Golf courses dealing with declining play, but golfers can find bargains

With costs rising and fewer golfers walking the fairways, it is a challenging time to own or manage a golf course.

But for golfers, it might be the best of times.

While prices for most commodities have skyrocketed, the price of a round of golf has held steady for several years.

It's the rare golf course that doesn't offer some sort of special. A round of golf is probably on sale at some time of the day every day of the week somewhere.

Discounts and coupons that didn't used to appear until late in the season when play was slacking off are routine. Extra incentives, like weekend meals in clubhouse restaurants, or even a drawing for free airline tickets are being promoted by some area courses.

But the biggest benefit for golfers is the steady prices. A quick look at the greens fees at most area courses shows little change from four years ago. Some rates have actually dropped.

For example, Hawthorne Hills' rates for 18 holes have gone up $1 on weekends and $2 on weekdays since 2004.

Country Acres, in Kalida, charges the same as four years ago for 18 holes during the week and a dollar less for nine holes. Weekday and weekend rates at courses like The Oaks and the Delphos Country Club are the same as they were in 2004.

Golf at Sugar Creek has dropped its rates in every category, some by as much as $5, since four years ago.

"With the economy the way it is, golf courses are in a unique position where we can't raise prices," said Doug Spencer, who co-owns Prairie View golf course in Waynesfield with his brother Gary. "If we raise prices, people won't come."

Hawthorne Hills pro Matt Otto said, "The prices are about the same, which is amazing, because nothing else has stayed the same. When I got here in 2001, we had only one special, an after 3 o'clock special," he said.

The combination of a challenging economy, fewer golfers and high gas prices has affected golf courses across the country.

Golf had recession numbers long before the general economy. Millions of Americans have stopped playing golf or are playing fewer times a year. Companies have stopped sponsoring outings or have cut back on the size of them.

The National Golf Foundation states the number of Americans who play golf dropped from 30 million to 26 million between 2000 and 2006. The number of "core" golfers, who played eight times a year or more, declined from 17.7 million to 15 million.

Some area courses say they have experienced significant drop-offs.

"It's something we're really fighting with. We have seen rounds continue to decrease," Country Acres pro Greg Klausing said. "When I came here in 1998, we were doing roughly 32,000 to 35,000 rounds a year. Last year, we were about 18,000 to 19,000."

Family responsibilities, along with economics, has played a role in those numbers, Klausing said.

"With the economy the way it is, I think the biggest thing is that a lot of young family men, like myself, are working 60-70 hours a week and they have a hard time justifying to their wife and family that they're going to go play golf," he said.

"A lot of the younger retired guys are not playing golf four times a week, either. Some are getting a part-time job, they're involved with their community, their church, their grandkids."

Another factor that makes Lima and the surrounding area a highly competitive golf market is that the number of golf holes per person far exceeds the national average.

Matt Holtsberry, whose family owns Colonial Golfers Club and Lost Creek Country Club, says that is one of the biggest reasons golf course owners have had to become creative to try to attract customers.

"There are more courses and some courses that were lesser courses years ago have improved," he said. "There are so many courses that it is so competitive and people just keep cutting rates."

According to National Golf Foundation statistics, nationally there are 76 golf holes for every 100,000 people.  In Allen County, with a population of 105,000, there are 162 golf holes, plus a par-three course and an executive course.

The newest Allen County course, Golf at Sugar Creek, opened in 1999. But Lost Creek Country Club has gone public since then, which is a trend nationwide and in northwest Ohio for smaller private courses.

Heatherdowns in Toledo, the Fostoria Country Club and the Bellefontaine Country Club are some others that have joined the public ranks recently.

All that competition and flat greens fees put course operators under pressure in another way. Golfers expect the same level of experience they had in the past, and maintenance costs are rising.

"You just have to find creative ways to get more done with less. That's all you can do," Holtsberry said.

Spencer said Prairie View buys 600 to 800 gallons of gasoline a month and 300 gallons of diesel per month during the season for carts and to maintain its 18 holes. Fertilizer and insecticide costs are also rising.

He has even contacted government officials about the high cost of gasoline.

"I've written the governor and my congressman to try to get a handle on these gas prices because it kills us," Spencer said.

"I've had instances where people say it's too far to drive because of gasoline. I've lost a few league guys because of that. I've also had kind of the reverse effect. I've had some people from Uniopolis who usually went down to Bellefontaine and they've started coming out here more. But that's not as many as I'm losing," he said.

Maybe the only silver lining for course owners in higher gas prices is that they could keep some people close to home this summer.

"If there could be any plus to it, it would be that people don't travel as much and stay a little closer to home and play more golf," Holtsberry said.

Despite a challenging business climate, golf course operators are hoping for better days ahead.

"I think when the economy recovers, the golf business is going to boom again as a whole," Spencer said.

Klausing said, "It's still a great business to work in. You get to meet a lot of great people and you get to go to work in the sun most days."