How would YOU open an Affordable, Worthwhile Course?

[Charlie Goerges]

If YOU were tasked with opening an affordable and worthwhile (whatever your definition of that would be) golf course, how would you do it? I'm curious what people in the industry would say, but I'm equally interested in what non-industry folks would do as well.

A few points.

• Let's assume that affordable means it costs less than $100 to play, though preferably a lot less. And also I'd hope for no major disparities in cost between different groups of players (i.e. $40 for locals and $300 for non-local etc.)
• Any way of accomplishing it is acceptable (if you want to buy a distressed course for pennies on the dollar and re-open it, that's fine; if you want to find a beautiful piece of land and build from scratch, that's fine too. Or anything else is fine)
• Worthwhile... you define it, but it can't be crap.
• All specificity is appreciated, but don't feel the need to make it homework either.

Look forward to getting the temperature of the room on this.

[Tom_Doak]

My last client who managed to do this [or even attempted it] was CommonGround in Denver.


Keys to why it worked:


1.  They inherited an old AFB course for free, which included a lot of infrastructure that could be used.  Building from scratch for a low number is much more difficult.


2.  They raised the money themselves, slowly, while using the existing course.  Most of it came through handicap fees.


3.  Most importantly, anyone who donated anything to the project believed in the mission of low cost golf.  That's the hard part.  Most guys who have $$$$ to give away, got their $ by believing in the free market system, and running a golf course at "below market" green fees is not a part of their belief system.  That's why The Park charges what they do, and CommonGround charges far less.  I think you would have to fund the project via a lot of small donors, but it's possible you could find a single donor who believed in it.

[Ira Fishman]

The OP is a great question. And despite the risk that Mike Young will light me up, the reality is that unless government supports the course, it is a very tough putt in areas where land is costly. I grew up playing Cook County Illinois courses. Are they good? There sure seem to be a lot of golfers who think so.

[Ben Hollerbach]

I would imagine that in many cases starting with a current, or recently previous, golf course would be the cheapest route. While the cost of the land may be more expensive, the more of the exiting infrastructure you can reuse the cheaper your construction costs will be.

From a design perspective, Maintenance has to be front of mind. Limited bunkers, limited grass heights, easy to mow, simplified maintenance would equate to lower operational costs.

Location could have a big impact from an agronomy perspective. If you can get away with using a mixed grass bed that can provide a good playing surface, while also minimizing invasive species taking over, that could potential reduce water and chemical costs. The biggest tradeoff here might be seasonality. In a northern location you might not have to worry about invasive grasses and weeds as much, but you may only get 8-10 months of play. In the south you get a longer growing and playing season, but potentially a greater risk for invasive grasses and weeds.

A place like Diamond Springs outside of Grand Rapids comes to mind as a pretty good model to follow.

[MClutterbuck]

Build it close to a source of free water. Irrigate with gravity/no pumps. Fescue only course. Organic maintenance. Switch off irrigation sometime in summer with no rain for weed control. Walking only. Reasonable low play. Not for profit club. Spend the bucks on a good architect, build without frills, get bunkering right. Patience.   

[Matthew Lloyd]

In trying to respond to this question (which I loved), it occurred to me that all I was thinking about was Wild Horse...


It's clearly not as many as simply trying to recreate that property/course, but that seems to check a lot of the boxes people have already mentioned.


If the question is expanded to include reasonably priced private courses (is there such a thing any more?), then I'm a huge fan of the private courses that allow for outside play (such as Prairie Club and Pasatiempo). In theory this would enable the club to keep costs low for any investors or founding members, and give traveling golfers a chance to play a nice course. It also feels like the ebb and flow of guests can keep the clientele a little fresher.


Limited maintenance requirements with a natural, uncluttered look - with a minimal amount of bells and whistles - would be what I'd look for.


Also --- allow dogs, please.

[Ben Hollerbach]

In 2022 The GCSAA published maintenance costs for various classifications of courses. Municipal courses averaged $621,000 annual maintenance cost, private courses $1.1M average, overall average of $810,000.


If your target with the affordable course is slightly better than municipal conditioning with a minimal clubhouse operation, would that put you around $1M in total annual cost? At $40 per round, that's 25,000 rounds per year to break even. Which is ~9,000 rounds below the US average per course.


To my mind that seems doable, but because of such, I have to imagine I'm miles off in my estimations.


Would it be more appropriate to think you'd need an operating budget of more than $1.5M, which would mean your break even point is closer to 38,000 rounds @ $40, or 25,000 rounds @ $60?

[Mike Hendren]

Southeast U.S.  Bermuda turf and greens.  Irrigate greens and tees only.  Greens 3000 to 5000 square feet.  Runway tees from 6000 to 6500 yards.  No more than 27 bunkers averaging less than 500 square feet.  Extensive use of mowable berms generally at a diagonal.  Greens mowed 3 times weekly.  Fairways twice.  Clever yet modest green contours.  No range -nets.   Benches at par 3 tees.  Water every 3 holes. 

