Long shuttle rides test fans' patience

By: Liz Farmer 06/16/11 8:05 PM
Examiner Staff Writer Follow Her @LizFarmerDC

 

Congressional Country Club may be a golfer's dream, but it's a commuting nightmare for the more than 45,000 daily visitors to the course this week for the U.S. Open Championship.

On the first day of the highly anticipated tournament, the U.S. Golf Association's transit plan of shuttling most visitors from remote lots in Maryland and Virginia was put to the test as the two-lane roads around Congressional and the distance from public transit tested golf fans' patience.

The system, which shuttles fans at no charge from two lots in Gaithersburg and a third parking lot at Washington Dulles International Airport, barely received a passing grade from attendees who have been to other golf championships. A fourth shuttle costs riders $8 per day and runs from the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station, but has sold out its available seats.

"I've been to five Opens, and this is the slowest of them all," said John Bush, of Toronto, as he waited on the shuttle at Grosvenor for 20 minutes Thursday.

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Golf spending in region rises as U.S. Open begins

By: Liz Farmer 06/15/11 8:05 PM
Examiner Staff Writer Follow Her @LizFarmerDC

The U.S. Open Championship is expected to bring in $140 million this weekend for the Washington region -- an area where golf-related spending is increasing and bucking a national trend.

Spending in Maryland, home of host golf course Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, increased by 8 percent in 2010 compared with the prior year, a new American Express Business Insights report shows.

Spending, which includes retail and at golf courses, rose in Virginia by 5 percent and in Delaware by 12 percent. Data was not available for the District of Columbia.

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U.S. Open set to bring $140m to area

By: Liz Farmer 06/11/11 8:05 PM
Examiner Staff Writer Follow Her @LizFarmerDC

The U.S. Open Championship is expected to bring in $140 million in spending when the world's top

golfers tee off in Bethesda this week, but local residents and commuters are bracing for the onslaught of visitors that will descend on the Washington region's roads and rails for the blockbuster tournament.

The tournament, played at the prestigious Congressional Country Club, is expected to sell out with a total of 250,000 spectators through next Sunday -- even without Tiger Woods playing. And Montgomery County's 10,000 hotel rooms are sold out for the entire week, although the tournament itself doesn't kick off until Thursday and Monday marks just the beginning of practice rounds.

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Jock tax coming to D.C. athletes?

By: Liz Farmer 04/20/11 10:32 AM
Examiner Staff Writer Follow Her @LizFarmerDC

D.C. Councilmen Jack Evans and Harry Thomas Jr. have proposed a bill that would tax the income of the District's nonresident professional athletes, estimating it could be a $5 million annual boon to the city.

Known as a "jock tax," the practice was first used by California in 1991 when it decided to tax Michael Jordon and the Chicago Bulls after the Los Angeles Lakers lost to Chi-town in that year's NBA finals.

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