Chavez vs. Castro in Bourgeois Skins Game Over Golf!

Here's Good magazine extolling Hugo Chavez's brave stance on golf:

"Let's leave this clear: Golf is a bourgeois sport," Chávez said during a live broadcast of his TV show in 2009. In the ensuing years, he's systematically shuttered six of Venezuela's golf courses in order to make room for public housing. [Venezuelan golf star Jhonattan] Vegas won't comment on his president's actions, but it's safe to say the two aren't very fond of one another.

Autocratic tendencies aside, Chávez may be onto something. There are nearly 19,000 golf courses in the United States today; that's more than double the number of colleges. And not only are many golf clubs insanely bigoted—women still can't join the Augusta National, where the Masters is played—they're also a huge drain on resources.

As someone who could give a rat's ass about a sport typically played by people named Payne, Fuzzy, and Corey, I cry a river of tears for all that water wasted on man-made hazards! And yes, there should be more colleges (and Subway sandwich shops!) than golf courses (though Putt-Putts are A-OK in my book). 

But how many disappeared, imprisoned, and tortured people are hidden in that toss-off phrase, "Autocratic tendencies aside…?" You know, that's simply a terrible statement to make, especially in a mag called Good, isn't it? Forget about shuttering golf courses; Chavez is so much better at shuttering news organizations. Go to Human Rights Watch for some details on the repression that characterizes this brave battler of bourgeois sport. And then check out Freedom House's map of countries in the Americas, where Venezuela is one of the (thankfully) dwindling number of "partly free" countries in the New World.

The one "not free" country on the map? That would be Cuba, of course, the Castro Bros.'s personal fiefdom and the inspiring beacon of oppression that Chavez is working so hard to emulate. Except that Castro Inc. is now embracing…golf. The maximum leader liberated the island nation's golf courses soon after consolidating power. But now Cuba is teeing off on potential tourist dollars. Lay up in two, dear reader:

Developers say the Cuban government has swung in nearly the opposite direction, giving preliminary approval in recent weeks for four large luxury golf resorts on the island, the first in an expected wave of more than a dozen that the government anticipates will lure free-spending tourists to a nation hungry for cash.

The four initial projects total more than $1.5 billion, with the government's cut of the profits about half. Plans for the developments include residences that foreigners will be permitted to buy — a rare opportunity from a government that all but banned private property in its push for social equality….

Cuba's deteriorating economy and the rise in the sport's popularity, particularly among big-spending travelers who expect to bring their clubs wherever they go, have softened the government's view, investors said. Cuban officials did not respond to requests for comment, but Manuel Marrero, the tourism minister, told a conference in Europe this month that the government anticipates going forward with joint ventures to build 16 golf resorts in the near future.

"We were told this foray is the top priority in foreign investment," said Graham Cooke, a Canadian golf course architect designing a $410 million project at Guardalavaca Beach.

More here, at the NY Times. (For those worried about squandering free Times articles on golf, go here for paywall workaround).

Hat tip: Gotta be Vanneman!

Golf Week notes that participation rates in the U.S. are fading faster than Castro's chip shots. The story doesn't offer an explanation for the decline, but I suspect it's for the same reason I don't do LSD anymore: On top of all the other things (setting up tee times, practicing, etc.), it just takes too damn long to play even a short round.