[Matt_Cohn]

No range -nets. 

I would think a driving range should be a profit maker, especially if you don’t water it?

[Adrian_Stiff]

Build it close to a source of free water. Irrigate with gravity/no pumps. Fescue only course. Organic maintenance. Switch off irrigation sometime in summer with no rain for weed control. Walking only. Reasonable low play. Not for profit club. Spend the bucks on a good architect, build without frills, get bunkering right. Patience.

So you think low volume of play, don't charge much and don't want any revenue from the carts. Spend all the money on the best architect but his hands are tied and when we need water in the summer we won't use it. Sounds like a plan from the Zucker Brothers (script writers for Airplane)

[Adrian_Stiff]

corrupted

[Simon Barrington]

corrupted

That's a sad indictment on the game we all love...

[archie_struthers]

 


First you would need land that isn't zoned or suitable for housing. In most cases an old course in disrepair , possibly  deed restricted for recreation might be available somewhere.


You would have to take a Don Mahoney approach to the irrigation system IMHO . Less is more. If there is a single cost that seems askew to me in construction or renovation it's the cost of fixing or installing a system.


You will need to promote pace of play from day one.NO four and a half hour rounds , in fact you need to promote 3.5 as the norm. At the end of the day you need a SUPERINTENDENT who understands how to make a dollar go far. They are out there but man it's a labor of love on their part. If anything pay that man his money and hope for a return.


As to the food and beverage operation every place is different. If you can't do a lot of weddings and banquets keep the operation modest. Make really good items, keep food fresh but menu needs to be simple. Make a great burger and a couple healthy items with good hot soup in the off season. KISS theory for sure. As an aside you might want to find a chef who actually likes to cook!


Lastly let your members know you care. Help them organize games . leagues whatever. Promote their successes via email and have a board at the club that is prominently displayed with the tournament results and winners. Make it fun !

[Charlie Goerges]

[quote author=Adrian_Stiff link=topic=72677.msg1745294#msg1745294 date=1709023628]

Build it close to a source of free water. Irrigate with gravity/no pumps. Fescue only course. Organic maintenance. Switch off irrigation sometime in summer with no rain for weed control. Walking only. Reasonable low play. Not for profit club. Spend the bucks on a good architect, build without frills, get bunkering right. Patience.

So you think low volume of play, don't charge much and don't want any revenue from the carts. Spend all the money on the best architect but his hands are tied and when we need water in the summer we won't use it. Sounds like a plan from the Zucker Brothers (script writers for Airplane)

Fixed the font size

[archie_struthers]

 :'(


While I’d love to hang out at Adrian’s place , I’d think 🤔 you will be going into your pocket to float the nut 🌰.


I’m in pretty good shape for a chubby guy but as I get older I might want a cart on occasion and my friends my age generally have to have one !


So worthwhile becomes the operative word lol!

[Charlie Goerges]

Lots of nice ideas, hoping for even more. I'll quote post a few to ask some follow-up questions.

[Charlie Goerges]

Greens 3000 to 5000 square feet.


and


No range -nets.

I'm curious if small greens would be a false economy because of the additional wear and tear?


And I echo Matt's thought about the the range being a cheap profit center for an affordable course. But if that is the wrong way to think about it, I'd love to learn why.

[Charlie Goerges]

If the question is expanded to include reasonably priced private courses (is there such a thing any more?)

I'm curious what would constitute an affordable private course, anyone want to throw some numbers out there?

[Charlie Goerges]

My last client who managed to do this [or even attempted it] was CommonGround in Denver.


Keys to why it worked:


1.  They inherited an old AFB course for free, which included a lot of infrastructure that could be used.  Building from scratch for a low number is much more difficult.


2.  They raised the money themselves, slowly, while using the existing course.  Most of it came through handicap fees.


3.  Most importantly, anyone who donated anything to the project believed in the mission of low cost golf.  That's the hard part.  Most guys who have $$$$ to give away, got their $ by believing in the free market system, and running a golf course at "below market" green fees is not a part of their belief system.  That's why The Park charges what they do, and CommonGround charges far less.  I think you would have to fund the project via a lot of small donors, but it's possible you could find a single donor who believed in it.

It's nice to know that it can be done, while being sad that it's so infrequent at this point. The below market belief system point is certainly well-taken.

[Jeff_Brauer]

It still takes a benefactor, either a developer or city, or both, to fund many of the off site stuff, like utilities.


My Sand Creek Station in Newton, KS is a good example.  The developer provided the land as part of his subdivision, and the city extended water lines and other necessary infrastructure.  In return, the golf course acts as flood detention for the development.


