Vital Signs, september 20, 2013

     A million gallons -- that’s how much water each of the 124 golf courses in California’s Coachella Valley uses, on average, every day. The courses are literally sucking the valley dry, according to an in-depth report on water use by the Desert Sun. To keep their turf lush and green, the valley’s courses consume roughly one-quarter of the water pumped from local wells, and the newspaper says their voracious water use is “contributing significantly to declines in groundwater levels and posing long-term dilemmas for public officials charged with overseeing the water supply.” Believe it or not, today only 19 courses in the valley use treated water. Eventually, local water-district officials hope to provide reclaimed water (or water from the Colorado River) to 102 courses, but so far the process has been painfully slow. Can the conversion be done before the area’s residents decide that other thirsts are more important?

     More than 1,400 U.S. golf facilities have closed since 2001, and, as one might guess, the dearly departed are mostly nine-hole daily-fee courses that charged “affordable” rates. Premium-priced public spreads, tracks that anchor private clubs, and courses that are part of golf communities have higher survival rates, according to an analysis by the National Golf Foundation. In fact, private clubs, which the NGF says constitute one-quarter of the nation’s existing stock, have, despite their well-documented troubles, so far represented only 8 percent of the total closures. The smaller, “affordable” courses are disproportionately biting the bullet, the NGF explains, as a result of price pressures that are trickling down from the top end of the market. As the high-end courses cut their greens fees to remain viable, the mid-priced courses are forced to follow suit, and then the weakest low-cost courses, desperately scrambling for the few remaining dollars in the market, are squeezed to extinction. In business school, it’s what they call “a vicious cycle.”

     Old Man Winter delayed the start of the 2013 golf season, and rainy days this spring and summer reduced the number of rounds that could be played at courses in many parts of the nation. Still, municipalities in three different U.S. regions are reporting results they can live with, and they may even have reason to be optimistic about 2014.
     -- This summer, especially in July, cash registers rang happily at Gypsum Creek Golf Course in Colorado’s Vail Valley. “July was the busiest month in the history of the golf course, in terms of both revenue and rounds played,” the course’s director of golf, Tom Buzbee, told the Vail Daily. Gypsum Creek was formerly the centerpiece of the private Cotton Ranch Golf Club, which the town of Gypsum purchased out of foreclosure in 2010. The course now offers some of the lowest rates in an area where golf is pricey, as its weekend greens fees top out at $54, cart included. Buzbee described 2012’s results as “good” and noted that “we exceeded all of them” in 2013.
     -- Capital improvements, some advertising, and significant budget cuts have improved the fortunes of the park district-owned golf courses in Springfield, Ohio. The president of the Springfield Golf Association believes that course conditions at the Reid and Snyder Park facilities have improved “vastly.” The properties’ pro thinks “we’ve turned the page and we’re headed in the right direction.” The courses still require subsidies, however, and the park district may eventually close one to save money. “We’re a little under where we’ve been, but we’ll see where we end up,” the park district’s director told the Springfield Sun News. “Nothing will be decided until we get through this season.”
     -- The municipal course in Conyers, Georgia appears to be on the verge of trading red ink for black. The number of rounds played at Cherokee Run Golf Course has increased from 10,000 in 2010-11 to roughly 18,000 in 2012-13, and the number of events booked in the property’s clubhouse has doubled. Over the same period, losses have been shaved from $1 million to $224,000. “The golf business is entertainment,” Conyers’ city manager told the Rockdale News. “When a family’s budget gets tight, the first thing to go is entertainment.” According to the newspaper, city officials believe that the course could become profitable “as early as this coming fiscal year.”

     Over the next three years, tourism officials in New Zealand plan to invest up to $2 million in marketing programs designed to attract golf travelers. The aim is to boost the amount of money currently spent by golf tourists, $145 million, to $223 million, an increase of more than 53 percent. “New Zealand is a distinctive but largely undiscovered destination for golf enthusiasts,” said a spokesman for Tourism New Zealand. Specifically, Tourism New Zealand intends to target golfers from Australia, North America, and China. It may also create “golf trails” on the nation’s north and south islands to make vacation planning easier.

     “Golf is developing strongly and gets more popular” in Vietnam, according to an Asian news service. Xinhua reports that the nation now has 31 courses and roughly 10,000 “regular” golfers.