Is Golf Dying in the USA?

[RickK]

Would not call it "dying" but it certainly is in decline for the number of rounds played each year. The economy in many areas is one of the reasons. Most who cannot afford to belong to a club are probably many of the same people who are impacted by the increased cost of living. Fuel costs have skyrocketed. Getting to and from the course as well as the outlay of cash to play...well some just cannot afford it. I also don't think the appeal is there for as many as it was not so many years ago. I have seen many courses that used to thrive fall onto hard times and some have disappeared all together. Our area overbuilt golf courses. One time there were so few the options for good golf were very limited and very costly. Upscale daily fee came into vogue and prices were high for golf. Now, many of those so called "upscale" daily fee courses are struggling and are not so upscale any more. I think it is cyclical and some day it will swing the other way again.

[jrode]

The problem with golf is that it's always been a sport for the upper class and it really hasn't changed its ways much to accomodate those with less money. Courses make obscene amounts of money on a yearly basis and still find it necessary to charge pretty hefty prices.

[golfguidemexico]

Im agree with Harold

[tjy355]

Courses make obscene amounts of money on a yearly basis and still find it necessary to charge pretty hefty prices.

Nonsense.

[tonyy]

It's a good thing for us youngins because the less people that play, the better chance we have of becoming pro! :p

[jrode]

Nonsense.

Nonsense? Or was that sarcasm?

[Treemagnet]

I don't think courses make lots of money, there is way to much overhead in running a course that I would be shocked to see much of a profit for most clubs. Golf Is'nt dying for me, I still love it and could golf 7 days a week.

[alf174]

Nonsense? Or was that sarcasm?

In the 80s and 90s it may have been true but the golf industry as a whole in the US is retracting, not growing. The number of courses closing is the same or greater than the number of openings; I even saw a few closed in the Myrtle Beach area.

[JessN16]

My first sport is bowling and that industry is about 10-20 years ahead of golf in terms of the "slowdown curve."

In bowling, we've found demographics and a general slowdown in the economy are most to blame. Whenever industrial jobs are lost, bowling suffers. While golf has a bit higher socioeconomic profile (although it's not as different as many people think), it hurts bowling more.

There is also the laziness factor. Competition from video games and other entertainment sources have left a lot of people at home on the couch. Someone else in this thread also mentioned the fact a lot of people don't want to beat their heads against a wall for a 105 every week.

Bowling's lineage (i.e., cost per game) has gone up from $1 or $1.50 in most places 15-20 years ago to $4 a line or more in some places. Golf has also increased its costs. Rising fuel prices and shrinking bank accounts make it harder to justify the expense. Also, families have put so much focus on their kids that parents feel like they're cheating the family if they take a night/Saturday "off" to do something that pleases them.

But one thing golf has against it that bowling does not is the glut of courses. Golf built a lot of courses, but too many of them were in the $40+ range in terms of greens fees. When I first moved to college in 1991, there were two courses in town I could ride 18 holes for less than $25 and could walk 18 for about a dollar per hole. Where I live today, there are four public courses nearby. One is an elite course, one a muni that thinks it's an elite, another muni that plays at a value rate and a semi-private that costs about what it should cost to play. There are no truly cheap places to play and the value muni is covered up in golfers every minute of the day.

It's my opinion that Americans have lost interest in doing anything that requires repetitive practice or an investment. They want to buy the latest equipment and shoot scores they feel should come automatically. I think that says something about society in general and what it says isn't good.

And by the way, it will get much worse before it gets better. Bowling has lost countless bowling centers and I expect golf to similarly contract. There are a couple of pretty nice courses that opened near me in economically viable areas that have since become housing tracts. One was an Arnold Palmer course.

Jess

[ganjagolfer]

i feel the corporate inroads into golf is sucking the life out of the game, a trend for over a hundred years when the game was co-opted from its rustic roots in scotland

my family is the developers of a game known as crolf, that is restoring the dignity to game. in short, its a course on the shores of lake champlain in vermont where the green is a cedar stake and when in its proximity, the golf ball is lifted for a croquet ball and aimed for the stake.

the game is environmentally sensitive as vermont meadows are mowed before the event as naturally occurring grasses are preserved and no fertilizers or herbicides or fungicides used in comparison to our modern golf courses which are toxic waste sites (do not drink the water at your local golf course).

there is a redemption in our world, this people leaving the toxic modern game of golf as it has come to be played. salvation will be when the new era of environmental golf takes hold

[RickK]

The problem with golf is that it's always been a sport for the upper class and it really hasn't changed its ways much to accomodate those with less money. Courses make obscene amounts of money on a yearly basis and still find it necessary to charge pretty hefty prices.

