Is golf being killed?

When people say that, they may mean something else...like the game is changing or the original artistry of the game is going away.

Molten said:

I think golf is changing, not dying. Change isn't always bad and golf seems to be going strong here.

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Yes, it is going strong and gaining in areas, and falling off a cliff in others. Real estate seems to be the biggest driving factor in course closures.

Think of this; you own 150-175 acres of prime real estate. Someone offer you $15-20 million for it to turn into lots for a subdivision and the cost of running a course is doing nothing but escalating.

Most golf courses are built on some prime real estate worth lots o'money. It may not be going away, but it may become tougher to get access to play in the not distant future.

It's pretty ugly around here in all honesty. I played Thursday morning at a little par 3. We teed off at 9:20. We finished about noon, foursome walking. When we finished on this nice weather day, the owners truck was the only other vehicle in the parking lot. I was out Friday night and there wasn't anyone in front of nor behind us, this on one of the nicer full length courses. Played again today at 3pm. It is pretty hot and muggy today. Again on a full length course. There were maybe a dozen cars in the parking lot and again, as a twosome, we didn't have anyone within 3 holes of us in either direction the entire round.

The course we played today, they just aren't taking care of it. I doubt it'll be around next season, it's in BAD shape. It's never been a nice course but half of the greens have damage and bare spots. Most of the tee boxes are bare and straw covered. It's been really dry here and I wouldn't expect this course to water the fairways (if you can call them that), but they've let their greens die.

The next town over has a beautiful course that is usually packed (former country club, now public). The other course in town is owned by the city. It's not a bad course, it's actually one of the nicer ones around here. But there's hardly any play on it. I think it's mainly due to the other course in town only being about 10.00 more to play and being so much nicer. It's always in the paper about how much money it's losing and the city leadership debating on keeping it open. My dad actually bought a membership there. It includes green and cart fees and he paid 595.00 for it. The facility has a very nice grass range and practice area. I might have bought a membership there as well except it's 25 minutes from my house and the range isn't included in their price. They have a ball machine that takes tokens so you still have to buy range balls. It's about 10 minutes too far for me to seriously consider. I'd probably be about even though on the year if I would have got it, I play with dad there about every week. It's just a matter of time or having a city council that wants to trim losses before it's turned into farm land though. They did force the long time Head Pro to retire this year so that they didn't have to worry about his salary. He was the son of the former long time Head Pro there so that was a little sad.

The third nicest public course in the immediate area is up for sale. It wasn't even supposed to open this season but it has. I haven't been there so I don't know what kind of shape it's in.

We also had an open year round Driving Range that closed at the end of 2016. It had heated bays, a fully stocked pro shop, and several PGA Pros as instructors. An area Golf Pro had purchased it about 5 years ago. I'm thinking the purchase price must have been too high and he just couldn't make it. He now sells cars at a local car dealer.

So I'm glad to see a lot of replies saying that all is well in the golf world. It sure isn't here and at least half of the area courses have to be in some kind of financial peril. I think a lot of them are just trying to hold on just a day longer than the course 3 miles from them, knowing their business will improve if the other guy goes down first. It's pretty grim.

There was a big expansion of golf due to the Tiger effect. That's ended and golf is returning to more "normal" levels. That's all...

I think it is far from dying. A little correction from the gross growth there was, but long way from death. I'm sure it will cycle again but I don't see it ever really "dying".

jdlive said:

There was a big expansion of golf due to the Tiger effect. That's ended and golf is returning to more "normal" levels. That's all...

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That may be true but the last area course opened 20 years ago. Since then there have been several that have closed as well as almost all the driving ranges that aren't connected to courses. Around here the picture isn't great. No ones playing. Courses are empty at prime times. At noon on Thursday there was literally no one on the course we just came off of. Not a single golfer. Not peak time nor a top course, but I've never seen a course with no one on it before-except at closing or weather related times. It was really nice out.

jdlive said:

There was a big expansion of golf due to the Tiger effect. That's ended and golf is returning to more "normal" levels. That's all...

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The big expansion in golf course construction started well before Tiger hit the scene, starting in the mid 1980's.

Phil75070 said:

The big expansion in golf course construction started well before Tiger hit the scene, starting in the mid 1980's.

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Around here it was late 90s/early 2000s, but that wasn't really what I was referring to.

I'd say golf is doing well in Massachusetts but access remains an issue... just looking at numbers I'm sure they are doing well but the regular golfer has a tough go around here. We pay high greens fees for relative crap compared to other parts of the country and the best tracks are either 100+ or private and well guarded clubs.

I think golf is just fine. I believe most the ideology displayed that golf is in trouble is only in relation the great explosion influx which was not a norm and so nothing is really a fair comparison. I do think geography and demographics does have golf doing worse or better in different places. I do think that private CC's have taken the biggest hit. I think in part that is due to it no longer being a tax deduction for the big shots who were only big while it didn't come from their own deep pockets.

