Clubhouse Grille (*** NO LIV DISCUSSIONS ***) (*** NO POLITICS/RELIGION ***)

[Soloman1]

All golf stores make money on apparel. Club business is break even at best. That’s why you see half of the floor space in a PGA Superstore is apparel.

 

They pay for clubs, then the manufacturers bring out new models in a few months and the stuff they paid for has to go on sale at near cost, since everyone wants the newest model that’s a different color, different little design line and it’s got to be better since they’ll get 20 more yards!

[Double Mocha Man]

9 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

... and it’s got to be better since they’ll get 20 more yards!

 

Yep, I've bought 4 new drivers over the last 10 years.  With 20 yards additional distance with each I'm now well over 300 yards in driving distance.  Look out Rory... 

[scotee]

36 minutes ago, Conrad1953 said:

Well, I stopped by the local DSG in Montgomery today to get a club re-shafted. I parked in the lot

and walked in the store and all I saw there was an entire store with clothing. It looked like a poor

imitation of a Marshall's. What the &^%#*())*&^!!!

 

I walked over to what used to be the golf department and spoke to a young man there who said

he was new and he listened to me and then looked around and said "Ya, I could picture the golf

section" as he looked over at what was once the hitting bay. Seemingly he is a golfer or at least

familiar with the game.

 

So, he tells me that Dick's turned this location into a giant clothing warehouse and everything in

the store was 50% off. I don't need any more clothes so I bid him well and left; turning back to

look at the front of the store when I got back into the parking lot. I thought I must have been on

auto pilot when I got out of my car and headed into the store and just didn't look at the store

front.......but the store front was unchanged, other than a small banner announcing the clothing

sale.

 

I guess they've fallen on hard times. I'm not really a big fan of DSG but neither do I hope they

go under. I think they also own Golf Galaxy. Maybe it's just that this store here was not turning

a profit and not a national problem. 

 

 

 

I'm not really a big fan of DSG      No comment

[Double Mocha Man]

9 minutes ago, scotee said:

 

I'm not really a big fan of DSG      No comment

 

Oh no, scotee found the red button...

[BIG STU]

3 hours ago, Conrad1953 said:

Well, I stopped by the local DSG in Montgomery today to get a club re-shafted. I parked in the lot

and walked in the store and all I saw there was an entire store with clothing. It looked like a poor

imitation of a Marshall's. What the &^%#*())*&^!!!

 

I walked over to what used to be the golf department and spoke to a young man there who said

he was new and he listened to me and then looked around and said "Ya, I could picture the golf

section" as he looked over at what was once the hitting bay. Seemingly he is a golfer or at least

familiar with the game.

 

So, he tells me that Dick's turned this location into a giant clothing warehouse and everything in

the store was 50% off. I don't need any more clothes so I bid him well and left; turning back to

look at the front of the store when I got back into the parking lot. I thought I must have been on

auto pilot when I got out of my car and headed into the store and just didn't look at the store

front.......but the store front was unchanged, other than a small banner announcing the clothing

sale.

 

I guess they've fallen on hard times. I'm not really a big fan of DSG but neither do I hope they

go under. I think they also own Golf Galaxy. Maybe it's just that this store here was not turning

a profit and not a national problem. 

 

 

DSG owns Golf Galaxy and believe it or not Maltby Golfworks. I see DSG themselves moving away from golf and diverting it to Golf Galaxy. They just opened a new Golf Galaxy in Dirty Myrtle--- Ironically it is in the old Golfsmith building directly across the street from DSG. I have not been there nor plan to go. In fact I have not been to Dirty Myrtle in 2 years now even though technically it is 9 miles North of me

[Conrad1953]

14 hours ago, Soloman1 said:

All golf stores make money on apparel. Club business is break even at best. That’s why you see half of the floor space in a PGA Superstore is apparel.

 

They pay for clubs, then the manufacturers bring out new models in a few months and the stuff they paid for has to go on sale at near cost, since everyone wants the newest model that’s a different color, different little design line and it’s got to be better since they’ll get 20 more yards!

 

All their sporting goods were gone; not just golf. No sign of Sir Charles either.

Edited December 8, 2022 by Conrad1953

[BIG STU]

2 hours ago, scotee said:

 

I'm not really a big fan of DSG      No comment

I am not either. Like I told Rad I have not been to Dirty Myrtle in 2 years now. But I went to DSG maybe one time and was not impressed to say the least. If I would go to a big box store it would be PGASS. Most of my retail dealings I do with a somewhat large local owned store right down the street from me which I know the owner well. 

