Organizers of the 2009 U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick are sinking one birdie putt after another in their efforts to meet
their budget and draw strong crowds to central Indiana later this month. In this economy, sports marketers are calling ticket
and sponsorship sales for the tournament remarkable.
The media and other hackers gathered at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel recently to hear about plans for the upcoming U.S.
Men’s Senior Open, then tested their limited skills on the golf course.
Indiana golf course operators are nervous about how the recession might lead to fewer golfers and lost revenue.
On a typical Saturday at Smock Golf Course on the city’s south side, visitors are treated to a symphony of thwacks, pings
and the occasional plunk. In good or bad economic times, it seems, people in Indiana and across the country have always played
golf. But these days, the sound of that symphony has waned. Nationwide, the number of rounds of golf played through the first
half of this year is down 2 percent from last year. In Central Indiana, the situation is worse.
Until now, gaining entrance into the exclusive nine-hole golf course built on 40 acres next to the Indianapolis Metropolitan
Airport in Fishers was as difficult as a commoner scoring an invitation to a royal palace. But admittance to Balmoral is loosening–a
little.