I get annoyed with the whole on going "whats wrong with golf and how can we fix it and grow the game" ideology that seems to dominate because of the descent back to normalcy after the great influx over expanded things which again is not a fair comparison. That idea is ridiculous because has been the same game for like ever. It was the same game before and the same during the influx and yet it still had a great influx so how can it be that there must be something wrong with it requiring any fixing? Nothing with that "exact same game" needed fixing then.

I also don't feel like some do that every household needs to have a golfer in it. Most people don't golf and most never did and most never will. Golf always required resources of time and money and was never the poor mans sport in that sense. Lack (be poor) in either one or both of those resources and you don't play golf.

And general interests for choices of recreation always change as well. That's just evolution of society. Golf will always change its popularity imo and will always head up or down.

rollin said:

I think golf is just fine. I believe most the ideology displayed that golf is in trouble is only in relation the great explosion influx which was not a norm and so nothing is really a fair comparison. I do think geography and demographics does have golf doing worse or better in different places. I do think that private CC's have taken the biggest hit. I think in part that is due to it no longer being a tax deduction for the big shots who were only big while it didn't come from their own deep pockets.

I get annoyed with the whole on going "whats wrong with golf and how can we fix it and grow the game" ideology that seems to dominate because of the descent back to normalcy after the great influx over expanded things which again is not a fair comparison. That idea is ridiculous because has been the same game for like ever. It was the same game before and the same during the influx and yet it still had a great influx so how can it be that there must be something wrong with it requiring any fixing? Nothing with that "exact same game" needed fixing then.

I also don't feel like some do that every household needs to have a golfer in it. Most people don't golf and most never did and most never will. Golf always required resources of time and money and was never the poor mans sport in that sense. Lack (be poor) in either one or both of those resources and you don't play golf.

And general interests for choices of recreation always change as well. That's just evolution of society. Golf will always change its popularity imo and will always head up or down.

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And this point is so full of irony since it was invented by some dirt-poor shepherd hitting rocks with a stick.

Golf will eventually be killed when the world comes to an end

Golf is strong in the Pacific Northwest.
Nothing is killing the game, not clubs, not balls, not instruction, not nothin' !

Their have been a lot of golf courses closing in the Myrtle Beach area the last few years, and 15-20 have been saved by Chinese investors who've bought them. The biggest change I'm seeing though, is the GOLF RETAIL STORE business is dying. The number of stores that have closed here in Myrtle Beach the last 8 years is amazing. Golf Dimensions and Golfsmith went bankrupt closing 5 stores in the area. Countless mom and pop stores also. On Long Island, the same thing. The only 2 I can think of on the entire Island are a PGASS in Westbury and (maybe?) a Golf Galaxy. I'm assuming the slack is being picked up by online sites and a few local "fitting shops". Does anyone else notice the same?

SC LEFTY said:

Their have been a lot of golf courses closing in the Myrtle Beach area the last few years, and 15-20 have been saved by Chinese investors who've bought them. The biggest change I'm seeing though, is the GOLF RETAIL STORE business is dying. The number of stores that have closed here in Myrtle Beach the last 8 years is amazing. Golf Dimensions and Golfsmith went bankrupt closing 5 stores in the area. Countless mom and pop stores also. On Long Island, the same thing. The only 2 I can think of on the entire Island are a PGASS in Westbury and (maybe?) a Golf Galaxy. I'm assuming the slack is being picked up by online sites and a few local "fitting shops". Does anyone else notice the same?

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similarly to the over expansion of courses, so too was all golf related things which would of course not exclude retail stores. And also just as almost anything else did the internet in general placed a hurting on brick/mortar retail including golf. As for mom/pop stores? Some of the same happened to them as well but then of course (also much like many other types of businesses) big box placed a hurting on mom/pop.

SC LEFTY said:

Their have been a lot of golf courses closing in the Myrtle Beach area the last few years, and 15-20 have been saved by Chinese investors who've bought them. The biggest change I'm seeing though, is the GOLF RETAIL STORE business is dying. The number of stores that have closed here in Myrtle Beach the last 8 years is amazing. Golf Dimensions and Golfsmith went bankrupt closing 5 stores in the area. Countless mom and pop stores also. On Long Island, the same thing. The only 2 I can think of on the entire Island are a PGASS in Westbury and (maybe?) a Golf Galaxy. I'm assuming the slack is being picked up by online sites and a few local "fitting shops". Does anyone else notice the same?

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Agreed... we only have one store left in the Boston area, Golfers Warehouse, and they're ok. We have a great mom and pops shop (Joe and Leighs) but since I moved it's about an hour to the shop so it takes a LOT to get me there.