One of Professor Mike Ventola's classes for aspiring golf course superintendents at Sandhills Community College focuses on writing a budget for the care of the course.

But before anyone goes near the numbers, Ventola has students prepare a mission statement for the theoretical facility they are looking to manage.

Only then, once the goal is established, can a golf course superintendent begin to determine what money should be spent where and ultimately, if there's even enough to get the job done.

"Obviously, the higher the level of conditioning, the higher your budget needs are going to be," Bill Patton, director of golf course operations at Forest Creek Golf Club, says.

"You might want to drive a Cadillac but if you only have enough money for a Yugo, then you're not likely to be double-cutting greens and walk-mowing tee boxes every day."

On any course, the level of conditioning (how it performs and how it appears) bears an enormous, though not exclusive, influence on determining golfer satisfaction.

Actually playing well still has a lot to do with it. Making a few birdies feels good to all of us whether we're at Pebble Beach or whipping it around the local muni.

But whether we play well is something no superintendent can budget for. This leaves a superintendent secure in the knowledge that he or she is going to upset someone, no matter how the course is set up.

Because beyond consensus on the need for smooth greens, there's not a lot that all golfers agree on.

Some want their greens fast, some like them slow. Some like the fairways nipped close like a smooth shave, some like a plush carpet to hit from. Some like the bunkers firm, some like their sand a little fluffy.

As a result, what constitutes ideal conditioning is as elusive as the perfect swing.

Complicating matters further is the fact that Mother Nature has her own ideas on the way things should be.

"Grasses live most comfortably at heights that golfers are not comfortable with," Patton says.

"So the higher the level of conditioning -- the lower the cut on greens and fairways -- the more the superintendent lives on the edge of the grass plants failing."

It is one of the reasons U.S. Open Championships are rarely held in the South. The June date the United States Golf Association prefers for the event is not the best time of year for bentgrass greens.

Pinehurst No. 2 has provided a glowing exception to that rule successfully hosting the 1999 and 2005 championships.

But when the U.S. Amateur came to No. 2 in August this year, host superintendent, Paul Jett, was forthright in spelling out how conditions would differ from those at the Opens.

Bentgrass prefers cooler temperatures and by August in the Sandhills it can be wheezing hard no matter how expert the care. That's why Pinehurst Resort used to shut down in the summer years ago.

Accordingly, a lot of courses in the Southeast are converting from bentgrass greens to newer, small-bladed bermudagrasses known as ultradwarfs.

These grasses provide a putting experience closer to bentgrass than the older varieties and much hardier in the heat.

Still, it's unlikely there will be any wholesale ultradwarf invasion in the Sandhills where the peak golfing seasons are traditionally spring and fall, periods that are much kinder to bentgrass but not so conducive to peak bermudagrass performance.

Recent decades have seen enormous change in the degree of conditioning on golf courses.

New turf varieties, new technology, new treatments for pests and plant diseases, and growth in continuing education for superintendents have all contributed to the shift.

But nothing has driven the emphasis on conditioning so much as golfer demand. Golfers who have grown up on a diet of televised PGA Tour events might not play like the pros but they want their course to look the part.

Today, that trend is having its nose thrust against the brick wall of an economy in the tank.

Most golf course operators are having to wind back on non-essentials, whether that be in the clubhouse or on the golf course.

Bunkers that were being hand-raked might now be done with a machine. Fairways that were being mowed daily now might be trimmed every second day.

The range of options to trim golf course maintenance bills is as wide as any of the advancements that have been introduced over the years.

The question is, how much will the average golfer tolerate in any relaxation on course conditioning standards.

If the economy continues to slide, the answer might well be forced upon golfers regardless of their whims and fancies.