Golf needs to cut prices to survive
One of my favorite aspects of my job as a teaching pro is that I provide a service to customers who are looking to have fun on their day off. People are usually in a good mood, and it makes my work environment very casual. The golf course is the place they want to be, not somewhere they have to be.
But in today’s economy, that’s a double–edged sword. Golf is a leisure activity, so it’s one of the first activities to go when times get tight. All across the economic spectrum, people have seen their net worth slashed--sometimes in half--over the last few months. These financial hits come on the heels of $4.50 per gallon gas here in California, which was when many weekend players started tightening their belts.
Sure, some areas of the industry have a slight buffer. The salaried employee who has a contract will be insulated for a time. Private clubs will still receive dues, though many will likely have members who will not be able to maintain their memberships.
Many areas of the industry have already seen a significant drop in revenue. The high-end daily-fee courses have seen their customer base dwindle, so the pro-shop owner is faced with fewer customers and the players who still come have less money to spend. Suppliers, food concessions and equipment manufacturers all have less demand for their products. Teaching professionals are not immune either. When people have less disposable income that means they have less to spend on something nonessential, like a golf lesson.
Less demand for products will, in theory, bring lower prices. We haven’t seen this in golf before. Until now, prices in golf have constantly moved upward, from equipment to green fees and everything in-between. Like those in the real-estate market, people in the game thought this upward trend would continue forever. I doubt that now. Golf must inevitably succumb to the market forces that govern every other industry.
Where do we go from here? Simply adding value and/or lowering prices will be the thing to do in order to save the game as we know it. If we in the golf industry dig in our heels, steadfastly clinging to the current pricing, then our fate is sealed. The playing field has changed, and it is our responsibility to recognize this and act accordingly. Lower prices will increase demand, and more people will come to the course, the pro shop, and, yes, the lesson tee. Until then, we’ll probably see the tee sheets a little emptier than usual.
Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher Roger Gunn is director of instruction at Tierra Rejada Golf Club in Moorpark, Calif.
Posted by: jasper stephens | Nov 24, 2008 2:05:17 PM
Finally someone in the who can see what is coming.Golf has become overly comfortable with all the sponsorship monies. The preponderance of ads for Viagra etc show where the sport is stuck. There must be effort made to open the sport to younger folks particulary young women without all the elitistism that seems to pervade it. It is after all a sport that has the good luck to have a field big enough for a clubhouse thats all.
There is very little joyous sponteneity in any of the aspects of the sport which has become a secondary function to the selling of equipment.The efficacy of which is arguable in game improvement after a certain point.
The teaching aspect needs to be revamped and made more interesting I have experienced several different teachers basically most of them seem somewhat rote in their approach.From the most basic, to the classes with all the gizmos.Its a job
The image projected has been elitist, Club fees, comfortable Buicks, but lacking potency,Viagra.
Good Luck
Posted by: Dana | Nov 24, 2008 2:55:01 PM
In the end, in anything, you get what you pay for!
Posted by: Dana | Nov 24, 2008 2:55:26 PM
In the end, in anything, you get what you pay for!
Posted by: M. McNeill | Nov 24, 2008 4:29:21 PM
Agreed, Golf Industry has to adjust their thinking.
I am sitting here at work today, about an hour from walking out the door. Its Texas and the weather isn't bad and I'm thinking about hitting the range but the thing that keeps popping in my head is "another $12 for practice...'we talkin' about practice'".
I'd just head to the chipping area, but they've renamed it "Short Game Improvement Area" and now charge $10 to access it.
Perhaps I'll just putt, until they put a parking meter on the club rack by the putting green.
Posted by: Jeff Smith | Nov 25, 2008 8:59:23 AM
Yeah, I went to the course right up from my house this past weekend, and they have actually increased their rates. I was shocked. For one, it's winter, the grass is dead and the greens roll like crap, but the economy also sucks. I asked the guy in the Pro Shop what the deal was, and he said that it was because business was down, so they were trying to make it up. Alright everybody, you heard it here first, Economics 101 from your friends at Oak Mountain Golf Course..... When demand goes down, do not lower your prices to increase demand, just charge more. Needless to say, I told the golf pro that he was an idiot and needed to enroll in school for a quick reminder on how to run a business, but I aslo told him that me and my dozen or so friends that played out there 2-3 times per week would be taking our business elsewhere
Posted by: Gary Thomas | Nov 25, 2008 5:36:11 PM
This has been happening to golf over the last few years. The game is returning to its elitist form of the 1920's. From the commisioner putting tournaments on the Golf Channel, that few people subcribe, to the price of tickets to tournaments that start around $200 apiece, golf is locking out any chance for young players to form an interest in golf.
