Telephone stress line for greenkeepers!

FROM THE TIMES NEWSPAPER WEBSITE
A telephone stress-line is being opened for the 6,000 members of the British & International Golf Greenkeepers' Association (BIGGA) to help to cope with the rising numbers buckling under the pressure at a time when the golf industry is falling victim to the climate - both financial and the dreadful weather.
While the top of the game is awash with massive prize-money for players such as Tiger Woods, the highest-earning sportsman in the world, the grass roots of golf have been swamped. Two rainy summers have led to a dramatic fall in attendances at courses, with corporate clients taking their money elsewhere and casual golfers preferring to stay at home rather than attempt to splodge around a puddle-strewn course.
The rotten weather and economic downturn have combined to mean the closure of clubs and a huge drop in demand for turf and the services of groundsmen. Where courses have stayed open, greenkeepers have often suffered the abuse of players.
“Trying to get the message across to golfers is very hard,” Duncan Peddie, the greenkeeper at Alloa Golf Club said. “The ones who don't listen can make life very difficult.”

+Read the full article by Kevin Eason on TIMESONLINE by cutting and pasting the following website address:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/golf/article5385349.ece