Golf another luxury most Filipinos cannot afford or ???

[Gratefuled]

36 minutes ago, scott h said:

Football? Size is the obvious reason but Robert hits it on the head about a lot of the sports that we grew up with in the states. Size of area needed to play, cost of equipment it takes to play. But I keep saying: ITS JUST TO DAMN HOT!!! .

Lets look Grate, these sports are essentially American exports to the world. Who exported them? The US Military. Basketball took off all over the world (indoor sport) Baseball took off in Korea and Japan. But not in the Philippines.

Jake an other US service members might be monitoring this. I would ask them if when the bases were still open how often did the troops play baseball and football here on base. There are exceptions to this naturally Puerto Rico, Cuba and Equatorial Latin America.

 

 

Soccer (football) is not an American game. It's played all over the world in countries smaller and hotter than the Philippines. "too damn hot"??? The heat doesn't seem to bother filipinos as much as it does foreigners.

[Gratefuled]

23 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

  I Remember seeing photos of Sevy Balisteros playing Golf on the Beach in Spain

PELE was a famous football player from Brasil. He came from a very poor black family in the poor section of the country. The kids practiced with cloth stuffed balls and used mangoes to practice juggling.

[Gratefuled]

9 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

From their website (bambulo dot com)

Yeah, like that one. 

[Jack Peterson]

2 minutes ago, Gratefuled said:

PELE was a famous football player from Brasil. He came from a very poor black family in the poor section of the country. The kids practiced with cloth stuffed balls and used mangoes to practice juggling.

 Yes ED, I know that and I am sure most of us do, I was merely pointing out that a poor Man from Spain did the same thing with Tree branches and stone to achieve his aim of becoming a golfer, as we are discussing golf, I thought it may be of Interest.

[scott h]

5 minutes ago, Gratefuled said:

The heat doesn't seem to bother filipinos

No doubt about that. But as I sit and think about it, I am trying to think of an outdoor activity that is popular here. I know that there are some water parks, as the above have shown there are a couple of miniature golf courses ( I have yet to see one here in the Metro but they could very well be hidden). You see lots of teen agers playing Basket ball in the street. I know there is Nomad athletic club near where I live, where they play rugby but its mostly expats from Australia.  

[Dave Hounddriver]

9 minutes ago, scott h said:

I am trying to think of an outdoor activity that is popular here.

Standing in one spot, jumping up and doing a back flip and landing on your feet.  It amazes me how many young people are good at that.  Now if it were only good for something.

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2016 by Dave Hounddriver

[Gratefuled]

8 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 Yes ED, I know that and I am sure most of us do, I was merely pointing out that a poor Man from Spain did the same thing with Tree branches and stone to achieve his aim of becoming a golfer, as we are discussing golf, I thought it may be of Interest.

Thanks, I did not know that. I remember vaguely Ballesteros.

[RBM]

1 hour ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I agree they are not popular but come on down to Dumaguete and we'll go for a round of minigolf at Bambulo

Sadly last time I was there about your 6 months the ago it had fallen into a state of disrepair.

[frozenmystic28]

17 hours ago, scott h said:

I can think of a whole raft of reasons.

1. Places to play: Yes there are quite a few courses in and around Manila. A lot of high end resort communities surrounding Manila have them also (Canyon Woods in Tagayatay comes to mind) But the really good courses are exclusive, would they allow a crew of teenagers to use it for practice on a daily basis? The amount of time that is required to become Professional or Olympic grade?

2. Economic: Golf is almost by definition a "Rich Man's" game. How many Filipino households can really afford to outfit a kid so they can really learn and become accomplished at the game. You really can perform well on a couple of irons and a hand me down putter. Add in green fees, a competent coach and all the other paraphernalia, its going to add up.

3. Time: How many parents are willing to devote the time needed to fight the traffic, sit around the club house and drive the kid back home on a daily basis, while the kid taking lessons, driving balls, messing around on the putting green, then playing 9-18 holes.

4. Dedication: In reading some Biographies on Wiki it appears that most of todays top young golfers started early, and just plain fell in love with the game and spent hours and hours developing and perfecting their natural born talents. Now those of us whole live in the Philippines how many young people do we know that will put down their phones for 3-6 hours a day just to practice?

So to sum up basically. What we are looking for is a child from a financially well off family, who's family lives near or owns a house in a high end subdivision, who has naturally ability, who's parents are just as driven for the kid succeed as he/she is and will devote the time, effort and financial support for the child to succeed, and a child who just loves the game so much that he/she is willing to for go all the other distractions kids have now a days.

I would suggest that the above really, really narrows the pool of potential golfers dramatically

Oh and #7: Its just to dang HOT

This... The membership fee alone for the golf club is already equivalent to 1 or 2 weeks food budget of a middle class Filipino family.

[Dave Hounddriver]

4 hours ago, RBM said:

Sadly last time I was there about your 6 months the ago it had fallen into a state of disrepair.

You are surely correct in that.  It matters little, to me, whether we talk about mini golf, 18 hole golf courses, or kids playgrounds that same statement is true.  Maintenance does not translate into the Philippine language, I suppose, and when foreigners go native they often forget about it too.