We hear a lot lately about how we seem to be paying more and receiving less. Nowhere is this more evident than on our nation's golf courses. Here you have an activity that can easily cost $100 or more and the entire time you are being prodded to take as few strokes as possible. This "stroke to cost ratio" is contrary to our basic notion of economics. We expect more for our money, not less. It just seems to be another example of the erosion of our traditional core values.

Most of us work very hard for our money and feel a great need to maximize the value of our recreational dollars. But in golf, we are expected to do just the opposite. We are constantly told that we must take as few strokes as possible and finish as quickly as we can. I can think of no other activity where we would accept this backward trade of payment for services. You would think that as independent minded Americans we would take a stand, but the industry makes it almost impossible.

Consider that on the first tee, if your shot isn't very good, they let you hit another one. But this is just a ruse to let observers think you're going to get the most bang for your buck. After you're out of sight, you're informed that you can't do that again. Instead, if you hit another really bad shot, you're encouraged to "pick up" which means you just go sit in the cart and watch everyone else play. If you stand firm and choose not to accept this theft of service, you fall prey to the Marshall. Marshalls roam around the course looking for people trying to take too many strokes. If they spot one, they chastise them. "You're playing too slow!" "Speed it up Nancy!" You can try to resist, but they will relentlessly persist until you either cry or just quit playing all together.

It's bad enough that your golfing activity is curtailed, but consider the use of the equipment. Take golf balls for example. They are expensive. It's only natural to want to get the most use out of them as possible. But golf course designers place all sorts of obstacles everywhere that either hasten the ball's demise or obscures its location. The later is particularly insidious. You know the ball is right there somewhere, but you're not allowed to search for it. You're told to forget it and just start using a new one. They try to appease you by telling you to add a stroke, but it's not real. You don't really get to swing and hit the ball. You just get to write it on the score card. What a rip off.

For those of us with the cunning and resolve to actually get away with numerous strokes, they have this "handicap" system so that you "appear" to have taken fewer strokes than you actually did. This way, they maintain the illusion of nothing for something while discouraging others from thinking they can get away with it too.

It's no wonder that we are in a state of economic recession and diminished value of our dollar when we can't even take a stand on our basic recreational rights. I say this has to stop! The next time you go to the golf course, be defiant. Tell them you paid good money for a good time and you have no intention of allowing them to ruin it. Tell them you are going to play at your own pace and take all the strokes you want. Shoot 110 and be proud! At least this way I have a chance of winning for once.