The Decade That Was, january 5, 2020

     For me, last week’s blog was a milestone. Google has been counting my posts, and on December 29, 2019 the number reached 1,000.
     The number had sneaked up on me, and I didn’t realize how much I’d been writing until sometime last fall. When I initially began to publish, in January 2010, I didn’t intend to hit a particular number or to write for a particular length of time. I just set out to cover news about golf development and related matters as best I could, week by week and event by event. Without realizing it, I was posting, on average, 100 times a year.
     So what comes next?
     Post by post, the World Golf Report has told the story of a tumultuous decade for the golf industry. It was, as we all know, a story of decline and the distress, frustration, and heartbreak that always accompany hard times. I’m glad somebody who wasn’t swayed by the advertisers and publicists who’ve perennially shaped golf journalism was around to document it.
     The 2020s will be different. Golf’s next story will be about recovery, restructuring, and the opportunities that present themselves as the industry evolves. It figures to be a more positive, more hopeful decade.
     The story of golf’s next decade could likewise be told week by week, event by event, but it won’t be told by me. After 1,000 posts, I no longer wish to be a weekly blogger. We’ve reached the end of a year as well as the end of a decade, so it seems as good a time as any to step away. Instead, I’ll tweet more often (follow me at @RJVasilakGolf) and will return to the World Golf Report when I have something substantive to say about current events.
     I understand that the World Golf Report served as a valuable news service for some of you. I’m sorry that it won’t be around anymore. If you wish to stay abreast of the news, especially news related to golf development both at home and abroad, I encourage you to subscribe to U.S. or International Construction Clips. They’ve been around even longer than the World Golf Report, and they’re still the most comprehensive sources for news in our business. To learn more, contact me at GolfCourseReport@aol.com.
     That’s all for now. I’m going to restring my guitar.