When rounds played don’t increase but the number of golf facilities does, it puts pressure on course operators to maintain acceptable revenue levels. The consumer, however, has more affordable options. Golf course operators have been forced to market more aggressively and creatively, getting to know their customers better and becoming more involved in player development. New courses are being planned and opened at a much slower rate than during 2000. The number of 18-hole equivalent courses opened during 2003 – 171 – is the lowest since 1987. The industry needs to build golf courses less expensively and build them where they are needed, according to Golf 20/20.
An effective way to measure the development of golf courses in the United States is to look at 18-hole equivalent courses, as opposed to courses that might have nine holes or facilities that might have multiple courses. This analysis ensures consistency. Below are numbers for regulation, short courses and total courses, as well as overall development numbers.
Throughout the past three years, the percentage increase of new regulation and short courses has settled at a 20-year low rate. Competitiveness in the marketplace seems to be impacting types of new courses. The percentage of new courses that are public access (daily fee or municipal) declined from 80 percent in 2001 to 75 percent in 2002 and to 74 percent in 2003. GCN
Explore the September 2004 Issue
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