A new set of irons used to cost around $200, A nice used set around $125, today a good set of irons run about $800. Nobody just starting to learn the game would pay that, which just leaves the over fifty crowd to buy items that expensive.
I'm over fifty, but have been building my own clubs (and friends) for about seven years. I'll golf on weekdays only and leave the high priced weekends to others.
With the economy in the bunker everyone in the industry needs to take a step back drop a new ball and lower prices on everything!
Posted by: Callawy | Nov 25, 2008 6:29:27 PM
Will Golf courses change to their orginial state. Farms
No body knows what the future will bring but I see the PGA in deep trouble over lack of sponsorship, Golf needs to be cheaper and shorter, no more 18 holes, just play 12 holes, this way people can play golf and then do something else through the day, women won't play golf for 5 hours, they get bored.
Posted by: rsolinski | Nov 26, 2008 9:00:09 AM
Finally an article from inside the industry that hit the nail on the head. Golf has been steadily pricing itself out of the leisure market for a long time but the fool's gold economy somehow managed to keep up. Much like the collapsed housing market, golf course builders, owners and designers kept piling on high end tracks. I sure do like them but even I can only afford to play them a few times a year. Affordable courses are mobbed in my area...affordable housing is still selling too...The McMansions and the big fee courses are succumbing to the downturn.
Ray
Posted by: Preser | Nov 26, 2008 10:06:52 AM
To Callawy,
Feel free to play 12 holes nobody will stop you if you leave after that. Some (most) of us love the game like it is. Yes some changes from the people in charge is needed. It's beginning. Look at how Eagle Golf is running things at their courses.
Posted by: Preser | Nov 26, 2008 10:07:22 AM
To Callawy,
Feel free to play 12 holes nobody will stop you if you leave after that. Some (most) of us love the game like it is. Yes some changes from the people in charge is needed. It's beginning. Look at how Eagle Golf is running things at their courses.
Posted by: Hurst | Nov 26, 2008 1:14:06 PM
Lowering rates on golf is not an answer I think the general public understands. If you want to have lousy course conditions, bad customer service and 5 hour rounds by all means go play a course that chops their rate. Courses can't give the PGA tour look when they cut their rates. The guy who wrote this article is out of touch with the industry. Go back to the range and give another lesson.
Posted by: jerry mieritz | Nov 30, 2008 12:15:54 PM
Golf has priced itself out of the market, just as pro-sports, bowling and other recreational activities. Lower prices will increase volume, better pay for maintenance labor will come with increase in cash flow, enforced restrictions on the number of players in a group, no mulligans after the first hole as so many do, quit emulating the "pro stuff", like lining up putts like Tiger Woods, hitting 2 balls to par 3's, fishing balls out of ponds with the extender and not really looking for your ball, but "just gone fishing". You guys need to come up with some other reasonable solutions to slow play, and cost, you have been "over priced" for years and reaped a "whirlwind" of profits, I have not enjoyed playing in years, I would just as soon hit my "shag ball" as play a round of golf at the current prices.
Posted by: DJ | Dec 1, 2008 3:32:06 PM
I haven't played since the end of September, at a desert course before the winter rates went into effect. Haven't even been to the range. I don't miss it. Matter of fact, I've bought a used guitar (and playing it, a lot) and just finished all my snow-season shopping. Hey Golf, that's life.
Posted by: Skier Rick | Dec 2, 2008 12:00:35 AM
Right on, Roger! Golf courses may charge too much for what they deliver. Lessons probably cost too much. Gear is expensive. But the real problem is, people don't feel they are getting their money's worth.
Many courses actively discourage participants with their policies and attitude, especially as these relate to beginners. And very few courses do a decent job of inviting newcomers to the sport.
On attitude: golf courses can be intimidating. Newcomers don't know the etiquette, the routines, what facilities are offered. Given golf's elite image, many beginners feel uncomfortable, unwelcome. Courses have to take people by the hand and walk them through it. Course rangers should serve as hosts. That would make for happier players and speed play.
Oh, and lighten up on the dress code. Would it really be so bad if men played in jeans, or women in sports tops? Is that going to offend or distract other players 200 feet away? Hasn't anyone in golf ever been to the beach—or the mall, for that matter?
Then there's the gear. Why not rent it out, cheap? Not that golf and skiing are directly comparable, but consider that ski areas stock thousands of sets of rental gear, most of it aimed at beginners. How many hybrid golf sets do courses have available for rent? What about shoes? The economics of such rentals are phenomenal, by the way.
