Last Year at this time we all thought COVID would be short-lived and life would be returning to normal as vaccines were developed. As Lee Corso often says on the Game Day show, “not so fast”. Who’d have thought so many people would resist protecting their health (and that of others) by foregoing a simple injection? Here we are again with sports and cultural events being cancelled or postponed, travel plans possibly being disrupted and seemingly everyone knowing or working with someone who’s been infected. 800,000+ people (and counting) have died in the US and there’s no end in sight, largely due to the stubbornness of some. Our health care system is overwhelmed and our political leaders are quarreling about whether or not to invest in our society. Let’s make this the last holiday season of COVID, violence, hate and crime.
In the golf industry, we’ve been fortunate. Our favorite game has not only served as a respite from the COVID impacted world around us, but our industry has thrived, even if only temporarily. Even Tiger Woods came back to give us some thrills with son Charlie. I’ve been very lucky in the past year to have learned a great deal about the industry through the many challenging and complex assignments we’ve been entrusted with. Below are links to just a few of those experiences I’ve written about thanks to clients or other golf industry experts willingness to be interviewed:
- Capital Plans
- Golf Course Design
- Municipal Golf Politics
- Food & Beverage
- Extreme Weather
- Capital Reserves
- Development & Renovation
- Practice Facilities
- Legal Issues
- Golf Therapy
- Memberships & Law
- Agronomy
Of course, I’ve also explored the culture of our game in my book, The Culture of Golf – Isn’t it Just a Game. It’s been an interesting year.
That said, like I said last year in “Staying Ahead of the Airplane”, it’s time to look forward to 2022. Here are my 22 wishes for the new year:
- that those hesitant will get vaccinated and we’ll put the pandemic behind us;
- that the economy will continue its recovery and inflation will ease;
- that our beloved game of golf will take advantage of this opportunity to diversify and grow;
- that our government will begin functioning without the obstructionism seen for too many years now;
- that our society will unify and become more cooperative and collaborative;
- that each of us will experience good health and prosperity;
- that my grandson Orsen (13 months) will continue to grow, prosper, laugh and make us laugh and smile;
- that I will continue to learn how to do my job better, largely through the opportunities our clients give us by allowing us to assist them;
- that 2022 will be free of the devastating deaths and health issues impacting my close friends and family;
- that civility and decorum will become part of our national discourse;
- that we’ll all be able to avoid the perils of Omicron;
- that those of us fortunate enough to be able will be willing to help those not so lucky;
- that everybody will have a roof over their head and a shirt on their back;
- that everyone’s travels will be safe and fruitful;
- that our clients will continue to display continued confidence in us;
- that my Penn State Nittany Lions will recover from the disappointing 2021 season to roar back to prominence;
- that I’ll get to play more golf with my sons and have more laughs with my daughter;
- that I’ll get to travel more with my bride;
- that my golf game will resemble “the Larry of Old” instead of “Old Larry”;
- that I’ll get to play with my grandson more frequently;
- that we’ll all look back on 2021 as a learning experience and adapt to its lessons;
- that our society will rid itself of hate and begin focusing on productive and fruitful pursuits.
Happy New Year Everyone!