Hi everyone. I hope you are all doing safe and well during all this craziness. I know most golf courses are back open in the United States and it is a relatively safe activity for us all to enjoy. I’m still on somewhat of a golf hiatus myself as I use this time as an opportunity to work on other things in life.
You’ve probably already noticed I’ve taken a break from golf and haven’t posted any new adventures or course reviews since the beginning of the year. It’s a bit strange, but I’ll admit it’s kind of nice, as well. Running this blog since 2011, it has been a blast to go on these adventures and share my stories with you all. Unfortunately, all the travel took a toll on me financially and I probably went more wild than I should have. I wouldn’t trade all those wonderful experiences for a thing, though, and I have made many great friends over these past 9 years.
I really appreciate the support and feedback throughout the years. I know the site still gets a good number of visitors every single day as people read my archived reviews. I purposely have never monetized the site. The old Tumblr platform had some Google ads here and there, but they were honestly worthless. To truly monetize, I would have to slap ads and pop-ups all over the place or pander for sponsors. To me, that’s not what this site is about and I hate blogs that are impossible to look at because you can’t get around all the stupid ads.
I have been working hard to grow my primary business in 2020, and things were going really well until the pandemic hit. It hindered my ability to sign on new clients and keep the positive growth going. I’ve been fortunate not to lose many clients and keep making enough to pay the bills. However, the hosting for this site is an extra expense that I don’t have put aside. I have to have a more expensive WordPress “business” level hosting for this site because there are so many pictures I put in each post. Of course, the annual fee is due soon.
I set up a Patreon page last year to maybe get some monthly donations that way. It has been a bust so far and I probably haven’t promoted it as well as I should, but you can still sign up and contribute there (as little as $1 a month).
Now, I have also set up a GoFundMe page in an effort to raise a little money to help with the hosting fee and keep the site up and running. All funds raised will go directly to the site hosting for this year. If I raise more than the goal, I will use the money to play some more golf in 2020 and review some new courses. Or, I will put it in the kitty to use toward next year’s hosting fee.
I hate even asking for money, but it’s an idea worth exploring. This site has evolved to so much more than just being about my personal golf adventures. I know a lot of people use this as a resource to decide where to play golf or it has inspired fellow travelers to explore new areas and new courses. If you’ve gotten value out of this website and you have the means to help out a little, please contribute. No matter what, I will keep this site ad-free and will keep it running as long as I can.
Anyone who contributes $10 or more will get a free Bogeys Across America calendar when the 2021 edition comes out. I’m not sure if the site lets me know the donors, but you can email me at bogeysacrossamerica@gmail.com to let me know you contributed and I will make sure to reserve a copy for you. I also still have a handful of 2020 calendars left if you want to buy one. Just email me to ask about those.
Thanks to everyone for the support, whether it’s just moral support a little financial donation to help the site running during this downtime for me. I promise I will get back to golf eventually, so there will be fresh content to come in the future!
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