Inexpensive Golf Courses Still Being Built?

[Tom_Doak]

I just got my quarterly report from the National Golf Foundation.

According to their report, there were only 124.5 new 18-hole courses opened in the USA in 2005, of which 85 were new facilities and the rest expansions.  Forty new courses were private clubs, the balance were daily fee.  (There were 93.5 closures to boot.)

(The numbers are not quite as bad for next year -- there are 238 new courses listed as under construction and another 312 "in planning", although the latter list is pretty meaningless.)

I was surprised, though, to see that the median green fee at new public courses were only $50, meaning half of them are charging less than that amount.  That's hard to pull off at a brand new course, although I know that golf costs less in the countryside than it does on the coasts and near big cities.  Still, does anyone here know of a course opened in 2005 that cost less than $50 to play?

[Craig Sweet]

Alledgedly, Canyon River, near Missoula, will open this year with a greens fee "around" $35. This is a Schmidt-Curley design.

[Mike_Cirba]

Tom,

That's a good question.  I'd be really curious to see a geographical distribution on the new courses because I suspect that most of the new ones are being built in the further reaches of the burbs, or in previously undeveloped areas of the country.

There also seems to be a wide variance in price point for new courses and they are getting more sophisticated in matching up supply with demand.  For instance, some new courses might charge say $85 with mandatory cart during a weekend morning, which drops to $55 with walking permitted after 2, and similar variances, even within different weekdays, with bargains to be had on a Monday but near weekend pricing on a Friday afternoon.

Therefore, when they claim a green fee of less than $50, I'd be really curious what that really means.

[Troy Alderson]

Tom,

There is a golf course in Union Oregon, near La Grande that opened in 2005 (I think) and less than $50.  Must be less than $50 since the area is rural and not populated to support higher.  I do not remember the name though.

Troy Alderson

[Chris Kane]

What do they charge locals and Tasmanian residents to play at Barnbougle Dunes?

[Chris Moore]

"According to their report, there were only 124.5 new 18-hole courses opened in the USA in 2005 . . . ."

How does one open a half of an 18-hole golf course?

[Joe Hancock]

Right in the heart of Grand Rapids, MI....

http://minesgolfcourse.com/coursefees.htm

Joe

[Peter Pallotta]

Tom:
if I read (and understood) the statistics correctly, 85 new courses opened in 2005, 45 of which were public.  Meanwhile, 93 existing courses shut down.  Even if only half those closures involved public courses (and I'd imagine the percentage was higher), the net gain in 2005 of daily fee courses in the US was nil.  Which is to say, I don't know how much stock we can put in that "median green fee" number: for all we know there may be exactly 2 new courses charging less than $50, and 1 new course charging more.

I'm not a statistician, so I may have that all wrong.  But I live in a big city, and it's been years and years since I've been able to play a course for $50 dollars without driving out of that city for at least an hour.

I don't mean to be negative; but my appreciation for natural architecture and minimal maintenance practices has a lot to do with my desire to see golf remain a public game, played on public courses, and affordable to large segments of the general public -- just like the game that started in Scotland long ago.

Peter    
(I just noticed Joe Hancock's post; and like Jim Thompson he should feel good/proud about doing it right. It's possible, obviously, but maybe only in that great land called "small town America")

[peter_p]

Troy,
That course is Buffalo Peak. It opened at least three years ago. Chehalem Glenn opened nine holesi n Newberg OR last year with a weekend rate of $38 for 18.

[Michael Whitaker]

I live in a big city, and it's been years and years since I've been able to play a course for $50 dollars without driving out of that city for at least an hour.

I live in a fairly developed community... Greenville, SC. For size comparison, our area is the 35th ranked TV market in the country:  Milwaukee and Cincinnati are 33 & 34; Salt Lake City & San Antonio are 36 & 37. There is only one public course in our area that charges over $50 to play on weekends (including cart fee) - the Walker Course at Clemson University. The reason they charge over $50 is because they have 300 members and need to protect their membership fee structure. All of the other courses are in the $40-$45 range. Our public courses are not the CCFAD type. They are mostly basic public courses with modest clubhouses and few frills. We don't have any truly great public courses, but that has more to do with the original designs than the lack of potential.

I'm not sure what all this means other than you don't have to live in the hinterlands to enjoy affordable golf.

Greenville County is considering converting a landfill into a municipal golf course... it will be our first. It will be interesting to see what effect, if any, the course will have on area pricing.

[Mike_Sweeney]

Tom Doak,

Opened last fall on Long Island, less than 30 miles from Sebonack, Pine Ridge GC started up with a $40 weekend rate last fall, $55 this year if you walk after 1:00 PM. How much did you and Jack charge for your design fees???

http://www.pineridgegc.com/layout9.asp?id=329&page=8346

[Jim_Kennedy]

Tom,
Golf construction News reports: 3373 active projects, 1343  new projects, 2030 remodels and 443 recent openings. This seems quite different than NGF's repoerted data.