With those paid for by others, many golf courses can cover the debt of a modest construction cost.  This was about $4.3 Mil for golf in 2006 or so, which would probably double today.  Then, many of the ideas mentioned here:


Double Wide or similar small clubhouse
Move less than 150,000 of earth (actually at Sand Creek we had to move more to accommodate the flood control)
6000 SF greens (average)
75,000 SF of Sand Bunkers (max)
30 Ac of fw (wide FW may be popular here, but they do cost $$$)
Moderate Difficulty to speed those 40K rounds through, but go all out on visuals.


There's more, but I think you get the idea.


And so forth.

[Peter Sayegh]

No range -nets. 

I would think a driving range should be a profit maker, especially if you don’t water it?

Matt,
Do you think players at "an affordable, worthwhile course" want to pay for range practice facilities (be it a surcharge or hidden cost) over just loosening up? A net is good enough for me.


No mention of profit was mentioned in Charlie's original post.

I'll side with his curiousity/and implied hopefullness.

[Bernie Bell]

Find a "Dark Ages" course that is available and revert to the characteristics that have sustained such courses for 50+ years:  simplicity, playability, ease of maintenance, proximity to golfers.  Update the finishes as desired but avoid Instagram/drone shot frills that are expensive to design, build, maintain and have minimal if any effect on playability.  Don't depend on golfers arriving by airplane.  Attend to client satisfaction, not raters.

[MClutterbuck]

Adrian,


I appreciate you might be a lot more knowledgeable than me and I am willing to learn from you. However, that would require you making a good argument in your favor.


For what it is worth, here are some of mine, taking into consideration my area of expertise and education is different than yours and possibly a lot less relevant than yours.
 
Revenue from carts I believe is a meaningless concept. More relevant is free cash-flow from carts. What does a cart cost today in your neck of the woods? Spare parts, tires and electricity? Mechanic and operators? Capital cost or interest on debt? Is the resulting free cash flow enough to offset cart wear and tear? Offset cart path construction and maintenance?


Re architect, you are obviously not going to spend all the money on the architect, but a well designed course will save you money. For example, a well built natural bunker will not need fancy liners, concrete, nor will it require much work after rain. A well built course will have good surface drainage, lowering costs. The architects hands are not tied at all. On the contrary.


Need water in the summer is a relative statement, is it not? Does fescue need water all summer? Can water be turned off for 3 weeks? Will it control most/all other species and therefore save on chemicals? Will fescue still turn green and grow nicely the end of summer and autumn? Will it have grown nicely in Spring with plenty of water?


I have seen this work, with fairways that are as good as the best you have played on, visited or worked on. And I believe it worked well in GBI once upon a time.


Low volume of play is also a relative term and part of the analysis one should make on how you run the course. It is entirely possible that increasing play from say 80 players per day to 100 players per day results in lower free cash flow, once you factor in wear and tear, additional staff, additional capital costs. Just starting play somewhat later in the day can save on staff a decent amount. Less wear and tear overtime can reduce restoration costs significantly. Expanding tee times and traffic without proper marginal analysis is a mistake.


Even if we apply US or GBI prices to every input, I would surprise you with the costs that can be achieved.


BTW, great movie!


MC

[Charlie Goerges]

First you would need land that isn't zoned or suitable for housing. In most cases an old course in disrepair , possibly  deed restricted for recreation might be available somewhere.


Lastly let your members know you care. Help them organize games . leagues whatever. Promote their successes via email and have a board at the club that is prominently displayed with the tournament results and winners. Make it fun !

The zoning thing makes sense, though a number of places are going for a more expansive zoning policy in order to help alleviate the affordable housing shortage. It will take years, but eventually this might provide less protection than before.




I like the homey-ness idea for members, or for an affordable public course, the regulars.

[Bruce Katona]

I donated and spent quite a bit of time on this exact topic, working with a well-meaning worthwhile group to bring a First Tee facility to a much needed area.  The premise was the facility would obtain municipal sponsorship and resources if it was cost neutral and paid for itself.


This is not an op ed piece on the merits or struggles of 1st Tee, just an exercise in exploring the business operation of bringing an affordable worthwhile course to a large audience segment:


1. The municipality had an owned & operated existing golf facility - though it was outside of it's municipal boundaries; so cost of land and layout was $0.  The layout is solid and easily walked as the site is flat.
2. The course was in dire need of CAPEX improvements - drainage & irrigation were poor.
3. The course as an asset was severely underutilized.
4. There was room to install a driving range/Learning Center on tract.
5. Maintenance was done by unionized municipal employees - a huge labor cost with little benefit.
6. The land could never be developed for anything but green open park type uses.


I wrote the business plan to pitch the municipality.  Politics, union jobs, etc. got in the way of this chance and a worthwhile endeavor passed on. 


As on now one of the better management companies operates the place for the jurisdiction.