Over the Green

The closing of golf courses in the U.S. is almost a daily occurrence and private courses it’s no secret are having financial troubles as members drop out and prospective members are few and far between. The reasons are well recorded but the bottom line is private golf clubs are having a tough time as revenue shrinks.
The National Golf Foundation reports at the end of 2009 the number of golf facilities dropped to 15,979 a loss of 90 in twelve months and the fourth consecutive year of losses. Combine this with a decline in the number of golfers and its no wonder all courses, public and private, are looking for ways to increase revenues.

Private courses now have a new option to bring in more money. They can signup with a year and a half old service from Boxgroove.com that sells access to private courses to the public, courses normally not available for non-member play. For a service charge ($49 annually or $19.95 per tee time) non-member golfers can get a tee time at one of roughly 150 participating private clubs nationwide. Of course the non-member has to pay the course’s guest rate which can be as much as triple a public course’s fee but he gains access to links otherwise off limits. Tee time availability is at the discretion the clubs so don’t plan on your group teeing it up at 10:00 on Saturday morning but a Boxgroove.com user may request a specific time if those offered don’t fit his schedule.

The biggest question though is why a private club would open its facilities to outsiders? The answer is of course added revenue plus showing off the facility to people who conceivably could become members at some point in the future. However, everyone acknowledges hard time in the golf course business won’t be over any time soon so one can reasonably expect more clubs to sign up with Boxgroove.com in the coming months.

At last…the end of the 2010 season. Well not really the end, but close enough. The golf world is ready to get on with the new year – new season.

On the PGA Tour the number one ranked golfer was a no-show for the first three months, retained his top ranking while playing mediocre at best with no wins and just two top tens. The world’s number two was diagnosed with a debilitating disease, won the Masters and a few youngsters entered the winners circle.

The LPGA Tour despite losing one-third of their scheduled tournaments over the last two years, having the top player quit-the second in two years-and faced with increasing disinterest from American fans did get a big sponsorship from Wegman’s Supermarkets for the LPGA Championship and finally gets an event in Florida – the Tour Championship this Dec. at Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem characterized 2010 as “interesting” and “eventful” while LPGA Tour commissioner Michael Whan, as reported on GolfWeek.com, “came in 2010 with significant fear.”

It certainly was an interesting year and no doubt there’s still fear in some quarters.

Private golf clubs are feeling the pinch from the economic hard times faced by members and prospective members with the concensus seemingly being private clubs will survive but that segment will never be the same again. This could also be said for the high-end resort courses however it’s better than evenmoney as business people feel fewer financial constraints (business will eventually improve!), entertaining and travel the biggest drivers of resort golf will return.

Across the board a lot of courses have gone out of business and others while still operating are in bankruptcy. It goes without saying every non-private course is looking hard to cut costs and grab a bigger share of what rounds are being played. The numbers from the National Golf Foundation, which track this kind of thing, are a lagging indicator but show a continued shrinkage of the number of courses.

According to the NGF at the end of 2009 there were 15,979 golf facilities broken down as 11,637 public and 4,342 private. During the year 139.5 courses closed (they calculate everything in 18-hole equivalents) and 49.5 opened for a net decrease of 90 courses. That’s the fourth year in a row the number of courses has gone down. It’s difficult to tell where the bottom is but it is clear there is still an over supply of golf facilities so more golf courses will close and there will be another net loss of golf courses in 2010. One industry veteran figures even after the declines of the last four years there are still 20% to 25% too many golf courses.

A bright spot though is with the long awaited upturn in housing construction perhaps on the horizon, residentail development golf course construction could get a boost. At one time developers felt all they had to do was build a course, stake some lots and the rest was easy and profitable. This part of the industry though will take a few more years to be truly healthly, just like the overall housing business. When residental developments with golf courses as an amenity are started again they are going to need a new business model to sell houses and it probably won’t be at the inflated inflated “golf course frontage” prices of the past 20 years.

Finally and continuing the trend of the of the last several years, the number of rounds played are down. It is significant the loss of players and therefore rounds played has continued and seems to be accelerating. The loss of players – over 5% in 2009 – is bad news not only for golf courses but also for club manufacturers, golf tourism and any of the allied businesses.

So on balance, a lot of golf people will be glad to see the end of 2010 even accepting the old saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Golf needs a big change. Increase the number of players and everything will take care of itself.

Kyle Phillips has worked mostly in Europe

If one thinks about the greatest golf course architects of the modern era the list would probably contain names such as Doak, Dye, Fazio, Hills, Jones and Jones II and plus perhaps players turned architect like Palmer, Nicklaus and Norman.

However there’s one more name which should be included, Californian Kyle Phillips. Who is Kyle Phillips, you say? American golfers are not familiar with the name nor the courses Phillips has to his credit but the list is impressive…it’s just most of them are outside the U.S. MORE…

Nicklaus goes into travel business
NicklausTravel.com is the latest aid for golfers wanting to play one of 130 selected Jack Nicklaus designed courses around the world. Not only may one reserve tee times but also hotel accommodations.

Etonic’s new Stabilizer shoe
Etonic has brought out their new Stabilizer golf shoe which is both lighter and more comfortable than previous versions according to the company. Using Outlast®, a NASA-engineered material, in the liner reduces heat and moisture by over 40 percent says Etonic.