[touch]

6 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

Damn... all those cute girls are now 80 years old.  But I bet they're still dancin'...

 

 

 ❤️ They are!  

 

🕺

Edited December 8, 2022 by touch

[braincramp52]

7 hours ago, Conrad1953 said:

 

All their sporting goods were gone; not just golf. No sign of Sir Charles either. It was a wasteland

of teenagers WHO were busy unboxing and hanging clothes on the racks. Meet the new boss;

same as the old boss, WHO will make sure they won't get fooled again with low margin merchandise

with too high price points and too low turnover rates.

Las time I went into a DSG was early last summer. They had one set of some off brand left handed irons in the whole store. They probably had 50 putters but they had one that was left handed. BUT. The one left handed putter they had was a Ping PLD Anser that I purchased immediately. 

[huskydawg]

1 hour ago, braincramp52 said:

Las time I went into a DSG was early last summer. They had one set of some off brand left handed irons in the whole store. They probably had 50 putters but they had one that was left handed. BUT. The one left handed putter they had was a Ping PLD Anser that I purchased immediately. 

Sorry, while reading that I couldn't help but notice the iron in your avatar is right handed.

[huskydawg]

So it was 2 degrees C when we started but warmed up a bit in the afternoon.  I was rolling and topping the ball to an early 53, but when my freezing, numb right hand decided to thaw and technique started to improve, shot 41 coming in.

 

Only double bogey on the back 9 was when I fluffed a chip from a fresh divot. Also birdied the par 5 18th on a slick 6 foot downhiller after sticking a Pw.

[nitram]

@huskydawg Looks like some wonderful fall golf.

[Conrad1953]

24 minutes ago, huskydawg said:

So it was 2 degrees C when we started but warmed up a bit in the afternoon.  I was rolling and topping the ball to an early 53, but when my freezing, numb right hand decided to thaw and technique started to improve, shot 41 coming in.

 

Only double bogey on the back 9 was when I fluffed a chip from a fresh divot. Also birdied the par 5 18th on a slick 6 foot downhiller after sticking a Pw.

 

That's a beautiful course! Thanks for sharing it with us @huskydawg.

[huskydawg]

33 minutes ago, Conrad1953 said:

That's a beautiful course! Thanks for sharing it with us @huskydawg.

Absolutely is!  It's called Akino Golf Club if you're curious and want to scope it out from afar.

[touch]

1 hour ago, huskydawg said:

So it was 2 degrees C when we started but warmed up a bit in the afternoon.  I was rolling and topping the ball to an early 53, but when my freezing, numb right hand decided to thaw and technique started to improve, shot 41 coming in.

 

Only double bogey on the back 9 was when I fluffed a chip from a fresh divot. Also birdied the par 5 18th on a slick 6 foot downhiller after sticking a Pw.

 

That is a beautiful course and the scenery all around it is exceptional. I'd look forward to playing that course each and every time. Thanks for sharing the photos HD.  

[Soloman1]

My iPad Home screen is an autumn photo I took at a course I can’t remember in Japan. Dormant grass and painted fairways. The original is lost on some old phone somewhere.

 

Speaking of phones, Apple did it again!,

 

Had a forced update and my older phone went from 100% power to 16% power while sitting overnight and not used at all.

 

That’s the last straw. I’ll never get another iPhone as long as I live.

 

 

[huskydawg]

16 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

Speaking of phones, Apple did it again!,

 

Had a forced update and my older phone went from 100% power to 16% power while sitting overnight and not used at all.

 

That’s the last straw. I’ll never get another iPhone as long as I live.

I switched to Samsung S7 from iPhone 5 in 2017 and the transfer process wasn't bad.  The utility copied all the files, photos, music and contacts over just fine.   I don't use that many apps so I didn't have to worry about rebuying a bunch of them. 

 

If you use Line Stickers, I don't think they transfer over so you'd probably have to rebuy them.  If you back up Line conversations, the photos and stickers embedded won't transfer.  If you have playlists for music you might have to redo them.  The phone does ask for permission to update the OS and you can delay it for when it's convenient for you.

 

If you decide to switch, I hope it goes smoothly.

[Soloman1]

Line doesn't work for me anymore on latest iOS. You have to download a newer version and I can't use my account because it requires two factor ID to the old Japanese phone number. And I can't make a new account outside Japan. Same for WeChat, which requires someone in China to "verify" you now. I used both extensively for business and personal stuff, so all my contacts are lost.

 

It's crazy.

