Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006

CAROLYN LEITCH
Investment Reporter

Scotty McMillan swung a golf club for the first time two years ago on a trip to Edinburgh to visit his family. The design engineer had always regarded golf as a bit of an old folks' sport, but he saw the outing in the Scottish town of Kircaldy as a good chance to get some fresh air and spend time with his brother.

Two years later, Mr. McMillan is making weekly practice trips to the driving range, taking lessons, and hoping to break 100 soon on one of his golf vacations.

"I want to improve but I don't want to become a fanatic like I have with some other sports. It's too expensive and time-consuming for that."

Even those who, like Mr. McMillan, have fallen under the thrall of golf admit that it's time-intensive, expensive and frustrating.

Converts say they like the fresh air, relaxation and chance to make business contacts. They are also making major investments in clubs, clothing, lessons and spiralling green fees.

If you're Power Corp. president Paul Desmarais, reports Score magazine, you don't worry about green fees -- you simply have renowned designer Thomas McBroom build you a private course, with a membership of one.

There are other, slightly less private courses, such as the Weston Golf & Country Club in Toronto, which has an initiation fee of $30,000 and a long waiting list.

For everybody else, there are public courses where you can get in a round of 18 for $17 in the twilight hours.

One strategy for beating the high cost is to get your company to pick up the tab.

Richard Groome, president of Groome Capital Inc., said a significant amount of business shifts to the golf course in summer, but the notion that financial mavens spend many long afternoons whacking the ball around is a myth. Most executives make the trip only for their most highly-valued business contacts.

"Unfortunately, finding four or five hours is very tough. We pick our spots," Mr. Groome said.

He added that the Montreal-based Internet investment dealer does not have a corporate membership, but several executives have memberships at tony private courses where they can entertain the firm's clients.

One 32-year-old salesman for the automotive industry says having a competent golf game is an essential part of doing business.

"Almost 90 per cent of the guys I deal with have no other interests."

The salesman, who asked that his name not be used, also believes that in the macho culture of the auto parts business, where athletic prowess is still a badge of honour, he has little chance of making sales manager until he brings up the level of his game.

"Your managerial skills will be judged by your performance on the golf course."

But accomplished golfers are advised to hold back a bit if they have not yet made it into the executive suite.

"If you really smoke your manager and make him look bad, that's also a bad thing."

With clients, convention demands that the players talk about family, sports, the stock market, office politics -- anything but the product or business that the salesman is pitching. A five-hour sales pitch is a serious breach of etiquette.

"If you do that, you're not going to be taken seriously. They'll never golf with you again."

Instead, an afternoon on the links is all about building a relationship with a client.

Frank Tersigni, vice-president of marketing at ecommerce+, an LGS Group Inc. company, took up the game when he was 12. Now he has a passion for golf and a nine handicap.

Mr. Tersigni said that an afternoon of golf can be a humbling experience -- even for a player who knows his way around a course. A few shots into the bunkers tend to break the ice.

"There's a certain humanity that creeps into the thing."

Mr. Tersigni said high rollers with memberships at some of the country's most venerable clubs may be able to entice a business associate with a few hours on the links.

"There are exclusive courses that some people would love to play, and if you can use that to your advantage, there may be some benefit."

Private clubs such as Capilano Golf & Country Club, West Vancouver, Royal Montreal Golf Club in Ile Bizard, Que., and St. George's Golf & Country Club in Islington, Ont., have initiation fees that cost as much as a luxury car.

Mr. Tersigni joined the Emerald Hills club north of Toronto several years ago. He was initially unsettled when ClubLink Corp. bought the property a few years ago, but he now enjoys the ClubLink concept, which allows him to play at many different courses owned by the company.

ClubLink, based in King City, Ont., currently has 23 golf courses under its banner -- mainly in Ontario and Quebec.

A ClubLink member selects one of the 13 private golf courses as his or her home course, then has reciprocal access at the alternative courses.

Currently the entrance fee for Emerald Hills is $35,000, with an annual fee of $3,490. The entrance fee drops to $22,500 for Cherry Downs in Pickering, Ont., and $15,000 for Kanata Golf & Country Club near Ottawa.

Unlike at many private clubs, ClubLink members do not hold an equity position that they can sell to a candidate on the waiting list. Nor do they pay for improvements to the course and clubhouse.

Mr. Tersigni said the high cost of playing golf is a deterrent to many people. When he started out, he used to play for $2.

"Most of the new courses opening up are opening with an air of exclusivity," he said. "It would be nice if there were more that were less expensive."

But it's also possible, aficionados say, to play the game on a reasonable budget.

Jane Anne Murray, president of the promotions company FunRaising Inc., got into golf for an increasingly common reason: "Everybody else was doing it."

Ms. Murray dug her brother's abandoned clubs out of the attic and took some lessons with a couple of friends.

Now she gets out a couple of times a week, but she sticks to municipal courses, where she can get a round in for $28, while she works on her game.

