Bloomberg: As Golf Goes So Goes The Economy?

That's the premise of Bloomberg reporter Nikhil Hutheesing's story which says the economy is improving based on the numbers in golf.

Well, when people retire, some want a house on a golf course with open views and plenty of green, even if they aren't golfers. There’s your existing-home-sales data. When the economy is improving, golfers spend more on golf clothes, golf vacations, greens fees and the like (consumer spending). And as demand picks up, more golf courses, and homes, are built and old ones spruced up (housing starts).

Right now, golf is pointing to an economy that's out of the rough (click here for a closer look at the golf economy). Steven Ekovich, managing director of the National Golf & Resort Properties Group, a division of real estate investment firm Marcus & Millichap, says financing is returning to the industry. He estimates that the number of distressed assets has fallen by 65 percent since 2009 and says that investor sentiment is improving.

"As the economy heals, we expect to see course values go up this year for the first time in six years," he says.

One reason things are looking better: Lenders that were saddled with loads of distressed debt in golf courses when the housing market plummeted have unloaded much of that debt, in part by selling courses. The pace of sales of 18-hole championship-length golf courses slowed from 86 in the first half of 2012 to 55 in the first half of this year. That means the courses that made it through this period are financially healthier, Ekovich says.