While the hard ground - because of the underlying sand drying quickly - allows the ball to travel further from the tee, the ground off the fairway is far less forgiving.

BBC: Carnoustie

Your Wilson Pro H22 tennis racquet quickly became a drying rack for your underwear once you found out that the college tennis team was filled with power-hitting recruits from Estonia and the Ukraine who could knock a flash drive off the top of your head with a backhand.

WSJ: Rob LaZebnik's Message for the Class of 2013 | Saturday Essay

Germans and Spaniards are also drying out quickly (see chart).

ECONOMIST: Drinking in Europe

Reassuringly, the government has acted quickly to stop liquidity from drying up as credit markets seize up elsewhere.

ECONOMIST: Wall Street's financial troubles hit Hong Kong

They planned for the scheme to operate until 1 November or until the money ran out, but sales volumes have been unexpectedly high, and the funding is drying up more quickly than had been predicted.

BBC: US seeks to continue car rebates