Public golf boom contunues despite construction slow down

Golf Course News, Dec 2001 by Saunders, Doug

Although golf course construction slowed in 2001, the trend towards public golf remained constant. According to the National Golf Foundation 72.5 percent of all facilities opened last year were daily-fee courses.

The continued popularity in the game, and the severe lack of quality public courses in many major population regions accounts for this steady figure. Large states such as California, Florida and Texas lead the way with new openings, and the trend towards public courses shows in the statistics. In Texas, all but three of the 37 courses opening in 2001 were public facilities, in Florida, 32 of 40 openings were public, and in California, 19 of 26 new openings were geared towards public play.

This trend has given golfers who aren't members of private clubs the enjoyment of playing on courses just as good as the ones behind the hedges and gates. It has also forced a distinct shift in the trends among golf course architects.

"Fifteen years ago 90 percent of the golf courses that I designed were for private golf clubs and today 70 percent of my work is on public courses," explained golfing great and course designer Jack Nicklaus at a recent course opening. "Muni golf used to be a $10 round at the park. But with the surge in affluent golfers that will pay $80 to $150 for green fees it is economically feasible to build quality courses for this market. Themodern golfer likes to travel and play avariety of courses, so I think this trend will continue," he said.

CALIFORNIA BOOM

While golf course development is contracting, the opportunity to build high-end public facilities near large, underserved metropolitan areas will continue to exist. The southern California region, for example, had been severely L.ider-served with daily-fee facilities. Last year alone, eight such courses opened throughout the region.

One facility, Lost Canyons, boasts two courses and is part of a master plan with hotels.

"Our initial studies showed a need for public courses in the north Los Angeles area. Our goal is to provide a high-end resort that would service both the regional golfer as well as the corporate market," explained general manager Jay Colliatie.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, six courses opened and all projects have proved to be strong successes. The City of Alameda invested $8.1 million to completely renovate Monarch Bay, its 18-hole course, in order to attract the more affluent golfer from the San Francisco region.

"We have a great piece of property and have a large population to draw from. We have been able to keep rates low for our resident players and have a great course at $70 for the non-resident. We have done 135,000 rounds since March at our nine hole and 18 hole courses," said general manager Donald Zauner.

The reasons for building a dailyfee facility are varied. Golf can be the vehicle for real estate sales, to fill hotel rooms, and even save open space. One course, Roddy Ranch Golf Club in Antioch, Calif., served the latter purpose for rancher and rodeo legend Jack Roddy. Roddy built apublic course on 300 acres of rangeland and now sees more income from green fees than he ever saw from raising cattle. Roddy has developed his own management team in- house to guide the course, and the revenue has allowed him to hold on to the rest of his 2, 100-acre ranch.

"We use a very simple three part approach here," said director of golf Kevin Fitzgerald. "We offer to the public a quality product, affordable rates, and the best customer service possible. Our numbers have shown to us that it is an effective strategy."