What is the worst investment you have made?

Three years ago one of the young golfers at our club decided to turn Pro. I am sure that all of us have at our clubs young golfers who are fantastic players and who we would like to think that someday could be a big success. This lad was no exception, with tremendous talent and playing off plus 2 he was head and shoulders above anyone else at the club at that time.

Around 30 of us members decided in our wisdom to form an Investment Club to help finance his expenses on the EuroPro tour and his attemps at getting through Q school. Shares were priced at £34 per month and I purchased one and a half shares. The idea was that 50% of all prize money won would be returned to the investors. The club was to run for three years and at the end of that time it would be wound up and the pot of remaining money would be returned to the investors.

The three years has now passed and the winding up meeting is tonight. There are no funds remaining to distribute and what prize money won was retained in the account as expenditure exceeded income. My support has cost me nearly £2000. I never expected to make a profit from the investment club, I didn't really expect to get all of my money back, but I certainly didn't expect to lose it all and that is very disappointing. It just goes to show I guess, just how talented you really have to be to make a living at this game.

So come on, that's my confession, (and I can hear you all having a good laugh at my stupidity!) what is the worst investment you have ever made, (golfing or otherwise!) or the best if you are feeling boastful?

Sold my flat (built 1982) in Islington in 1986 for 94,000 pounds.

To buy my house in New York State for the exact dollar equivalent, $133K.

Sold it when relocated in 2002 - after 16 years - for $123K.

Flat in Islington now worth about 500K pounds.

America, The land of hope and opportunity.

Wouldn't be so rash as to assume I've done it yet! Suspect I have that to look forward to!

Kwin -Don't paint with that broad brush ... I think you mean CNY the land of opportunity. Sold my father's house in South Utica for about $85k just a few years ago, and he bought it in 1959 for $14k. Not much of an investment.

Go south 250 miles and my in laws bought a house at the Jersey shore for $80k in 1994, sold it for $840K in 2001!

Hope the new owners had flood insurance . . . . .

I'd take 600% over 50 years over -8% in 16 years any day, the sort of thing to make a fellow pretty bloody angry. And I was angry enough before

I hear that - a common topic with my family, most of whom still live there.

About the only places in CNY that had any significant appreciation over the past 25 years are on the water (mostly in the ADK park). I don't think (make that know) you can buy anything on the Fulton Chain with 100+ feet of waterfront for less than $500k. Take that same house just one lot away and (even with water rights) it goes for half that.

Does anyone remember the days everyone was buying classic cars? Bought my self an MGB Roadster - imported from America no less as rust free. Bought it at the top of the market and sold it at the bottom. Hey ho.

Pretty easy one for me...a lovely 3 bedroom villa with it's own pool on Secret Valley Estate near Paphos in Cyprus. Bought at the peak of the boom and using a Swiss Franc mortgage. Since 2008 the value has plummeted whilst the o/s balance on the mortgage has rocketed as the Swiss Franc has gained against both the Euro and the £....Just to rub salt in the wound I can't bloody rent it as everybody else is to too skint to be able to afford flights to Cyprus. Of the ones that still can afford to holiday, most are bottom feeding on all-inclusive package deals.

BlueCoverman, you've nothing to feel regretful about. You've helped to give someone the chance to achieve a dream at a cost of less than £20 a week.

For those that understand spread betting, in the series after many people made a killing buying "ton-ups" for W.Indies v England I bought for the equivalent market and from memory there wasn't a century until about the 5th test.

Did my absolute slabs.

Jas Secret valley very nice litle course there if i recall.One of our friends sister married into the family that runs the pleasure boats out of Paphos
and they have the family home out there.Longer term may come back to you a bit.
My man sausage ups are fairly monumental recent ex wife decided to start seeing her old teenage boyfriend £200 k plus and 20 odd years ago got sucked into the golf boom to the tune of £250k .Still onwards and upwards.Look on the bright side

So whats wrong with New York State/South Utica?

At least you didn't take out three mortgages to build a property portfolio in Florida.

I had northern rock shares at the time of nationalization.

Mac,
It's what happens when Unions and Mafia come together.

dynamark wrote:Jas Secret valley very nice litle course there if i recall.One of our friends sister married into the family that runs the pleasure boats out of Paphos
and they have the family home out there.Longer term may come back to you a bit.
My man sausage ups are fairly monumental recent ex wife decided to start seeing her old teenage boyfriend £200 k plus and 20 odd years ago got sucked into the golf boom to the tune of £250k .Still onwards and upwards.Look on the bright side

Yeah longer term I'm sure it will Dyna, there are big plans in place for it but they got shelved when the downturn came. They've now been resurrected though, work on the 2nd course has started. There's also plans for a marina, a boutique hotel and retail outlets & restaurant/bars down the front with a view to matching/surpassing nearby Aphrodite Hills. I wish there was some group out there that could put together a discounted multi round package deal for the 4 courses (AH, SV, Elea and Minthis Hills) available to villa residents/guests. I'm going out in May and I'll have another go but it's quite clear that golf tourism is still in its infancy in Cyprus.

