Golf Course Bankrupt? Blame Tiger Woods

In this recent recession, some big investment banks were rescued from a mess that company spokespeople claimed they didn't need to be rescued from. Nevertheless, they were labeled as "too big to fail" and were pulled to safety on the public's dime.

Meanwhile, golf courses have been buckling under current economic conditions those aforementioned banks had a hand in creating. The last five years have not been kind to courses in the United States. But recent data from the National Golf Foundation (NGF) suggests golf facilities in general are holding their ground fairly well.

A preview of The NGF's Golf Facilities in the U.S. report, 2011 edition (which will be released in February) reveals course closures from 2006-2010 represent just 1.5 percent of courses overall. In 2010, the figure was less than half of one percent. These statistics prompted the NGF to state the following: "Considering the severity of the recession, one could argue that golf has held its ground reasonably well."

However, despite NGF's positive spin, the raw numbers still reveal a glaring issue: Every year since 2006, more golf courses have closed in the U.S. than have opened. For example, last year saw 107 18-hole courses bite the dust, while only 46 were born. But does the recession deserve all the blame?

Remember the days (late 1990's and early 2000's) when new courses were sprouting up like daisies? And these weren't shabby municipal tracks either - many were high-end daily fee courses that featured sharp grooming and sweet facilities. I remember one such place in my area - Pistol Creek Golf Club. It was a great course (see photo at top) with a good layout, awesome grooming and a dandy club house. It opened in 2001 and closed in 2005. Why?

If you're observant, you'll note that the year it closed (2005) is well before the current recession even started. Even 2006, which is when course closures began outpacing course openings in the U.S., was a full year before the effects of the subprime market started taking hold. So it's obvious golf courses have been suffering for a while - certainly longer than the current recession.

The NGF gives a clue as to why in the headline of their press release: "NGF 2010 Openings/Closures Summary - Market Correction of Supply/Demand Imbalance Continue." Simply put, they built too many damn courses for the number of golfers out there! So the next appropriate question would be; why?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it has something to do with Tiger Woods. Now I don't have any data to back this up, but imagine it's 1999 and you want to build a golf course. I'd give good odds that Tiger would be mentioned somewhere in your business plan or your pitch to the city council: "It's this Tiger Woods, man! He's changing the game!"

But did the golf industry over-estimate the impact of the Tiger phenomenon? Sure, he was good for the game, but perhaps his presence caused too many investors, architects and designers to jump on the bandwagon and simply overdo-it. Of course, this is all just speculation, but it seems entirely plausible.

So if the juggernaut that Tiger Woods once was compelled shiny new golf courses to be stacked upon the proverbial camel's back, then the recession was only the proverbial straw. Golf, after all, is a luxury. And luxurious things are usually the first to go when money gets tight. Still, losing only 1.5 percent of courses over the past 5 years isn't terrible. But it sends a clear message: "Market Correction of Supply/Demand Imbalance" is just a nice way of saying the golf industry is shrinking, not growing.

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