[Larry_Rodgers]

Could the data from Golf Construction News be sKewed to sell additional memberships to their service?

[Mike_Young]

Larry,
No doubt they play with the numbers...as you probably know some of the projects they list have been on the books for years etc

[Garland Bayley]

Tom,

There is a golf course in Union Oregon, near La Grande that opened in 2005 (I think) and less than $50.  Must be less than $50 since the area is rural and not populated to support higher.  I do not remember the name though.

Troy Alderson

I think it is called Buffalo Peak or something like that. It opened earlier than 2005. I know it has had financial trouble. There was an PBS TV program on the troubles the town went through where they threw the bums out and elected new officials.

I can't find it on golfcourse.com, so I wonder if it made Tom's stats as one that closed in 2005.

[Sean_A]

I don't mean to be negative; but my appreciation for natural architecture and minimal maintenance practices has a lot to do with my desire to see golf remain a public game, played on public courses, and affordable to large segments of the general public -- just like the game that started in Scotland long ago.

Peter

These are the best sentiments expressed on this site for quite some time.  Cheers!

Ciao

Sean

[Scott Witter]

Mill Creek Golf Course - Paul Albanese, Rochester, NY: $48 w/o cart

Arrowhead Golf Club - Scott Witter, Akron, NY: $47 w/o cart

Ivy Ridge Golf Course - Owner Design/Build, Akron, NY: $42 w/o cart

Ironwood Golf Course - Scott Witter, Bennington, NY $32 w/o cart

[Mike_Cirba]

Mill Creek Golf Course - Paul Albanese, Rochester, NY: $48 w/o cart

Arrowhead Golf Club - Scott Witter, Akron, NY: $47 w/o cart

Ivy Ridge Golf Course - Owner Design/Build, Akron, NY: $42 w/o cart

Ironwood Golf Course - Scott Witter, Bennington, NY $32 w/o cart

Scott,

Is walking ALWAYS an option at each of those courses?

If so, that's great to see.  If not, then the $$ figure is essentially meaningless.

Thanks
Mike

[Jeff_Brauer]

My Sand Creek Station in Newton, KS will open this year. Not sure of exact greens fees, but usually it will be under $30, and maybe over $30 but under $40 for weekends.

The course is lower priced because the city formed a partnerhsip with a developer to get some land and part of the course paid for in return for routing it through housing. Added benefits are that the city is paying for their portion of electric costs, entry roads, etc. outside the golf course budget, and in the development budget, all allowing the course to be a bit more market friendly, while not sacrificing design quality too much.

As to Golf Course Register, I doubt their stats could be any worse than NGF. Its probably a function of them not taking out possible jobs, which could come back to life and should be on a sales list.  That's not a knock on NGF but frankly, I don't think anyone has really developed a tracking system of great sophistication in the industry.  However, the Golf Course Register just sent me an email saying I should get on board because of those same stats.  So I wonder, do they market better by underreporting the amount of activity or overreporting it?

[Scott Witter]

Mike,

Yes, and my two courses are without a doubt the easiest to walk and this was done so deliberately.  The Mill Creek site is probably the toughest to walk...it sits atop a drumlin and routes around and up and down it.

I assumed this was a parameter before I posted.

[Mike_Cirba]

Scott,

That's great.

I do have some contacts in the Finger Lakes region and I'm thinking a summer trip there including some golf would be fun.

Thanks!
 

[Garland Bayley]

How could I have forgotten! Bully Pulpit, Medora, ND, $49
Great finish 13-18!

[John Goodman]

There are several in my area - Gene Bates' Twin Bridges in Gadsden, AL (#8 GD Best New Affordable in 2004) is $33 weekend and $23 weekday without cart (it's walkable).  

Bob Cupp's Ballantrae GC, Pelham AL is $30 weekday without cart, $40 on weekends I believe; also walkable.  Here's a picture of Ballantrae's par 4 7th:

[Paul Payne]

I would think there have been hundreds of courses opened over the last five years that charge under $50.

John is right on with the RTJ trail in Alabama. They have some of the best overall golf value anywhere. You could argue that the RTJ fees are artificially low however that does not explain how this happens across the rest of the country.

I think you have to look at what creates a low cost daily fee course. You typically have a local or regional person who owns the land and develops the course. Then you need a strong yet affordable architect to carry out the design. The land is not always "grade A"

Here in Minnesota we have a gentleman named Joel Goldstrand. He should be considered the grandaddy of public golf up here. He has created dozens of courses, some very good and many with a few exceptional holes. He has figured out how to pack a good course in the oddest of properties. Most of his courses are highly rated as local publics.

I imagine the downside to this is that it wouldn't surprise me if in general the courses that are closing are these very same courses. My bet is that the high end and resort courses may be surviving on regional or national reputations, the low end locals survive on low cost and league play. My guess is that middle ground, a course that could compete on merit with a high end course, but does not get the exposure, and is a little costly for the local every-day golfer really feel the squeeze.

I hope I am wrong on that because there are some real gems out there across the country that most people have never heard of.