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Hanging It Up

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aloha_from_bradley

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It’s been over a year now since I posted about what Covid did to golf in the greater Phoenix valley. I’ve been playing golf since I was 10 years old. I’m now 35.

Golf has become prohibitively expensive. My local club has tripled in price over the last two years, both courses. Dog tracks have doubled. City courses are impossible to get tee times. You have to book 2 weeks in advance. Pace of play is near 5 hours, sometimes more. Still the same guys in joggers hitting 3 off the first tee claiming they shot a 74.

Equipment has increased at least 50%. Speccing a driver with a shaft that actually fits costs over a grand. I’m not sure how new golfers can even afford to play at this point? Definitely can’t figure out how all these people seem to be affording $200 to $300 rounds of golf every weekend. I make damn good money, but this has just gone too far. Not to mention $20+ for a bucket of range balls.

Once an every weekend affair has now become an every now and again splurge. I’m just not going to pay these prices. It’s literal insanity. Golf will always be around, but I’m not keeping a GHIN, and it will more than likely just be a recreational outing moving forward. Probably what it should have been all along.
 
Good luck.
 
Everyone seems to be quitting the game around here
 
where in the world are you ? I'm living in Denmark, and do not se a large price increase, other than on equipment.
 
Sounds pretty dismal. If it’s as you say, i surely understand. Hope ours an exaggeration from the over magnification of being angry/annoyed in s given moment.

Good luck
 
With trade in’s, no one should be paying full price.

No one says buy brand new when the resale market gives so many options.

Does AZ have winter rates much like FL does?
 
Best of luck buddy
 
Slot708 said:
Everyone seems to be quitting the game around here
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Anybody any GOOD are the ones I see quitting and for the reasons the OP stated. The fun is just gone.

I quit a few years ago. My group of guys that I played with at another course, they quit as well… all guys that shot in the 70’s. Couldn’t deal with having to wait for people to hit 3 shots each off the tee, run in the woods after each one to retee.

I almost started up again. Went down to the course, saw the crap that was teeing off, Everyone more concerned over their coolers on the carts, balls knifed across the putting green. I went home.
 
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MWard said:
With trade in’s, no one should be paying full price.

No one says buy brand new when the resale market gives so many options.

Does AZ have winter rates much like FL does?
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Yes and the Phx-Scottsdale area is insanely high during the winter.
 
I might do the same in your shoes. I'm a bit older (55) and have worked pretty hard to be a position where money isn't a big factor for me right now. I also live somewhere inexpensive (relatively speaking). Costs have gone up ridiculously here as well, but they are still lower than most places. Where you live........sheesh, not cheap for sure.

I do expect the golf "boom" to burn down a little in the future. Things tend to run in cycles and the overcrowded courses + cost will drive many people away. Further professional golf and the PGA/LIV fiasco seems to be doing everything they can to drive people away. I see opportunities for you to get back into it in the future if you choose to......though many people will pick up new hobbies and never return. It's a shame.
 
Maybe the pickleball boom (tennis for babies but for adults, according to a recent commercial I saw) will pull people away from the course.
 
I feel you OP. The costs in Pheonix have spiraled even more than the rest of the country. Between snowbirds and golf trips, there is so much demand that courses don't feel any need to cater to the local golfer as much.

We moved our annual golf trip from PHX to Mexico. We've been going on a trip for about 25 years. We did Myrtle for years before switching to PHX after MB went downhill. A few of the guys moved out there which influenced the decision. But the costs this year were going to be insane compared to what we'd paid in the past. And to your point, they say all the courses are packed - so it's paying a premium and a 5 hour round.

We see it less to an extent in DFW. Weekend prices have shot up 50%+ since the pandemic. But demand remains strong. It's a scramble for tee times even at courses that charge the highest rates. We regularly drive 30-40 miles for a decent rate at a good track.

Hopefully demand will soften up some.
 
Hawk said:
Honestly, I'd do the same thing in your shoes. Maybe build an indoor setup?
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It’s funny that indoor golf hasn’t been ruined. And I think it’s because you have a time limit and it is expensive if you eat and drink there. Top Golf aside… that’s not for golfers. Indoor golf places I see people who are there to work on their games … nobody is in their way,
 
Typhoon said:
It’s funny that indoor golf hasn’t been ruined. And I think it’s because you have a time limit and it is expensive if you eat and drink there. Top Golf aside… that’s not for golfers. Indoor golf places I see people who are there to work on their games … nobody is in their way,
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Yea, when you look at the amount of time you can reasonably use an at-home build (and how many years you can get out of one), it starts to make some sense. The golfertainment concept is definitely another thing altogether like you said.
 
Man, you make it sound depressing. You have to do what suits you best but have you considered alternatives? Instead of playing every weekend and fighting the snow birds and retirees maybe heading out of town once a month and playing somewhere else for the weekend? Or are the prices similar all over in your area?