Having children.

Pocket money, clothes, holidays, university, cars, flat deposits.

Although I love them dearly, and I wouldn't change anything, if we hadn't had kids I'd be loaded, retired and living in California for half the year, and East Lothian for the other half.

George,
You should consult with Phil Mickelson and Leff regarding taxation issues before moving to California . . . . . .

Oh yeah, tax in California is 13.3%, assuming I earn more than a million bucks. Add in other 5% for federal and other taxes, and I could lose almost 20%! Good grief, I'd be down to my last $800K every year!

Luckily for me, my income is just a tad less than a $ million, so I'd be ok.

Thanks for the advice though, I just wish it really was a problem I had to face!

Speaking of taxes, although the tax free allowance has gone up, the figure at which you pay 40% has been reduced and by an amount that outweighs the increase in tax free allowance.
Grrrr.

super_realist wrote:Speaking of taxes, although the tax free allowance has gone up, the figure at which you pay 40% has been reduced and by an amount that outweighs the increase in tax free allowance.
Grrrr.

And? Presumably this was done to aid those in the lower pay levels?

Presumably, and I've no real problem with it, but is the complete opposite of the claim from Labour et al that the government are trying to help those on decent money with tax breaks, when evidently they aren't.

You don't actually listen to what the politicians say and actually believe it do you? They'd try to convince someone black was white given half a chance. Tossers.

navyblueshorts wrote:You don't actually listen to what the politicians say and actually believe it do you? They'd try to convince someone black was white given half a chance. Tossers.

They seem to have succeeded with Tiger Woods.

pedro wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:You don't actually listen to what the politicians say and actually believe it do you? They'd try to convince someone black was white given half a chance. Tossers.

They seem to have succeeded with Tiger Woods.

He is certainly the whitest Black man you'll ever see. I remember that time he tried to high five his caddy when he made that chip when he missed the green. They nearly missed one another completely.

The meeting on Wednesday night went very well. I was pleased that there were no dissenting voices or complaints from the floor that the bank account was empty. The whole atmosphere was very relaxed and quite jovial.

Andy spoke to us at some length and he spoke very well. He thanked us and was very appreciative of the support that we had given him over the last three years. He looked lean and muscular, the result of much hard work with a new fitness coach. Andy advised that he still intends to pursue a career in golf and is confident that he has the ability and now the experience to push on to be successful. His stroke average improved last year as did his ranking on the EuroPro tour and this will open a few more doors for him.

He is on the look-out for new sponsors now that our arrangement has come to an end. He has a golf benefit day organised in March, which I will play in and support and I wish him all the best. Maybe one day when he is striding down the fairway at the British Open and I am watching from the other side of the ropes, I can think that I, in a very small way helped him get there!

BlueCoverman wrote: Maybe one day when he is striding down the fairway at the British Open and I am watching from the other side of the ropes, I can think that I, in a very small way helped him get there!

I'd hope he'll be successful before he's 50 if I were in your shoes.

BlueCoverman wrote:Three years ago one of the young golfers at our club decided to turn Pro. I am sure that all of us have at our clubs young golfers who are fantastic players and who we would like to think that someday could be a big success. This lad was no exception, with tremendous talent and playing off plus 2 he was head and shoulders above anyone else at the club at that time.

Around 30 of us members decided in our wisdom to form an Investment Club to help finance his expenses on the EuroPro tour and his attemps at getting through Q school. Shares were priced at £34 per month and I purchased one and a half shares. The idea was that 50% of all prize money won would be returned to the investors. The club was to run for three years and at the end of that time it would be wound up and the pot of remaining money would be returned to the investors.

The three years has now passed and the winding up meeting is tonight. There are no funds remaining to distribute and what prize money won was retained in the account as expenditure exceeded income. My support has cost me nearly £2000. I never expected to make a profit from the investment club, I didn't really expect to get all of my money back, but I certainly didn't expect to lose it all and that is very disappointing. It just goes to show I guess, just how talented you really have to be to make a living at this game.

So come on, that's my confession, (and I can hear you all having a good laugh at my stupidity!) what is the worst investment you have ever made, (golfing or otherwise!) or the best if you are feeling boastful?

golfing wise.. bopught some totliest ap2's, with project ex flighted stiff shafts - horrid.. sold them 2 weeks later on ebay and lost 300 quid!!

never made a bad investment otherwise!!(well bar my addiction of buying stuff i dont really need!!)

BCM thats an intertesting tale.I have come across several similar schemes locally to give young pros a start and I dont think anyone goes into it expecting a return more just to give the guy a shot at the title as it were'
probable a bit easier to hit the top level in golf than say tennis but snooker have just changed their tournament rules to open up the field