Valley Courses cutting deals or closing

Anybody else experiencing this in their area's?? I was wondering why I was getting e mails from our course offering free golf balls with a round and lots of other promotions. Guess I know now.
500 to 1000 courses may close by 2015 according to the National Golf Foundation. Wow!!!!




http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/05/15/...play-to-a.html


"Golf managers are getting creative as their industry tries to rebound from a recession that sent rounds and revenues into a sand trap.
For a sport that's not exactly cheap, both public and private courses in the Valley are using aggressive pricing, more features and better promotions to preserve rounds and memberships in a region where golfers' options abound.
The efforts seem to be working. Golfers are trickling back -- and they expect courses to keep fees low and offer good deals.
"Whether there's a recession or not, that's something they should have been doing all along," said Melissa Frenn, a Placerville resident playing recently at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course.
"There's so many courses now, they have to be more competitive and offer a good experience," added Patty Moser of Jackson, another of Frenn's foursome.
Course managers are listening.
"We're sitting here in the Valley with one in five people unemployed, and that puts some stress on the minds of golfers," said Aaron Hensley, general manager of Fresno's Riverside Golf Course and Valley Oaks Golf Course in Visalia for CourseCo, a management company. "They're being a little more cautious and thinking through their discretionary spending."
Memberships -- the traditional bailiwick of private country clubs -- are now promoted at many public courses to give frequent golfers better prices and priority tee times.
Sierra Golf Management, which runs public courses in Madera, Lemoore, Chowchilla and other communities, lowered green fees and created a "Golf Revolution" membership that lets golfers play all of its courses for a single monthly price.
"Golfers are much more sophisticated and demanding shoppers today than they were three years ago," said Jeff Christensen, Sierra Golf's owner. "They go online anticipating to find specials or discounts."
In Lindsay, the nine-hole municipal course partnered with the city's McDermont Fieldhouse to let members use both recreation sites for one monthly fee.
Without the dual memberships, "our numbers would probably be so low that there'd be no reason to stay open," said Bryan Rios, whose family manages the Lindsay course for the city

What's happened in the Valley reflects what golf has endured nationwide. The National Golf Foundation estimates that golfers played nearly 3 million fewer rounds of golf in 2009 than they did in 2008.
About 140 courses closed in the U.S. in 2009, and the National Golf Foundation predicts that 500 to 1,000 more may close by 2015.
Public courses aren't the only ones feeling the strain, said Travis Moore, the pro at Fresno's members-only San Joaquin Country Club.
"It's not just Fresno, not just California, but country clubs nationwide took a hit," Moore said.
Country clubs offer exclusivity and amenities, but their members are watching their wallets, too, said Steve Menchinella, general manager of Sunnyside Country Club in Fresno.
"Our membership slipped just like everyone else's," said Menchinella. "A country club is a luxury, and when the economy gets tight, people give up their luxuries."
At Sunnyside, memberships are on the upswing again, Menchinella said, thanks to aggressive recruitment drives, lower fees, a "buddy system" and non-equity memberships that don't include an ownership stake in the 100-year-old club.
Moore said San Joaquin had success with one-year "preview" memberships with deferred initiation fees. If the member decides to stay, the initiation fee comes due; it is forgiven if the member opts to leave.
The Valley's newest course, the public Ridge Creek Golf Course in Dinuba, took a bite out of other courses in the region when it opened less than two years ago.
Ridge Creek attracted golfers with its novelty, and unlike other Valley courses saw play increase in the recession. Its rounds per month are ahead of what officials expected at this point.
But it shows that Valley courses are competing for a finite number of golfers and rounds.
"Let's say the magic number [for a course to survive] is 4,000 rounds a month," said Sierra Golf's Christensen. If the sport's not growing, "you've got to compete and steal those rounds from somewhere else.""

I haven't played in a few years, but just going to the range at my local course lately, I've noticed how slow it is. Steady, but slow. I'm about 45 minutes south of the courses in the article.

The local TV news reported recently that Milwaukee county will be running their par-3 courses without on-site management. Green fees will be collected much like boat launches and parks where the person fills out an envelope and drops the fees in the envelope into a drop box. I have't played any Milwaukee county courses so I don't know how this works out in practice, but the county is budget cutting.

My wife is from Fresno and lives maybe 20mins East of that course....i might have to go there when I'm out there and play a round...

In regards to Milwaukee county parks, I have also heard of that budget cut as well but as of today everything is still running like norm. I've play quite a few this season and to be honest for the rate they charge, the greens aren't that great and I'm a milwaukee county resident discount card holder.

We lost Quail Ranch in Moreno Valley in little over a year ago. However, it dosen't look like the other courses in my area are hurting very much.

Our munis and privates went up this year.

Here in Central California the economy is still struggling. Very few jobs available and new construction, both industrial/commercial and residential is way down.

I don't have a point of reference because I've only lived here for 2 years but the courses in San Antonio are usually wide open.  Deals abound as well.  You can play a twilight 9 at any of the municipal courses for $10.  The 2 courses I have gravitated to have greens fees of $17 and $25 - both include cart and are seldom crowded.  We do have 1 course here that is the "most popular" of the public courses and it is still always mobbed.

I haven't seen any free golf ball deals or anything like that, though.

We had a 36-hole course right down the street that used to charge $125+ per round, and was packed to the brim during the economic good days.  Now they can't afford water to keep the course green.  They are going to close down 18 of the holes and build houses.  Lots of deals now...  I doubt I would have joined a club last year without a smoking deal.

Your article doesn't mention it by name, but Belmont CC is pretty cheap right now as well.  My brother is considering joining, and I'm egging him on to do it so I have a place to play every time I visit.

Down here is OC, it seems business as usual.  However, there was a course by me a few years ago that was a pricey 27 hole Jack Nicklaus designed resort style course until they blew up 11 of the holes for new homes.  They rebuilt 2 holes and now its a private 18 hole CC.  I always wondered what Jack thought of that.

San Antonio's Pecan Valley, which once hosted the PGA, went under a couple of years ago, and my favorite course, Old Orchard in Richmond TX was sold and replaced with an upscale housing development called... Old Orchard.  The only problem is that they cut down every tree except those at the development periphery.  Some "Orchard" that they left.

I live just outside of Detroit, and it seems like the courses here are always busy.  I avoid going on the weekends because I don't like waiting.  I know of two courses that closed, and one was because it was on one of the busiest stretches of road and it's a mall now.

There are a few municipal courses around here that are having some issues, but then they always have. As far as golf in Charlotte, NC goes its plenty busy. :) Local municipal course just rebuilt all of their greens to switch from A1 to Mini-verde..... Although there are a good number of deals, not all of them are all that cut rate. One particular gem does seem to be exhibiting some issues as they are offering some serious deals for the quality of the course. No discernible degradation of conditions, though.

All in all, aside from the few municipals that probably suffered a bit more during the recession, golf is as good as ever. :)