measures, to keep the course in good nick.Given the current COVID-19 crisis my clubвЂ™s board emailed all members with the actions they are taking. I am happy to pay up but many up and down the country will be thinking twice. I will be signing a cheque, or more likely be doing an online transfer, for a chunky sum of money, at a time when I have absolutely no idea when my next round will come. IвЂ™m just about to pay my annual subscription, a tad late but hopefully given the current circumstances my tardiness is overlooked.

I will hasten to him