What an interesting discussion. As usual, I'm late to the party, don't have much to add, and probably won't be read because you folks move on to other threads before I do, if I ever get there. Threads like this one are why I am here at all. I don't have the time to be more active and would rather play golf than rate golf courses. When I do rarely comment, it is usually from my world of the public golfer and course operator--a world far removed from the many of these discussions. Simply to have the chance to listen to the comments of 1500 passionate lovers of the game from all around the world is a rare and valuable experience for me. So, thanks to all for your thoughtful and passionate participation.
I'm no expert about golf. I can't play a lick but am the owner/operator of a small golf course in a rural area. The kind of golf we have here sounds a lot like the golf you all played as kids. It's cheap, scruffy, and certainly not opulent. We have a beautiful location that many would envy, but plenty of warts like power lines, close proximity to the town shitter (treatment plant), and a annual maintenance budget less than some initiation fees. Mike Young and other folks have pretty much covered anything I could add from my perspective. I'm just a small businessman getting by how I must in my market. It's not easy, nor very profitable.
I would like to second those thoughts from many about providing access to junior golfers. I believe it is the future for both golf and the business of golf. I also put my money where my mouth is sometimes. As I mentioned in another thread, they are the future customers. We charge $5 weekdays, $10 weekends unless they play with their fee-paying parents, then they play free. We also let a couple of golf teams from small schools play and practice here for free. They are asked to defer to the fee paying customers and they do it cheerfully and politely.
To keep their fees down, our pass holders (they call themselves members) organize a couple of clean-up days a year. The kids and the golf teams also pitch in. It is pretty amazing what many hands can do in a few hours of work. Think of 400-500 work hours for the price of a meal and round of golf. Everyone that works here works alongside and provides direction.
Another thing that I wanted to mention is an anecdote from a golf course owner’s convention that I once attended. There were a couple of hundred people listening to a panel of experts (those guys Mike Y. mentioned) talking about how to acquire, appraise, finance (it was years ago), and sell golf courses. One of the funnier guys on the panel asked us all why we are in the golf business? Someone grumbled, “Gotta do something.” Then he asked us if we did this for a good ROI and other business reasons. Room was deathly quiet. Finally, he asked, “How many of you guys do it because its fun?” Every hand in the room went up.
I find a similar connection with our customers, the regular public golfer in my case. I can’t think of many legal businesses where your customers are so determined to have a good time. Have your greens in good shape, your course playable, a decent pace of play, and the vast majority are happy, whatever they shot. Sometimes I think you have to go out of your way to piss them off. I also suspect that these folks would have just as much fun playing a goat ranch as an architectural gem. The way most of us play, probably more fun on the goat ranch where we can afford the golf balls and beer.
A final word from this remote, insignificant part of the golf world: the last couple of years we’ve held our own. Play is down a little but revenue per round has made up the difference. Yes, we are an affordable little course in a small town. But even in tough times, folks still know how to have fun and enjoy their golf.
I don’t know how to plug any of this into practical business model. It’s all about a simple game and keeping it fun to play.