Let's put some simple numbers to the question. I'm probably missing something, but here goes:
Give each maintenance employee a $3 per hour raise. Assume 20 full-time employees. 50 weeks of work at 40 hours per week.
(3 dollars per hour) * (2000 hours per year) * (20 employees) = $120,000 in wages.
Without knowledge of payroll, medicare and social security taxes, I'll guess they equal 10% of wages, which would make total expenditures about $132,000.
Case 1. At a public course with 30,000 rounds a year, the cost is approximately $4.40 per round.
Case 2. At a private course with 300 members, the cost is approximately $440 per year, or $37 per month.
Politically, I wish the minimum wage was higher because a) hard working people should be paid a wage sufficient to lead a reasonable life, and b) in my opinion, a higher minimum wage leads to a more efficient use of capital and a more robust economy, because less money will be saved by those who can afford to save it.
Unfortunately, a $5 hike in round fees, or a $40 a month hike in monthly dues, may result in a significant loss in business for many golf courses. If we raised dues $50 a month at my home club, which is well known and historically successful, we would lose members and probably revenue.