Jason, do you think the Diablo Grande golf course above Patterson Ca will ever reopen? It seems the owner is holding the complex for some reason and not selling it. The thing that I found was that the course was never promoted and some people in the local town didn't know it existed.
Diablo Grande Golf Course in Diablo Grande, CA just notified it's residents that the golf course is closing on Oct 19, 2019
We all know the problem exists; but what are the solutions? Is golf just going away? It is such a great sport. I'm 75 and would like to continue to play into my late 80's, but my club keeps losing golf members and is in trouble. It will be interesting to see how things shake out,but I'm not ready to quit playing. What are some suggestions? There must be some solutions out there.
In upstate, NY the Town of Colonie municipal course was incredibly busy 25 years ago. You'd have to call 30 times non-stop to get a tee time. Today? The parking lot is only 1/4 full, nobody is on the driving range or practice green and you don't even need to call for a tee time. Show up anytime & you can pretty much choose between any of the four 9-hole courses. Of course for 3 non-residents to walk 9 holes plus a very small bucket to warm up cost us $70. Do that on a Saturday & a Sunday for a month & you shelled out $560. We enjoyed playing with our son who is home from college but we can really see why people don't play golf anymore. Tennis takes an hour, you get a great workout & oh yeah..... it's free!
Brookdale golf course in Tacoma, WA is closing at the end of September. 300+ homes will take it's place. Boo. :(
I live and play golf in Sweden during summertime and in Florida in the winter months. That way I get to see the problems of both.
The number one problem with the golf courses is the funding. In the Us someone expects to make money from them. In Sweden 95% of the courses are owned by the members. To become a member you have to give the club a non-interest loan or buy a share giving no dividends. We are now talking about app. 2-3000$. The average club has app. 1000 members. Most of Sweden have a golf season ranging from 25 to 30 weeks. The annual full member fees in the average club will be less than 1000$. Everything is a breakeven business. The green fees in an average Swedish golf Club is around 50$. In spite of the climate the Swedish courses are in just as good shape as what I see i Northern Florida. The management of the Club is chosen from the members on the AM and they hire the people to run the business on a day to day basis. And if you find the course in bad shape the board have to change the staff or raise the annual fee. The money is going nowhere else than to the course!
hälsningar, I like the idea of members owning the club. What happens when a member leaves or dies? Can it be passed on to their children?
Reduce your rates and also have resident rates. The cost to golf is ridiculous
The general economy has lessened the general publics desire to spend entertainment dollars that are being stretched. Another is the prime lands that courses occupy that become very attractive to developers for close urban property to subdivide and develop.
The golfing powers should promote the sport at the junior high school level. PGA, USGA etc. should put an effort to spend money and entice physical ed teachers to promote the sport among their students at the junior high level. Free rounds to both pe teachers to entice them to promote the sport and for students to go out and play. The young players of today will be the paying players of tomorrow benefiting the golf courses. Looking forward is the name of the game here.
The trouble is that 99% of the people who play golf don't have a clue about the business of golf.