Maybe consider changing your location from Phoenix to another area or state?

I know I haven't played much golf lately but that's because my girl's been out of town. She's fixing to come back and we'll be hitting the course when weather allows on the weekend. And, while there may be 4 1/2 - 5 hour rounds, we're not in a hurry and don't have anything else to do anyway besides hang out on the course and have a good time. (It's nice not having kids at home anymore) :D

Oh yeah, forgot to add - if you're an equipment hound and change clubs a lot then it could get pricey but that would maybe be offset by trading in relatively new clubs for relatively new clubs and it would all come out in the wash. I don't do that because I'm always afraid that I'd be on the losing end of club trade-ins.
 
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As a recent retiree, I learned to play during the "off hours" when it is less busy. I usually avoid busy weekends and find something else to do.
I'll also play when it is too hot or cold for the casual golfer. During the summer I'll play through while other golfers take a needed rest for few minutes in the shade.

Now that I've learned to play, I may be busy for few years doing day trips in New England to explore courses with historical significance.
Many have seen better days, but so have I!

I've managed to get in four rounds this year, two in January and two in February. The first one in January was a great round to start the year!
 
The club I belong to charges $250/mth for unlimited golf, along with a whole host over other amenities (and I go to the facility pretty much every day). If I had to pay green fees I would only be able to play about once a week as they have really gone up in my area.

@aloha_from_bradley What about during the offseason, could you play then?
 
Typhoon said:
It’s funny that indoor golf hasn’t been ruined. And I think it’s because you have a time limit and it is expensive if you eat and drink there. Top Golf aside… that’s not for golfers. Indoor golf places I see people who are there to work on their games … nobody is in their way,
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Screen golf is the future….
 
The Covid Pandemic, the supply issues that ensued and the inflation caused by the supply issues and increased demand to play golf has led to a bunch of changes in the golf industry.

At our course when Covid hit we went to single riders in golf carts. That meant more use per cart which led to an accelerated wear rate. We had to buy new carts a year and a half earlier than the previous fleet and had to order them a year in advance just to secure a spot in the production schedule. The new carts have lithium batteries and the total cost for a fleet of 60 carts was just a little over $500,000. Twice what the previous carts cost 3 years earlier.

Fuel prices increased. Fertilizer and other golf course chemicals tripled or quadrupled in price in one year. Wage inflation occurred.

Rounds of golf increased some and revenue rose, but not fast enough to offset the higher unbudgeted costs. Prices for a round of golf had to increase the following year to try and keep up with the pace of the cost increases.

In Metro markets there was probably an even greater influx of new or returning golfers than we saw in our more rural area.

In an area like Phoenix which has a fair amount of winter visitors and second homes many people decided to ride out the pandemic there instead of going back home, especially since remote work became more widely accepted. All of which likely contributed to even more demand.

Now that return to office policies are being enacted some of that demand to play golf is starting to recede. Equipment supply constraints are easing. Our Pro Shop can order and get stuff fairly quickly again. The racks for golf balls are back to being fully stocked.

The demand for golf simulators and home launch monitors is growing. Fueled by the availability of cost effective high quality and functional units for both business and personal use.

It’s not just in the areas with cold or rainy seasons that preclude outdoor golf to a specific golfing season either. Some courses in the South with a year round golfing season are now reporting that the rounds of simulator golf are fast approaching equaling the number of regular outdoor rounds.

There have been a lot of changes in the last three years and it will be interesting to see how things evolve going forward.
 
MWard said:
With trade in’s, no one should be paying full price.

No one says buy brand new when the resale market gives so many options.

Does AZ have winter rates much like FL does?
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Cant remember the last time I paid full price for equipment.

Also, who is buy $1k drivers?
 
My area sees a lot of traffic, nothing like the Phoenix area but we are busy year round. That being said I can still walk on most courses after 2p and play a mid week twilight round for less than $30. Obviously that doesn’t work for everyone, but I gotta think there are opportunities out there.

As for equipment costs, don’t believe the marketing. Pay $1k for the driver that fits you and then play it for 5 years. I’ve used the rotation method, one year it will be driver, next irons, next fairways etc. helps keep the bag fresh and costs spread out.
 
Browndog said:
Some courses in the South with a year round golfing season are now reporting that the rounds of simulator golf are fast approaching equaling the number of regular outdoor rounds.
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Is there a link to this data? Our information is vastly different.
 
Hard to read the OP, sorry that it's that way. The pandemic messed a whole bunch of things up, and golf, while taking off for the industry folks in sales and new players, the game itself didn't quite get learnt by the influx of new players as those of who started beforehand.

No one knows pace of play, etiquette, rules, decency, patience, nothing. & I don't see courses doing anything about it except filling tee sheets and maxing income.
 
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