As a golf course owner, I can assure you that the cost of running a golf course is up dramatically. Even for member owned non-profit clubs. At nearly all clubs, labor is the largest single line item, in some cases almost 50% of total expenses. For some positions at my course, the starting wage is up almost 100% since the start of COVID. Other positions have not been affected as much, but they are up as well. The number of hours is also up, as the increase in rounds means more pro shop staff, more outside staff, and more restaurant servers. That's not an increase of thousands of dollars, it's easily hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars or certainly more than a million dollars for many clubs.
Insurance is up by 2X or 3X, property taxes are up, mower prices have doubled and you can now easily pay a hundred thousand dollars for a single mower. And there is NO used equipment at any price. Any project requiring outside contractors is up 50%. Sorry, but we are not immune from inflation and our heavy reliance on labor means we are are seeing more inflation than other industries.
If your private club has $5M in expenses, then a 20% increase overall is a million dollars. And 20% could be just one year's hit.
If your club was full, then the number of members hasn't changed, so clubs (even non-profit) can either cut services or raise fees, and nobody is looking to cut services right now. Quite the opposite, members are demanding better conditions to keep up with the club next door. If you divide $1M by 400 members, that's $2,500 a year per member.
Throw in a dining room renovation, increased maintenance, or an irrigation project and now you're talking real money.
Sorry to break it to you, but it's math.