Greenfees and inflation

[Duncan Cheslett]

The price of a green fee is not based on the cost of providing that round of golf for the visitor.


It is far more likely to be set at the highest level the market will bear for the number of visitor rounds the club wishes to sell.


A club with a full quota of playing members will have a limited number of visitor rounds available as members expect relatively free access to the first tee. High demand for these visitor rounds will inevitably lead to high prices. High green fees of course, are very popular with members. The higher the green fee the better value they feel they are getting for their membership.


At the lower level of golf club, membership levels are low and visitor income is chased in a desperate effort to balance the books. This has led to the phenomenon of GolfNow and £10 green fees. Covid enabled these clubs to charge more but it is possible that this will prove to be a short lived hiatus in the race to the bottom.


I now work at a muni, and the model is entirely different to a private club. Our entire raison d’etre is to provide cheap golf, and we mangage to do this and still deliver a healthy surplus. Running a golf course is a lot easier without members! 🤣

[Mike Hendren]

Commercial real estate construction, prolific over the past 10 years is slowing dramatically.  Why?  Inflation (and supply issues) has driven costs up while rents (the price for space over time) are a function of supply and demand (which is slowing with the economy) won’t rise in lockstep if at all. Accordingly, new development isn’t financially feasible - the return on cost is less than the yield on the 10 years treasury. 

I know nothing about the Te Arai project for example but doubt it’s based on ROI.  More likely fun, love of the game, ego (in a good way)or a super-abundance of capital.  Such projects will continue to pop up, but I suspect the development of bread and butter core golf courses is done. 


Also my understanding is that the game isn’t growing. 

[Rick Sides]

Mid November in the 50's in NJ and Riverwinds, a very basic course in South Jersey, greens fee today 150 with taxes.  I don't know how this will sustain

[Tom_Doak]

There is a feature on golf.com today, following their release of the latest top 100 in the U.S.A. rankings, touting the "biggest bargains" on green fees among courses on the list:


$125 Lawsonia
$150 Bethpage (Black)
$235 Sand Valley
$279 Streamsong (Red and Blue)


The other 16 courses you can play on the top 100 list are more expensive than that.


These are the high rates for the high season; they note that Streamsong in the summer or Bandon in the winter are far lower.


Even so, I was pretty shocked to see Streamsong as one of the big bargains, at $279.  But I guess full price at Bandon is going to $450 next year, according to the article?

[Tommy Williamsen]

I have noticed that green fees at newer resorts like Streamsong, Bandon, or Cabot's are the same for all the courses, unlike Pinehurst or Pebble. It makes sense at #2 and Pebble, but the quality of the courses at new resorts is excellent across the board.

[Stewart Abramson]

I belong to a large group in an Orlando suburb that plays our home (semi-private) course at least once each week and two rounds at different courses rah week. In a 12 month period we typically play at least 100 rounds away from home at more than 40 different Orlando area courses. Many we play just once or twice a year and a small handful we play 6- 10 times. In the past we have been able to negotiate green fees between $25 and $79 per round (sometimes, including lunch). Things are now skyrocketing. Heres a message I received today from one of the courses we frequently play. I won't identify. The course, but it's not a top 10 in the area. Last year we could play here for under $70 on high season.

I apologize for my delayed response. We are continuing to experience record levels of demand within the golf industry. Our rack rates in 2022 (January through April) will be $199.00 on weekdays and $209.00 on weekends. We might have a few slower mornings depending on your date(s), but the best we can offer would be $109.00 plus tax during this timeframe. I know this well over what you have paid in the past.

We might have more flexibility in our summer months as well. Let me know your thoughts when you have a moment.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Supplementing Tom Doak's post above:

https://golf.com/travel/6-most-affordable-tee-times