Watching Golf
Sunday, September 16th, 2007If you like to watch golf, this was a great week, between the Solheim Cup and the FedEx Cup. But it also made me wonder if the tourism benefits to these cup venues make up for the negative publicity the weather can give.
For instance, after watching the Solheim Cup, I have no desire to ever go to Sweden in September. Perhaps all the cold wind and rain is unusual, perhaps not; that issue wasn’t addressed, at least that I heard. One would guess that if lousy weather was the norm, they wouldn’t have decided to hold the tournament there–but I think the Swedish tourism authorities should slip those TV announcers a few extra bucks to keep saying how unusual the bad weather is.
Then last month they held the PGA Championship in Tulsa. I probably already figured out that Oklahoma in August would be mighty hot, so I’m not sure why that seemed to come as a surprise to the PGA. I think the coolest day of the four-day tournament was 100 degrees. Cross Tulsa in summertime off my list of vacation plans, too.
Come the end of September, they’ll be playing the Presidents Cup in Montreal. Could be cool, could be chilly. Might get to 68 degrees–but might hover around 41. I’m guessing that depending upon which end of the spectrum it lands, that will have some effect on tourism. If it seems beautiful on TV, some people will say, Hey, let’s go next week. If it’s already wintry, most will say, let’s wait til spring.
Just some thoughts off the top of my head–I’ve got to get back to watching the golf.
–Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer
