Source: The Arizona Republic
As development transformed farmland to residential property along the Baseline corridor in south Phoenix, it was inevitable that golf would follow.
But with land prices up, acreage down and the golf industry edgy over slipping revenue and stagnant participation numbers, city planners and golf officials say the likelihood of new courses cropping up in South Mountain Village are all but zero. If there is to be growth anywhere, it would be farther west, in Laveen.
The outlook is much the same in central Phoenix. Swaths of land that could accommodate new facilities are long gone. Aging courses face the prospect of sprucing up to keep golfers coming back.
Competition is fierce, and customers can be picky, said Dale Larsen, assistant director of the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department, which operates the Aguila Golf Course at 35th Avenue and Baseline Road.
"I'm not sure another golf course could survive," he said.
Ken Ehlen, head golf pro at the Bougainvillea Golf Club, 57th Avenue and Baseline, agrees.
"Golfers certainly have the upper hand," he said.
Aguila and Bougainvillea are two of five 18-hole courses along the Baseline corridor. Course managers in the area are digging in and hanging on, convinced that the allure of the game will bring golfers back.
Joseph Gaffney, course director at the Legacy Golf Resort, at Baseline and 32nd Street, said his course has slashed green fees to keep up with the competition, by about $20 a round.
"The bottom line is it comes down to price most of the time," he said.
Phoenix municipal courses also have suffered declining play, resulting in less money available for upkeep and improvements. Phoenix also has refrained from overseeding its fairways for the past three winters to conserve water, another step that has affected business.
But Larsen said the brown fairways don't affect conditions, "just the look," and said improvements are under way on some city courses.
Christian Spotts, 36, of Phoenix, a frequent golfer at Encanto Golf Course, said the trade-off is acceptable. "We live in the desert," he said. "I don't expect green fairways in the winter."
Jacqui Full, 47, is a former golf course superintendent who now sells maintenance equipment to courses. She says courses can save money on seed, water and labor by not overseeding, but must be prepared for the consequence of losing golfers who want "wall-to-wall green courses."
Larsen acknowledges that revenue has dropped from $5.4 million to $4.5 million over the past three years, but says those numbers have "much more to do with the many, many golf courses there are to play, rather than on overseeding."
Well-established, high-end courses also have been affected by the stiff competition and have been compelled to keep up or lose out.
The Arizona Biltmore and the Phoenix Country Club are among those that recently have revamped their courses, said Sean O'Malley director of course rating for the Arizona Golf Association.