USAToday paints a dismal picture
Jon Swartz writing in USAToday August 3, says golf is in sad shape and getting worse. He cites dropping participation and of course the recession as primary causes. Less money, fewer players is not a pretty picture. The article has several statistics pointing to a downward spiral in both high-end public access courses and private clubs. Residential real estate on golf courses has taken a massive hit and Swartz tells of course closings, bankruptcies or private clubs going public. Here’s link to the complete story.

Tour Edge Backdraft GT
Tour Edge Golf brings a new entry into the high contrast putter category with the Backdraft GT+ putter featuring a white club head and jumbo-sized grip. The new white putter head increases visual contrast helping the player to focus more on alignment. The Backdraft GT+ comes at a very attractive price of $49.99.

The economy’s slowdown, family considerations, work and other time and monetary
constraints are cited for the falling numbers of participants.

There has been no surge of players taking up golf and sticking with it as was forecast by some pundits a few years ago. MORE…

The British Open at St. Andrews last week showed the future of golf; bump and run rather than hop and stop. In general terms, the Scots, the English and Irish think of the game as being played on the ground and Americans think of it as being played through the air.

The answer to why is easy and on display for four days in Scotland. When golf is played on a course where the turf is firm and the wind blows, the best way to hit it close comes from being able to control distance through the proper trajectory. Firm turf and high winds mean hitting the ball up in the air makes it difficult if not impossible to control distance. As anyone who has played golf in West Texas knows the wind may hurt or even sometimes help a shot but always it magnifies the slightest miss hit or incorrect line often with very bad results. When the ball lands on firm greens it tends to bounce and roll, not stop and certainly not stop and suck back. There is no one from West Texas who is a high ball hitter.
More…

Bobby Jones described Pinehurst as, “the St. Andrews of United States golf,” and the best known venue in this small North Carolina village is Pinehurst Resort, home to Donald Ross’ famous Course No. 2.

No. 2 has been the site for many epic golf battles and for more than 100 years host to the North-South Championship, the second most prestigious amateur event after the U.S. Open. Jones, Nelson, Snead, Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus and virtually every other member of the Hall of Fame competed over the Ross layout while in modern times there is the memory of Payne Stewart’s emotional 1999 U.S. Open victory four months before his death.

Ross lived in the Village of Pinehurst and considered No. 2 his favorite course continuing to tweak and tinker the design from its opening in 1907 until the end of his life in 1948. MORE…

“Clubs must change. Some will last, but others will not.”
By CAROLYN MCCOOL
Today there are programs for young men and women who wish careers in golf however in even the recent past the pathway to being a golf professional was not always as clear and certainly today’s career seekers have better resources available. Consequently many golf professional’s lives make wonderful stories and the life of Gene Mattare, director of golf at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Penn., is one of them.

Mattare’s professional life serves as encouragement to those starting out as well as producing a smile of satisfaction from others who have traveled similar pathways in a profession they love and would choose again.

Growing up in Northern Virginia, Mattare lettered in golf at George Washington University and graduated in 1974 with a degree in psychology after a switch from pre-med. Four years after graduation having acquired some job experience he decided to make golf his career or at least try it for five years he reasoned. If he did not have a professional’s position by then, he would reevaluate. MORE…

Yesterday’s AP story concerning statements by Proctor & Gamble chief executive officer Bob McDonald to the effect their Gillette division won’t be using Tiger Woods as a spokesman any time soon, if ever again, prompted a question in my mind about some of the other high profile business deals in which Woods has an interest.

At the top of the list are the three residential real estate developments Woods has a contract to design golf courses; one in Dubai, one in North Carolina and one in Mexico.

Starting in Dubai, the course is reportedly fully designed and engineered but only construction of the first nine has been completed. The world wide real estate meltdown has postponed the Dubai Properties Group development although an interview on Bloomberg.com with the CEO indicates there are no immediate plans to finish either the course or the development.

The High Carolina development, which is part of the Cliffs Communities company and the site of another Woods design, is looking for funding along with the other Cliffs properties. The search is centering on residents and propertiy owners says the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times. “Cliffs Communities is trying to raise $60 to $100 million, and it has sent letters to its members (an estimated 2,400 at six different developments in North and South Carolina, including High Carolina, where Tiger Woods is building a golf course) to see if they would like to contribute.”

The newest Woods contracted course is an hour south of San Diego and named Punta Brava. The San Diego Union-Tribune says ground breaking will be in 2010 with a 2012 opening, two years later than originally projected with a long permitting process blamed.

So Woods may be out of sight but the courses he is contracted to design are not looking especially healthy either.

Finally, Accenture Plc, who was among the first to fire Woods after the revelations of his misconduct has emphatically stated they will not rehire him, now or in the future. Of course, it’s only a coincidence this came to light after Woods chose to use last Friday, day three of the Accenture March Play Championship, to make his televised appearance thus upstaging all the tournament news for the day and the week.

By Carolyn McCool

The first rule of golf is, “play it as it lies.” This rule is true in the golf business as well as the game, especially today. Change is a constant in life, but roller coaster changes appear to be the norm for the golf industry, at least for a while. The economy and the golfer’s time are the factors determining if or will he or she tee it up.

“The demographics of golf are changing, especially age wise and use wise,” cites Gene Mattare, Director of Golf at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Penn., site of last year’s U.S. Women’s Open. “The economy is driving much of it. The consumer is rethinking how he or she will spend money and if golf membership will be something to be included in that money.” MORE…