Golf Industry Impacted by Economy

Sheep now graze on this unfinished Greg Norman designed golf course in Baker?EUR??,,????'?????<

According to the National Golf Foundation, the number of new courses expected to open in the United States in 2008 is the smallest in 20 years. More courses are scheduled to close this year (nearly 100) than the 80 expected to open, though the closures have fallen since almost 150 were shut down two years ago. The problems of the broad economy are bedeviling golf course construction. The housing market?EUR??,,????'?????<

McAllister Ranch, a golf course development in Baker?EUR??,,????'?????<

The multimillion-dollar course was to be the centerpiece of the 6,000-home upscale community planned 15 miles southwest of downtown Bakersfield. The unfinished tract is now slated for possible repossession by Lehman Commercial Paper Inc. after the developer, SunCal Cos., defaulted on a $235 million loan in April. The herd will be around for another month or so, their owner said.

And, consider Rick Jacobson, a golf course architect in Libertyville, Ill. For nearly two decades, the founder of Jacobson Golf Course Design designed and renovated courses in Chicago suburbs, such as Bloomingdale and Winnetka, as well as nationally. But in the last few years, Jacobson ?EUR??,,????'?????<