Courses have to become much, much more accommodating if they want to bring more people in.
Are there any really easy golf courses, with relatively short holes and wide-open fairways, low rough, accommodating greens? Any courses designed specifically to help beginners feel comfortable and get better? Of course there are. But does anyone promote them to beginners?
Why are short, par-three courses called "executive courses?" Aren't these perfect for beginners, women and kids? Can we refer to these by a more broadly appealing name, please? The executives belong to private clubs, remember--they wouldn't be caught dead on an "executive" course.
Why not set aside a section of the range for beginners, so they don't get intimidated by better players (or get in their way)?
And that brings us to instruction. Most golf instructors have little apparent interest in beginners (or even 20-handicappers, for that matter). Ski instruction isn't perfect, but most ski areas have a team of beginner instructors--people who teach beginners exclusively, who enjoy teaching beginners. And they spend two to three hours on the hill with them.
Why not take golf instruction out on the course, and teach people how to play there? Make "course management" part of the instruction, as it is in skiing. Start 'em on the range and at the practice green, then give them a 9-hole tour, with pro advice on every shot. And charge them about $50 for the entire package, as in skiing. Beginners who get 30 minutes of "change your grip" for $50 would rather change their sport.
Make other services available at the course--massage, day spa, tennis, pool--so that all members of the family, even those who don't play, can come along for the day. (Country clubs have that much right.) Any courses offer daycare for women, so they can bring their kids? Putting green play areas for kids?
If golf really wants to bring more people in, and retain more newbies and existing players, there is no shortage of means to do so.
Posted by: Skier Rick | Dec 2, 2008 12:02:28 AM
Right on, Roger! Golf courses may charge too much for what they deliver. Lessons probably cost too much. Gear is expensive. But the real problem is, people don't feel they are getting their money's worth.
Many courses actively discourage participants with their policies and attitude, especially as these relate to beginners. And very few courses do a decent job of inviting newcomers to the sport.
On attitude: golf courses can be intimidating. Newcomers don't know the etiquette, the routines, what facilities are offered. Given golf's elite image, many beginners feel uncomfortable, unwelcome. Courses have to take people by the hand and walk them through it. Course rangers should serve as hosts. That would make for happier players and speed play.
Oh, and lighten up on the dress code. Would it really be so bad if men played in jeans, or women in sports tops? Is that going to offend or distract other players 200 feet away? Hasn't anyone in golf ever been to the beach—or the mall, for that matter?
Then there's the gear. Why not rent it out, cheap? Not that golf and skiing are directly comparable, but consider that ski areas stock thousands of sets of rental gear, most of it aimed at beginners. How many hybrid golf sets do courses have available for rent? What about shoes? The economics of such rentals are phenomenal, by the way.
Courses have to become much, much more accommodating if they want to bring more people in.
Are there any really easy golf courses, with relatively short holes and wide-open fairways, low rough, accommodating greens? Any courses designed specifically to help beginners feel comfortable and get better? Of course there are. But does anyone promote them to beginners?
Why are short, par-three courses called "executive courses?" Aren't these perfect for beginners, women and kids? Can we refer to these by a more broadly appealing name, please? The executives belong to private clubs, remember--they wouldn't be caught dead on an "executive" course.
Why not set aside a section of the range for beginners, so they don't get intimidated by better players (or get in their way)?
And that brings us to instruction. Most golf instructors have little apparent interest in beginners (or even 20-handicappers, for that matter). Ski instruction isn't perfect, but most ski areas have a team of beginner instructors--people who teach beginners exclusively, who enjoy teaching beginners. And they spend two to three hours on the hill with them.
Why not take golf instruction out on the course, and teach people how to play there? Make "course management" part of the instruction, as it is in skiing. Start 'em on the range and at the practice green, then give them a 9-hole tour, with pro advice on every shot. And charge them about $50 for the entire package, as in skiing. Beginners who get 30 minutes of "change your grip" for $50 would rather change their sport.
Make other services available at the course--massage, day spa, tennis, pool--so that all members of the family, even those who don't play, can come along for the day. (Country clubs have that much right.) Any courses offer daycare for women, so they can bring their kids? Putting green play areas for kids?
If golf really wants to bring more people in, and retain more newbies and existing players, there is no shortage of means to do so.
Posted by: Eamon Murphy | Dec 12, 2008 11:59:31 PM
I took up golf a few months ago at the age of 71 and I'm loving it. I play at the local public course. It's inexpensive and very informal. People are very friendly so I don't feel intimdated. The course is always busy. Must be a message there.