I have to disagree with you. Golf course closures are, and have been, happening all over the US. Even some of the older well established private clubs are struggling today due to the rising cost of just staying open.

I get emails almost ever week offering play on the weekend for less than $55 including cart and they give you free breakfast and free lunch plus free afternoon replays (space available). That is not a hefty price. You can play during the week for under $30 (same deal...cart/breakfast/lunch). Believe me, these courses are not making obscene profits. They are barely breaking even. You run a business to make money...not break even.

[Slim 11]

I don't guess I am adding much new but:

First reason for decline has to be cost. Golf is an expensive game. Sure, there are ways to save money, but it still puts a dent in the pocket book. It is particular hard to introduce kids to the game. I have 2 sons (12 and 6) that love to go out with me, but it is hard to drop the money on a round for them to run around and try to learn the game. Plus equipment, ya-da-ya-da. I do it, but not as often as I'd like to. And the range only holds their attention for so long.

THe second reason is time. Kids seem to be in to more organized activities than ever. And parents are expected to be there for everything. It wasn;t like that when I was a kid. My Dad came to a few baseball games and stuff, but half the time my activities were scheduled when he was at work, and I would ride my bike there. When did we start having to be at all this stuff. 60 people watching a tee ball game? I mean, really. And yet I do it. Mostly because everyone else is and my kid will guilt me about why wasn;t I there, Billy's dad was. Ugh. It's hard to find 4 or 5 hours to get away and play.

[kafka01]

I don't guess I am adding much new but:

I understand that driving a cart is often required and sometimes you arent even allowed to walk? So if costs is one of the biggest problem (for the people playing this sport) - why not get rid of the carts and start walking - thats for free. Our club has like 6 carts - most of them just stand around the whole day. My estimate is, that around 95% of all rounds played in our club are walked - and our course is VERY hilly. If i still want a cart - its 25€ for 18 holes, if i would have to pay this every time i play - nice for the golf club - not so nice for me, since it would make that game way more expensive.

[Slim 11]

I understand that driving a cart is often required and sometimes you arent even allowed to walk? So if costs is one of the biggest problem (for the people playing this sport) - why not get rid of the carts and start walking - thats for free. Our club has like 6 carts - most of them just stand around the whole day. My estimate is, that around 95% of all rounds played in our club are walked - and our course is VERY hilly. If i still want a cart - its 25€ for 18 holes, if i would have to pay this every time i play - nice for the golf club - not so nice for me, since it would make that game way more expensive.

Certainly an option for me, and I do walk on occasion. However, have you ever tried to walk a course (even an Executive) with a 6 and 12 year old. Not to mention when I take the wife. Egads!

[tjy355]

Nonsense? Or was that sarcasm?

Nonsense, meaning you made a statement for which you have no data to back.

[iQuest Golfer]

In my opinion:

Money is the number one reason...
Time is the second...

I belong to a country club but play 5-10 publics a year. Slow play on the publics and even at the club really bums me out. I can't spend 3-5 hours for 18 holes. So... I play more 9 hole rounds at times when the course isn't busy... early morning and evenings. But, time is money so the industry has got to figure that out.

I'm amazed at the cost of golf. The industry seems to be pricing the middle class out of the game. Even when I travel to Europe the cost of some courses that may have historical significance but surely would be called goat trails here in the states is outrageous.

Tom Kite recently was quoted in Golf Week that the game is too expensive.
There are going to be changes if golf is going to remain a sport with "access to all." I trust the innovation of all golfers will help solve the challenges the industry faces.

[scgolfer]

I dont think it dying, but its definitely on a decline in the last several years. I've only been playing golf for a couple of years, and cost is the main reason i don't, and cannot play more often. Cost associated with operating a course has gone way up as well, and this price gets passed a long. Im sure there are many other reasons. But for me if it was a little less expensive, i would definitely play more. But i still try to get out there some. You can still find some deals out there.

[alf174]

A golf buddy of mine works for a local ag firm (used to be Monsanto) and he was telling me that fertilizer prices are expected to be double next year; thats going to hurt courses real bad. Expect to see somewhat less-than-lush fairways next year.