I never post but read a lot of posts, so here goes. I'm 51, play in a small town, 12,000 people county, and board member of my course. Our course is like several have described, we could be the poster child for golf course problems. We are far and away the nicest and most challenging course in our county and one of the nicest 9 hole courses in NW Iowa. But we are old, white, and I would wager like a lot of clubs with a membership make up like ours, failing. A club house that was over sized when it was originally built and now with shrinking membership, falling apart. We can't afford to maintain it and because over the years the members didn't want to raise dues the debt is out of control. It's always easier to just "put it on the note" and pretend things will get better next year, next year never comes.
I voted economy, real wages haven't increased in years and younger people have very little extra cash for golf. My second vote would be image, the snob attitudes, they permiate every private club, we joke about the snobs at our course by calling it Bushwood, and they never get it. JMHO