A changing landscape

Socioeconomic factors and public golf courses are putting pressure on private clubs to maintain memberships and grow their segment of the golf market.

Increased maintenance budgets and members' expectations are two considerable changes private clubs, such as Westfield Country Club in Westfield Center, Ohio, have experienced through the years.

Since 1999, there have been 1,272 public courses and 327.5 private courses (18-hole equivalents) opened, according to the National Golf Foundation. That makes private courses about 25 percent of the golf course market. And, as of early July, there were 96 private courses compared with 233.5 public courses under construction.

These numbers can lead one to question how private clubs have changed throughout the years and what challenges they face in the future.

Steve Cook, CGCS, MG, golf course manager at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., has been in the golf course management business for 20 years, 18 of which have been at private clubs. The main differences Cook has seen throughout the years at private clubs are the improved maintenance practices, increased golf course maintenance budgets and member expectations. Cook says the economy and how members are doing financially affect the club.

“When the members do well, the club does well,” he says.

However, the Internet and increased relocating and traveling that people do have changed the scene from years past.

There tends to be a waiting list at older, more established clubs, such as the Country Club of Little Rock, compared to younger clubs, which tend not to have waiting lists.

“The advantages of belonging to a neighborhood club that existed 20 or 30 years ago no longer exist,” Cook says. “It’s hard to find a fraternity of people that will stick together when times get tough. There aren’t as many emotional ties to clubs like years ago. Now, more of the ties to clubs are with business partners, and members of a club are less likely to be family members or neighbors.”

Cook, who has been at Oakland Hills for the past eight years, says the club needs revenue from guest fees and outings. The club generates about 50,000 rounds on two courses annually.

“I used to say that level of play isn’t good, but now I’m happy because it shows people want to play the course,” Cook says.

Oakland Hills also has mini-outings. Members can reserve 10 tee times so they can bring more than three guests at a time.

“I used to think that was bad, but it’s a healthy operation,” Cook says. “It isn’t like the ’90s when we had unlimited spending. We have to document where and how we spend and save money to justify our salaries.”

One thing private courses, such as Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., can provide golfers more easily than public courses is service.

Still, Cook says money is the reason why private clubs are so desirable among superintendents, even though they might be giving up job security.

“Upward mobility is different today than years ago,” he says. “There were not as many superintendents in the early ’80s with four-year degrees. Now, it’s tough to find a job. I have nothing against the last generation, but those guys were uneducated and went to the school of hard knocks and are moving out of the business now. This generation of superintendents, who have degrees, is staying longer at courses.”

A wider scope

The main change Tim O’Neill, CGCS, has seen throughout his career at a private club is increased member expectations. O’Neill, who is the 2005 president of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, has been the superintendent at the Country Club of Darien in Fairfield, Conn., for the past 24 years. He has seen the makeup of Darien change. Now it’s younger and more family oriented than it used to be, he says.

“When I came here, I thought this job was a stepping-stone position,” O’Neill says. “Although I’ve looked around from time to time, they’ve taken care of me and have given me the opportunity to improve the course year after year. I have the resources I need, which wasn’t always the case. Members realize good conditions cost money. They have a long-term stake in the club, and they’re motivated to see improvements.”

The club used to be owned by one person, and after O’Neill was at the club for about five years, the owner sold it to the members. Now there are several committees O’Neill participates in and communicates with.

“I’ve seen all kinds of people come and go,” he says. “There’s a wide range of expectations and opportunities. I had to adapt to a lot of different boards, leaders and green chairmen. It’s not the easiest part of the job, but I’ve done a good job handling those situations over the years.”

Another big change has been O’Neill’s responsibilities.

Private clubs are attractive to superintendents

Even though private clubs make up about 25 percent of the golf course market, they’re still attractive to many superintendents who view working at a private club as the ultimate job. Security and money are reasons many superintendents want to work at private clubs, according to Keith Ihms, CGCS, at the Country Club of Little Rock (Ark.). “You always feel like you can show off your talents, and you’re not worried about a management company coming in to change things,” Ihms says. “Superintendents at daily-fee courses don’t have the room for error that superintendents at private clubs do but deserve better.” Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas, where Ihms worked before Little Rock, is one example of superintendents’ desire to work at private clubs and the tight job market. Bent Tree received 105 résumés when Ihms left, he says. “The tenure at private clubs seems higher than at public courses because there aren’t as many ups and downs as daily-fee courses, partly because superintendents know the members at private clubs,” Ihms says. “If you stay in this business long enough, something bad will happened to you, whether it be from the weather or whatever,” he adds. “If you know the members, they’re more willing to give you a second chance than at a public daily-fee course. It’s easier to do something right at a private course than a public one. For example, a superintendent can explain to members at a club in Arkansas that they should stay off bentgrass greens for a few days because of heat stress. You can’t do that at a public course. Members have more of a long-term vision of the course at a private facility than at a public one. At a public course, all that matters is that golfer that day. It’s the bottom line at a public course. Members at a private course won’t let maintenance slide. They’ll spend the money if the club didn’t generate enough guest fees. That’s the luxury of working on a private course.” Professional development is another lure to a private course for superintendents, according to Ihms. “My club sends me to conferences,” he says. “Public courses sometimes don’t because of money, when big corporations struggle and can’t afford it.” GCN.

