There are only so many golfers that are interested in taking a destination golf trip to walking only places like Bandon, Sand Valley and Streamsong. You'd think at some point we'd reach a saturation point and these resorts would struggle to fill out their tee sheets. Of course, to this point, that hasn't happened.
In terms of economics, if things get too pricey at these resorts, I could see people opting to visit their regional resort rather than flying across country to visit a far flung resort. I live outside of Chicago and Sand Valley is a much easier place for me to access than Bandon. SV isn't quite Bandon (nothing is) but it's in the ballpark. I don't have to buy flights, get myself to the airport and rent a car to visit SV. That's a significant savings and perhaps a half measure if people feel some of these destination resorts are becoming too expensive. It would be interesting to see Sand Valley's data on where their guests are coming from.
Finally, there are a ton of new destination private courses that have come online recently, with more on the horizon. As guys join these clubs what impact does that have, if any, on the public resort courses we're discussing here? I joined a private destination course about five years ago and that has curtailed my travel somewhat to other places because obviously, when I travel for golf, I want to be at my club, a place that I love.