Edited December 8, 2022 by Soloman1

[Conrad1953]

The heretofore mentioned Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino who has youtube channels

using the name "Cateen". Here he is playing a 100+year old American classic with a 

Japanese orchestra. At the 7 minute mark he begins to put his own spin on things.

 

He is an uber talented musician and pianist. I hope some can take time from their busy

schedules in the next few days and give this whole video a listen with good headphones

on. This guy is something special.

 

 

[touch]

Today it was but one of many Christmas parties the old castle will be hosting this month. This festive luncheon was only missing one thing and that was Conrad playing some Christmas songs on the instrument in the front left of the photo. 🙂

 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2023 by touch

[Qqq123xx]

14 hours ago, Conrad1953 said:

 

All their sporting goods were gone; not just golf. No sign of Sir Charles either.

 

 

 

[braincramp52]

5 hours ago, huskydawg said:

Sorry, while reading that I couldn't help but notice the iron in your avatar is right handed.

That's because I'm too lazy to change it. I was just trying to fit in. 😁

[scotee]

On 12/6/2022 at 4:08 PM, touch said:

 

 

 

[touch]

4 hours ago, Soloman1 said:

My iPad Home screen is an autumn photo I took at a course I can’t remember in Japan. Dormant grass and painted fairways. The original is lost on some old phone somewhere.

 

Speaking of phones, Apple did it again!,

 

Had a forced update and my older phone went from 100% power to 16% power while sitting overnight and not used at all.

 

That’s the last straw. I’ll never get another iPhone as long as I live.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm grateful I don't have to view 182 emails a day. 😀

 

Soloman, how much in American dollars would the greens fees have been at course like Husky shared today? 

Thanks in advance. 

[touch]

1 hour ago, scotee said:

 

 

 

 

 

[Double Mocha Man]

35 minutes ago, touch said:

 

 

 

 

There are some dogs you just don't want...

[Soloman1]

1 hour ago, touch said:

 

 

I'm grateful I don't have to view 182 emails a day. 😀

 

Soloman, how much in American dollars would the greens fees have been at course like Husky shared today? 

Thanks in advance. 

 

 

According to their website, it’s $83, including lunch. “Member” price is $55.

 

That’s at the current exchange rate.

 

There’s also a free club bus to and from the nearest train station.

 

It’s a typical price for golf.

 

And no tipping!

 

 

 

And here’s a video of the layout. Almost all courses have some type of guide to show you  the best way to play each hole, which side of fairway, for best approach, etc.

 

 

Edited December 8, 2022 by Soloman1

[Hickory4ever]

I played for the fourth straight day today making use of the “golfable” weather. The temperature was a balmy 5*C with no wind making it very pleasant conditions for December in the Great White North. The next week does not look promising which is too bad as I am on a hot streak. I played “boring old man golf” to the fullest with a four over 74 which included one double and a birdie.

 

The 76’ Staff irons were hot as was my Otey Crisman putter. Too bad that I will have to take a break. That was game 204 for the year, a new personal high.

[scotee]

1 hour ago, Soloman1 said:

 

 

According to their website, it’s $83, including lunch. “Member” price is $55.

 

That’s at the current exchange rate.

 

There’s also a free club bus to and from the nearest train station.

 

It’s a typical price for golf.

 

And no tipping!

 

 

 

And here’s a video of the layout. Almost all courses have some type of guide to show you  the best way to play each hole, which side of fairway, for best approach, etc.

 

 

 

That seems quite reasonable. I thought that golf in Japan was extremely expensive.  Years ago I played in Maui with two Japanese guys that said it was cheaper to fly to Hawaii and play there than at home in Japan. Has that changed? I had heard that many Japanese golfers had only been to a driving range and never played a real course.

Edited December 8, 2022 by scotee

[Soloman1]

Yes, it has.

 

Memberships were millions of dollars and you still had to pay ~$400 to play and could only play twice a month. Golf was business entertainment.

 

The government stopped the tax exemption and the industry collapsed.

 

The memberships were sold under the guise that you’d get your membership back after X years, or could sell it on markets that existed for exclusively for golf memberships.

 

That never happened.

 

Similar to the changes in the stock market here where you bought shares for dividends. Now, companies go public and never make a profit, but there’s always someone who will buy shares at higher prices.

 

Many course went bankrupt and golf management companies sprung up to buy and operate courses with lower shared costs per course.

 

Boom and bust is universal as long as there are wide-eyed speculators.

 

It pretty reasonable now to play golf in Japan.