I've been long shares of Adams Golf (NASDAQ: ADGF) for some time and, so far, it hasn't provided the returns I had hoped -- to put it mildly. That's probably largely attributable to broader economic malaise but, nevertheless, shareholders have seen the market value of their shares decline rapidly and they're lost more than 90% of their value since the company's IPO in 1998.

That makes the timing of founder Barney Adams' book The Wow Factor: How I Turned One Great Idea and My Unbridled Enthusiasm into a Golf Revolution a little strange.

The book is a reasonably entertaining look at how Mr. Adams, a former Corning Glass engineer, battled adversity to make Adams Golf the largest golf company IPO in history on the strength of a revolutionary fairway wood that he had designed.

The problem with a Barney Adams inspirational book is that, from a business perspective at least, Adams Golf could hardly be considered a success, except in the sense that it raised a boatload of money through its IPO, but that led to a class-action lawsuit. Since inception, Adams Golf has lost more than $34 million, and shareholders have lost their shirts. The company has made Mr. Adams a rich man but, unfortunately, it's been at the expense of shareholders. And the looting continues: Mr. Adams was inexplicably paid $319 thousand for his role as chairman of the board in 2007. I wonder how many thousands of dollars per ceremonial banging of the gavel that is!

I have tremendous respect for Barney Adams' entrepreneurship and determination in getting the company off the ground, and his book is a worthwhile read for entrepreneurial upstarts. It's a shame that his commitment to realizing shareholder value doesn't match that.

How can Mr. Adams deliver value to shareholders? It's easy: the stock is currently trading at a discount to its net current assets and, with growing sales and a leadership position in the all-important hybrid club category, Adams Golf could probably be sold to a larger company for a large premium to its current share price. Click here to read my analysis of the Cleveland Golf sale and how it relates to Adams. Full Disclosure: Zac Bissonnette is long shares of Adams Golf.

With the generally gloomy outlook for the economy and consumer spending, many investors are looking for "recession-proof" industries and companies: tobacco, gambling, alcohol, and pornography (you have to find something to do if you lose your job!).

But how about golf? The latest issue of GolfWeek asks the question, Is golf recession-proof?

Gordon Dalgleish, president of Perry Golf, told GolfWeek that "We can think of no other consumer-oriented business that is as insulated from the effects of general economic conditions other than beer, cigarettes, and perhaps video games."

Gilford Securities analyst Casey Alexander added that golf is "more recession resistant than other consumer-oriented activities ... A weak economy rarely has much negative impact on overall golf spending, just as a strong economy rarely has a positive effect on overall golf spending."

After more than a month of rumors surrounding the possible sale of Quicksilver's (NYSE: ZQK) Cleveland Golf subsidiary, the deal is done. Quiksilver announced the sale last night, and will collect $132.5 million from SRI Sports, based in Japan.

It's interesting because it's roughly double what industry experts were initially estimating the company would sell for. Back in September, GolfWeek wrote that "Industry sources say Quiksilver Inc., which acquired Cleveland in 2005 as part of a deal to buy ski-maker Rossignol, is in the final stages of unloading the golf equipment maker for roughly $60 million to $70 million. Some analysts say the price is a bargain, noting Cleveland likely is worth at least $100 million, but they add an expedient sale even at a discount is in Quiksilver's best interests."

Recently, I've written about a stock I own called Adams Golf (OTC BB: ADGO), which I believe is very undervalued, in large part because of some corporate governance issues and managerial apathy toward the stock price (which is a good thing in moderation, but Adams may be at the opposite extreme). Using the sale of Cleveland Golf as a guide, I am convinced that Adams shareholders would be rewarded very handsomely if the company's board explored sale options. Take a look at some of the key stats

A few months ago, I wrote a piece about a company that I own shares of called Adams Golf (OTC BB: ADGO). While I was, and still am, very optimistic about the company's potential for providing outstanding returns to shareholders, corporate governance is a significant problem at the company. I strongly believe that there are changes that need to be made to provide shareholders with the best return possible, and I outlined some of the steps I believe should be taken in that post.

One issue that makes abundantly clear the corporate governance problems at Adams Golf is the compensation of its founder and chairman, Barney Adams.

According to the most recent proxy statement, Adams was paid $421,698 in 2006, a pay package that is hardly immaterial in light of Adams' market cap of around $50 million. The footnote explains it this way:

Although Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) reported solid earnings and upped guidance after the bell, the stock has moved down in after hours trading. The reason for this sell-off, according to press reports, is the fact that the company's new guidance is still below the analysts' consensus for yearly EPS and revenues.

On the quarter, Callaway was roughly in-line with estimates -- they missed EPS estimates by a penny but matched revenue expectations. For the year, Callaway expects to earn 78-84 cents per share, an increase from previous guidance, but still below the consensus estimate of 89 cents per share. The fact that the company didn't up guidance all the way to analyst expectations is nothing surprising in my experience, very few companies actually match expectations in guidance.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think the play in golf stocks is Adams Golf (OTC: ADGO). The stock is trading for roughly half Callaway on almost every metric and I'm very bullish on the future of the company's hybrid irons.

Disclosure: Kevin Kelly is long Adams Golf.