Although the market for golf course construction is flat, it remains challenging for many, according to speakers at the Golf Course Builders Association of America’s summer meeting in Dearborn, Mich., Aug. 6-10.
|
|
Greg Nathan, vice president of the National Golf Foundation, shared some statistics about supply and demand in the golf market. Defining the market, there are 15,970 golf courses in the United States – 57 percent of them are daily fee, 28 percent are private and 15 percent are municipal facilities.
On the supply side, 36.5 new golf courses (18 hole equivalents) have opened so far this year, and there are 240 currently under construction. There are also 472.5 courses in the planning and preplanning phases of development. NGF is projecting 168 course renovations to be completed by the end of 2008 and 100 new golf courses, not including renovations, to open by year’s end. In 2007, there were 113 golf course openings – 38 percent of those are private, 57 percent are daily fee and 5 percent are munis. That same year, there were 121.5 closings, a decline from 146 in 2006.
“A lot of closures in 2007 were 9-hole mom-and-pop operations who accepted big money for their land,” Nathan says.
On the demand side, rounds (in millions) have remained stable:
• 498.1 in 2007;
• 501.3 in 2006;
• 499.6 in 2005;
• 499.7 in 2004;
• 495.0 in 2003;
• 502.4 in 2002; and
• 518.1 in 2001.
“The state of the industry … it’s flat,” Nathan says. “It’s a zero-sum game for manufacturers. However, golf tends to be the last [market segment of the economy] affected by a recession and the first to come back.”
From the owners’ perspective, Mike Tinkey, deputy chief executive officer of the National Golf Course Owners Association, relayed golf course owners’ top challenges: the economy, which affects rounds and revenue; property taxes; Americans with Disabilities Act regulations; and the environment, mainly water. Corporate spending and the number of golfers are the two biggest economic impacts for golf course owners. Providing a glimpse into multicourse ownership, Tinkey says there are 75 operators controlling 2,500 golf courses in the country.
Moving away from the big picture, Jim Moore, director of construction education for the USGA’s Green Section, discussed a topic smaller in scope and more geared to superintendents – the new TruFirm device that tests putting green firmness. The device is 1.68 inches in diameter, the same width as a golf ball, and features an accelerometer and a test hammer that’s connected to a handheld PC. The device measures, in inches, the depth of penetration on greens.
“In the past, there was no way to qualify what Mike Davis, [the USGA’s senior director of rules and competitions], said he wanted for green firmness during championships,” Moore says. “TruFirm allows for this. The device takes the subjectivity out of golfers’ thoughts about the firmness of greens. The device also will improve bunker sand firmness testing.”
At championships, the USGA will test green firmness before and after play.
And, unlike the Stimpmeter, which is cheap, allowing anyone to use and abuse it, the TruFirm testing device costs about $10,000, which will limit the number of those who will use – and abuse – it.
During the architects’ panel, the topic of bunkers arose. Bunkers add a big cost to golf course construction, so architects are designing golf courses with bunkers in mind that can be added to a course after it’s built. Owners’ objectives and the lay of the land are two drivers that steer or dictate the design of a golf course. So, it’s up to architects and builders to tell owners with such high expectations the truth about a course not looking so pristine when it opens and that it will take time to improve.
Arizona-based consultant Henry DeLozier of Global Golf Advisors started the session by suggesting builders reappraise their business situations because new golf development will continue to experience difficult times.
“Make your business more efficient,” DeLozier said. “Work a narrower scope by focusing on U.S. or broaden the scope by looking overseas because the U.S. market is weak. Make yourself known in development circles. It’s a great time to prepare for the next cycle.” GCI
