Outskirts Press, INC.

Golf's Lessons on Retiring Well

Golf and retirement are both aspirational pursuits, but pressures are building against the notion of retirement. The social, individual and demographic challenges that we face pose significant questions as to whether we can meet our individual financial goals. Successfully reaching retirement, in whatever form it takes for you, is a game of patience, discipline and persistence. The great game of golf teaches us lessons from the risk/reward relationship to the psychological aspects of perfectionism, fear and greed. -Learn the connection between postage stamps and prize money. Why you shouldn't have a Hummer in a trailer park. What golf balls have in common with mutual funds. What are your financial scoring clubs. What is your personal par. The burden to fund your future is fast becoming yours alone. The financial round you are playing is stroke play, where every shot counts. You have already teed off, but just where in your round are you, and how will you fare when you finish at the 18th hole?

Golf Balls and Mutual Funds

How much does the average golfer know about the various types of golf balls? How would he know if it were the proper ball for him? Does his skill level even warrant the discussion?

Golf balls come in three basic constructions

Two piece

Three piece

Four piece




Not many amateurs can tell you the difference between them.

Allegedly, the two-piece gives you more distance and is more durable. The three piece presumably allows for more spin and control. The four piece must have a solid core of Viagra to increase the time it stays aloft. Of course, in the rare occurrence that it should stay aloft for more than four hours, please call The Golf Channel.

Marketing golf balls is, at times, a loss leader. It does not generate the profits for most companies that other equipment sales do. In fact, some companies won't enter the fray because of the costly process and necessary advertising expense. (Have you seen a PING ball that has made it to market?) Last season's novelty in the golf ball segment is in this season's bargain bin and not necessarily because of quality. More than likely it just couldn't keep the consumer's attention.

The mutual fund industry is guilty of some of the same practices. A company with sufficient name recognition creates a niche fund following a hot trend and collects assets. Most of the assets are coming from other funds. It's not new money. According to Mark Riepe, in the August 2006 Journal of Financial Planning, during the years of 1994-2001 there were 300 instances where a mutual fund company changed its name to either reflect a popular style of investing or to avoid an unpopular style. They didn't change any aspect of their actual investment activity, just the name. Investors poured an additional $18 billion into those funds compared with their peer funds. Most of it is money in transition, moving from one company to another, with the assumption that the performance will be better. The largely unanswered question for the consumer is, 'What makes this fund better than the last?' Like the golf ball, slick white on the outside with a mystery core always promising more distance and greater control. The retail financial consumer drives this process day after day, chasing the 'hot dot' on the fund chart. Financial product providers target these people because they represent a possibility of net inflow to them.