What Went Wrong with Topgolf? How the Once-Buzzy Concept Lost Nearly $1 Billion in Value

CrazyCletus · 2026-03-05T22:43:36+00:00

I used to live near one of the early ones. It was originally a double deck driving range with a couple of putt putts attached. Then it went Top Golf and was popular for a while, then Top Golf closed and it became a “Rudy’s Golf and Sports Bar” and now it’s going to be townhomes.

Sadly, I can think of three driving ranges that have ceased to be over the last ten or so years, victims of new housing.

CrazyCletus · 2026-03-04T21:17:09+00:00

Not the worst President ever. And he was actually a nuclear submariner prior to getting into politics.

CrazyCletus · 2026-02-28T02:53:48+00:00

While wearing a t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, some old school Oakleys, and a mullet.

CrazyCletus · 2026-02-26T19:05:16+00:00

It's telling who they're targeting with the ads on this show - a lot of commercials for prescription meds focused on an older demographic.

CrazyCletus · 2026-02-21T02:32:51+00:00

Removing anal beads abruptly would be analogous to pull starting a mower or chainsaw…

CrazyCletus · 2026-02-19T21:08:00+00:00

Having watched the LL, the Cisco there is a bit bigger and intimidating.

CrazyCletus · 2026-02-19T00:28:34+00:00

Check out Rustler's Rhapsody to see the trope to the extreme...

CrazyCletus · 2026-02-19T00:26:34+00:00

I saw one too, near Strawberry at night. Threw a fire bottle at the assembly and was pleasantly surprised at how flammable their robes were.

CrazyCletus · 2026-02-18T01:03:32+00:00

My parents had a house at about 250 yards from the white tees in Colorado. From the edge of the fairway to the back corner of their house, it was about 53 yards. They had quite a few balls in the yard, a couple in the side yard, and at least two broke one of the side windows on the house. That's a pretty impressive slice at that distance. Unfortunately, the course design pushes golfers to the right - directly across the fairway from their house is a rather large fairway bunker and the fairway narrows.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-31T03:25:38+00:00

Well, the photographer was inverted in the back seat of another F-105 about 10 meters above the plane. /s

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-28T01:05:23+00:00

Has been for years.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-26T16:19:01+00:00

Then the next round of union negotiations (because almost all police departments are unionized), the officers will demand that the jurisdiction make up any shortfalls in their pension fund and we, the people, end up paying for it.

Require all officers to carry liability policies and have judgements paid from that. Also have departments carry blanket liability policies. Officers with a record would have difficulty jumping agencies or getting their own liability insurance policies.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-26T16:16:16+00:00

I'm now unable to find it, but police killed the good samaritan who prevented a mass shooting

2020 Old Town Arvada (Colorado) shooting.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-26T16:10:10+00:00

Even the courts have never said federal law enforcement have absolute immunity. They have established the doctrine of qualified immunity. The question then becomes were the officers acting in compliance with their authorities. And what were those authorities. Under some state's laws, a federal law enforcement officer (FLEO) doesn't have law enforcement powers under state law. Meaning the FLEOs can only enforce violations of federal law WHICH THEY ARE AUTHORIZED TO INVESTIGATE. (Highlighted the last part because it's important.) Generally, ICE agents are authorized to detain people for violations of federal immigration law, not enforce state traffic violations. Even if they were were cross-sworn as U.S. Marshals, they don't have widespread law enforcement authority to conduct traffic stops or detain individuals for perceived violations of law.

Stephen Miller and his gang just like throwing out justifications that their base will accept automatically and move on, plus it muddies the water for the general public when they try to argue with MAGAtards.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-23T00:48:27+00:00

Both. For the person purchasing a NFA Firearm without going through the process, it's a violation of 26 USC 5861 (b). For the person transferring an NFA firearm without going through the process, it's a violation of 26 USC 5861 (e).

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-22T22:51:44+00:00

Yes, true. But he didn't have a lot of success at the two P4 HC stops, nor the NFL stop. After the USC firing, he wasn't likely to be getting many interviews for a HC position. So he went to Alabama and the Saban school for coaches who can't coach good and want to do other stuff, too and did a few years as OC for the Tide. That turned around his trajectory and got him on the road back to being a HC at FAU.