“There was a day when I jumped on a mower, but they’re paying me way too much money to be on a mower,” he says. “The business of golf and the private club is on everyone’s radar screen. Superintendents need to become more facility oriented and not just hunkered down in the maintenance of the golf course. A club needs to have a good pool, tennis courts and food-and-beverage operation. I need to look out for everything at the club, but it wasn’t always that way for me.”

Time crunch
Mark Jordan, CGCS, general manager of Westfield Country Club in Westfield Center, Ohio, also has spent the majority of his 25-year career at private clubs. One of the big changes he sees is the way golf courses are maintained. For example, lightweight mowing of greens was a new trend when Jordan interned at Elyria (Ohio) Country Club in the early ’80s, and now it’s common, he says. New equipment and customer needs also are considerable changes at private clubs, as well as what demands members’ time, which is considerably different than in years past.

“When I started out, people had more recreation time,” Jordan says. “Guys now have five hours to get in a round of golf and a bite to eat. Then they go off to kids’ soccer games or work. We have to be more family oriented and casual. As older members move out, we need junior programs and activities that are fun for kids.”

Another considerable change has been labor, which is the largest portion of a superintendent’s budget.

“We need good staffing levels to provide a high level of service,” Jordan says.

A PR guy
Keith Ihms, CGCS, at the Country Club of Little Rock (Ark.) has been in the industry for 25 years and says quality is the biggest concern of those in charge at private clubs.

“Clubs needed something new and different on a course, such as more fountains and ornamentals, things that aren’t related to the playability of the course,” he says. “There’s more focus on aesthetics. You have to spend more money, which means increased labor and the number of employees, to get that detailed work done.”

Ihms says members’ attitudes are different now than they used to be.

“They complain and nitpick more,” he says. “Younger members are looking at the playability more than the older members. However, members here are more laid back. They’re demanding but not in a ‘what have you done for me lately’ attitude.

“Nowadays, golfers appreciate what the superintendent does more than when I started 25 years ago,” he adds. “Now I’m more of a PR guy. The superintendent spends more time educating and communicating to members – because they’re spending so much money, they’re more interested in what the superintendent is doing.”

Ihms says he also spends money more wisely than he did years ago.

Keith Ihms

“I get more out of the money I spend,” he says. “At Bent Tree [Country Club in Dallas], we increased the budget every year because members wanted something different, but there had to be an understanding of why we were increasing the budget and what we were spending the money on.”

Hurdles
Even though private clubs have changed, there are still pressures on them to thrive.

“Good public courses will continue to put pressure on private clubs, but there will always be those who want to be part of the elite,” Cook says. “The thing we can provide more easily than public courses is service. Employees at private clubs know the names of the golfers, what they like to eat and drink, what table they like to sit at and what tee times they like. Name recognition is a huge thing.”

Cook says many older clubs are landlocked, which prevents them from expanding. He also says golf equipment has hurt the growth of the game.

“When people are hitting the ball 300 yards, you need more land,” he says. “Builders are developing further out from urban areas, and the cost to get to these courses is increasing.

“In today’s economy, not many people can plop down the money it takes to be a member at a private club,” he adds. “If someone plays 30 times a year, which is a decent amount for the average guy in one year, that guy can go to a public course, and it will cost him a lot less than joining a private club.”

O’Neill says private clubs will have their share of challenges, such as maintaining memberships.

“Here [at Darien] it’s not been a problem,” he says. “For the 24 years I’ve been here, we’ve had a waiting list. It may take 10 years to get into the club. It’s that way because the towns we live in have a lot of golfers, but there’s no place to build golf courses. However, this is not the norm in many parts of the country.”

At Westfield, which has 700 members, 500 have a relationship with the insurance company the club is affiliated with, and 200 are outside members. Jordan says that two years ago employee membership declined, so the club tried to attract outside members, who pay an initiation fee and full dues, by a word-of-mouth membership drive.

“There are very few clubs I know of that aren’t looking for members,” Jordan says.

Ihms says there tends to be a waiting list at older, established clubs; and at the younger clubs that are 20 to 25 years old and middle-of-the-road clubs, there doesn’t tend to be a waiting list. There also are many high-end daily-fee courses that compete with private clubs.

“People don’t have the luxury to play golf that often, so why would people spend that much money to join a private club when they can go to a nice, high-end daily-fee course and get treated like they’re at a private course?” Ihms asks. GCN