"I'm not at the calibre that I would benefit from Lionhead [$145 a round for the Legends course] or enjoy it. You have to stay within your limits."

Players who do make the trip to Lionhead Golf & Country Club in Brampton, Ont., get more than velvety turf and a championship course. Lionhead's carts have radar and computerized screens to calculate distance to the greens, scroll yardage to the hazards, and give customized playing tips up to four times a hole.

Mr. McMillan undertook his first golf outing with borrowed clubs. Once he was hooked, he paid $600 for a bag full of clubs, a putter and a box of balls. Then he signed up for the $45 lessons offered by the Board of Education in Toronto.

For golfers who want the instruction of a private tutor, lessons average about $40 an hour.

At the driving range, which committed golfers hit at least once a week, a bucket of balls can cost $9 or $10.

Duffers of both sexes who shop for a reasonably upscale shirt, shorts, hat and a pair of soft-cleat shoes will pay $300 and up for the ensemble. Oh, and if you're a man planning to wear shorts at the Royal Montreal, be sure to budget an extra $10 for the obligatory knee-socks.

EXECUTIVE FOREPLAY

Golf is a game that demands great skill and precision -- and equipment makers know that legions of duffers will seize any advance in technology if they think it will help them break 90.

Sandy Goodwin, manager at Dynamic Golf in Mississauga, Ont., said male and female golfers can buy a decent seven-piece set of clubs for about $199.

But players who want to go for the razzle dazzle might want to consider a set of eight Taylor Made irons, made from the latest high-tech blend of titanium, tungsten, steel and nickel.

The $499 Taylor Made driver is made of titanium and tungsten, which allows it to be made longer and lighter for greater club-head speed.

"Distance sells in this business," Mr. Goodwin said.

He added that other premium companies such as Callaway Golf offer their own breakthroughs in similar price ranges.

"They're all keeping up with the Joneses with the materials."

Taylor Made also makes a golf bag for the executive who likes to travel with his or her clubs. The sturdy $350 bag has a separate, built-in shoe compartment, a plush pocket for a watch and jewelry and a special slot for the putter so it's always at hand.

If nothing less than full-grain leather will do, expect to pay about $1,500 for a bag.

For the purist, even the golf balls come in premium quality for more distance and control.

Mr. Goodwin has also observed a shift to substance over style. Until recently customers were reluctant to pay more than $70 for a putter, but now they are increasingly willing to shell out $150 for a better piece of equipment.

At the same time, Mr. Goodwin has stopped stocking $200 golf shirts, except perhaps at Christmas and Father's Day.

"There is an increasing resistance," he said. "People are tired of paying $100 for a shirt."

Heavy spenders who want to go for the best duds are more likely to buy at specialty men's shops, he added.

Most golfers are wearing baseball-style caps to hold off the sun, but visors are making a comeback, Mr. Goodwin said.

One thing that Dynamic Golf has trouble selling to beginners is a rain hood to shelter the clubs.

"They say they won't be out playing in the rain," Mr. Goodwin chuckled.

After one or two showers, the same customers see the $20 or $30 for a hood as a good investment.

"When it starts raining -- unless there's lightning -- you stay out there and finish." Carolyn Leitch

THE COST OF GETTING STARTED

The pitch n'putt plan

7-piece set of Pro Select clubs with wood, irons and putter         $139


1 bag                                                                $50


1 dozen x-out balls                                                  $10


1 golf ball retriever                                                $25


1 box of 15 golf tees                                              $0.75


Total:                                                           $224.75

The country club plan

8 Taylor Made irons                                               $1,399


1 Taylor Made driver                                                $499


3 Taylor Made woods @ $379 each                                   $1,137


1 sand wedge                                                        $220


1 Titleist Scottie Cameron putter with Teryllium insert             $399


1 leather golf bag                                                $1,500


Etonic full leather shoes with Gortex liner                         $350


1 Mizuno leather glove                                               $30


1 dozen Titleist golf balls                                          $55


1 umbrella                                                           $70


1 golf ball retriever                                                $25


1 box of golf tees                                                 $0.75


Personalized towel                                                   $20


Seaforth rain hood                                                   $20


Callaway Big Bertha cap                                              $30


Wiley-X wrap-around sunglasses with bullet-proof lenses             $145


Office-scaled executive putting green with mahogany trim            $120


Total:                                                         $6,019.75

A spectrum of green fees

Course                           Location            Peak time green fees


Links at Crowbush Cove           Morel, PEI                           $49


Bell Bay Golf Club               Baddeck, N.S                         $59


Glen Abbey                       Oakville, Ont                       $225


Centennial Park                  Toronto                              $27


Selkirk Golf and Country Club    Selkirk, Man                         $25


Lynbrook Golf Club               Moose Jaw, Sask                      $19


Kananaskis Country Golf Course   Canmore, Alta                        $50


Chateau Whistler                 Whistler, B.C                       $175


McLeary Golf Course              Vancouver                            $37