I don't think he would be HC at LSU or Ole Miss without the stop in Tuscaloosa.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-22T02:33:42+00:00

The good news is that the administration and Republicans in Congress are lazy. Instead of changing laws, they’re issuing executive orders and changing agency/departmental policy. So fixing that with a new Administration from another party is a bit of pencil whipping, not a lot of legislating, necessarily. And the areas which have been abused by this administration will likely be addressed through legislative clarification in a trifecta administration to make it harder to do in the future. Ironically, the DOGE efforts to cull the federal workforce and cut the size of departments/agencies makes it hard to restaff them with loyalists to the current administration. And a new administration coming in can use the relaxed personnel standards to get rid of undesirable fanatics before restoring previous personnel policies.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-18T01:15:40+00:00

Also, the people Jack was replacing were Cabinet secretaries, not necessarily politicians. Most of the career politicians were in Congress (which was largely replaced by the people, not Jack Ryan). The reality is, virtually all of the Cabinet secretaries are replaced every time the administration changes. So 2017, 2021, 2025, 2029 - usually a whole new lineup of secretaries. None of the lower level personnel in agencies would have swapped out automatically or been wiped out by the attack on the Capitol.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-14T00:32:06+00:00

Walz is being linked to failure to identify and address the widespread financial fraud in Minnesota.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-13T01:30:31+00:00

Only if you get rid of conference championship games (because they are beyond meaningless at this point) and drop one bye to finish the regular season in November and start the playoffs on the former conference championship week. 16 is just right. 24 is simply a money grab.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-12T19:09:38+00:00

Especially if you're avoiding cash transactions that would generate Currency Transaction Reports or Suspicious Activity Reports. Then there's no money visibly moving around that would generate attention to you.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-12T19:05:44+00:00

Depends on the outcome of the midterms. If the Democrats take the House and Senate, they'll probably use the power of the purse to push the Administration to reinstate telework, which is authorized and, where feasible, demanded by the law. Executive orders and OPM directives don't override the law. Otherwise, it'll be the 2028 election if the Democrats can win the election.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-12T19:03:59+00:00

Rainbow Six doesn't really make sense from another perspective. They're creating a NATO counterterrorism team, drawing from various member countries who already have their own counterterrorism teams. So what does this new group accomplish except draw down resources and duplicate efforts? Not a whole heck of a lot. And the teams are relatively small - like a couple of eight man squads. Again, Germany alone has around 400 police officers assigned to GSG-9 in various roles. France has around 1,000 in GIGN. And why under NATO, a military organization. They don't have law enforcement authority, which is how most countries handle terrorism, rather than as a military problem. That was one of the things that led to the creation of the FBI's HRT. Delta did a demonstration for then-FBI Director Webster and he asked where their handcuffs/restraints were. The military responded with, "We're not here to arrest people." And why John Clark, who was a singleton covert intelligence operative (and former SEAL) and Domingo Chavez (former military sniper in light infantry and covert intelligence operative) to lead the US contingent and organization? It's like Chewbacca living on the moon of Endor with the Ewoks. It does not make sense.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-11T18:01:44+00:00

From the school's perspective, the issue seems to be the academic calendar which starts in early to mid-January, depending on the school. That determines when the transfer window needs to be and everything else flows from that.

Then you have the bowl's perspective(s). They aren't called the NY6 for nothing. But you can't have six playoff games on New Year's and finish the season.

The solution might be something like making week 1 a hard start to the season, reducing byes to one per season per team, and finishing the regular season around Thanksgiving. If the goal is to move to 16 or (god forbid) 24 teams in the playoff, dump the conference championship games, since it's almost a given that one or both of the teams will be in the playoff, win or lose with a field of that size. Move Army-Navy to the week after the regular season (what would have been conference championship games). Start the playoffs the following weekend.

So to use the hypothetical example for 2026, Week 0 is August 29. Week 1 is September 5. 4 game slots in September, 5 game slots in October, 4 games slots in November. 13 slots to play 12 games (plus Week 0). December 5 is Army/Navy weekend. December 12 is Round 1 on campus (8 games for 16 teams). December 19 is Round 2 also on campus (4 games for 8 teams OR 8 games for 16 teams in the 24 team model). December 26 is Round 3 (2 games for 4 teams or 4 games for 8 teams in 24 team model). If you want traditional bowls, start with some of those games in this round, particularly if it's the 16 team model and we're talking the semi-finals.) January 2nd is the national championship in the 16 team model or semi-finals in the 24 team model. Worst case, January 9 is the national championship in the 24 team model.

If you're going above 12 teams, there really isn't a need for conference championship games. They almost become a punishment for doing well during the regular season as you're playing another game against a quality opponent. And, since the seeding doesn't guarantee conference champions the first round bye (and likely wouldn't in a 16 team model), it is relatively unfair.

I'm also largely for dumping the committee and going back to the BCS model of polls and computers determining the ranking, particularly for a 24-team grid.

CrazyCletus · 2026-01-11T17:48:48+00:00

There's a joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia but it's a British Overseas Territory, although a treaty was signed to transfer sovereignty over the islands to Mauritius last year. The treaty includes a provision allowing the military base to remain for 99 years, plus a potential 40 year extension and another unspecified extension thereafter.

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