Full Answer
How much does it cost to maintain a golf course?
Hawaii is, on average, the most expensive state in which to maintain a course, at $1.44 million a year. That’s followed by tracks in the southwestern U.S., where the average yearly maintenance cost is $1.05 million. Because they have such a short season, courses in the north central states come in, on average, at a bargain $556,000.
What determines the cost of building a golf course?
Construction costs are also determined by the economic climate and industry status. Recently, with low interest rates and a lull in the building of golf courses, the market place is ripe for new developers to get excellent loans and very competitive bids from architects and construction companies.
How many acres do you need to build a golf course?
A 9-hole par-3 course can be built on as little as 65 acres, while an 18-hole pitch and putt require around 25 to 30 acres. Shorter courses require less land due to shorter fairways that can be narrower than a standard 18-hole golf course, thus saving on the cost to build a golf course.
How much does it cost to install a golf green?
The cost of greens can vary widely between $3/square foot and up to $60/square foot. The average-sized green on a professional tour is approximately 6,000 square feet. Links courses have larger greens than parkland courses, increasing the cost significantly. Depending on the size of the greens, these could cost between $300,000 and $900,000.
Is there money in owning a golf course?
Profitable golf courses are generally selling for six to eight times EBITDA, while courses that aren't profitable tend to sell at 0.8 to 1.4 times revenue.
How much money does it take annually to maintain a perfect golf course?
The cost to achieve the condition players expect — or will tolerate — ranges from about $500,000 a year for a daily-fee course to $1,000,000 a year for a private club, estimates Bob Randquist, chief operating officer of the Golf Course Superintendent's Association of America.
How much profit does a golf course make?
On an encouraging note, Sageworks' data show that even though golf courses have negative margins, they have strengthened steadily since 2008, when the average net profit margin was about -9%.
Is it hard to maintain a golf course?
Maintaining an average 18-hole golf course – which is larger than 70 football fields – takes work and lots of it. The average 18-hole course may also have dozens of bunkers, a few miles of cart paths and many other course features. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of work to maintain all the different components.
How much does a golf course spend on fertilizer?
Fertigation is becoming the way for golf courses to be able to fertilize the grounds in the most efficient and cost-effective way. Did you know that golf courses spend $25,000 to over $100,000 on fertilizer annually?
How many acres is a golf course?
150 acresAt the individual level, an average 18-hole golf course covers 150 acres, approximately 100 (67 percent) of which is maintained turfgrass. This area is predominantly comprised of rough (51 acres) and fairways (30 acres).
How do golf courses stay in business?
Ways To Raise Money For Your Golf Course. The most common income streams are green fees, membership fees, pro shop sales, and food and beverage sales. While increasing membership fees or green fees might seem like a good way to increase revenue, it might put off more golfers than the additional income earned.
Is golf Losing Popularity?
Golf is on the decline in America. That reality has finally smacked us in the face like a two-by-four. The number of core American golfers (those playing eight rounds or more per year) has fallen between three and 4.5 percent every year since 2006.
How long does it take to build a golf course?
The actual construction time for a golf course from ground -breaking to opening can be from one to two years, depending on the weather and amount of equipment used. But today it often takes an additional one to two years to obtain all of the permits and required approvals before construction can begin.
How often are golf greens mowed?
How often putting greens are mowed is dependent on staff size and budget, but grass type and weather also play a role. On average, greens are mowed at least five days per week, and in most cases six or seven days per week.
How often do golf courses spray?
To the casual observer, spraying greens every one or two weeks may appear to be overkill. However, short spray intervals allow superintendents to observe putting green performance throughout the season and apply products only at the appropriate time to maximize their efficacy.
How do they keep golf courses green?
Golf greens need plenty of sunflight and good airflow. When constructing the green, a bulldozer creates a 12-inch to 16-inch (30 to 40 cm) deep hole the size of the green. In the most advanced systems, this hole is completely lined with plastic, and then gravel, drainage pipes and sand are added.
How Much Land Does It Take To Build A Golf Course?
How much to build a golf course depends significantly on the cost of the land. An average 18-hole golf course requires approximately 140 and 180 acres, while a 9-hole course requires 70 and 100 acres. A 9-hole par-3 course can be built on as little as 65 acres, while an 18-hole pitch and putt require around 25 to 30 acres.
How Much Does It Cost To Build A Golf Course?
In 2001, Michigan State University found that the median cost to build a golf course was $14 million. But it varied between $7 and $25 million. It is difficult to provide an exact cost to the question, how much is it to build a golf course since there are many options and expenses.
FAQs
Owning a golf course can be quite profitable and rewarding if the construction costs can be kept low without sacrificing quality.
Why Investing in Your People Is So Important
It takes a village to run a successful business. This we know. But good people—people who care about the overall performance of your business—need to feel like they have a stake in the game. Courses that invest in the performance and happiness of their people have a competitive advantage over courses that strictly invest in capital upgrades.
Top 5 Reasons Why Golf Course Maintenance Labor Costs So Much
As we all know well, it’s expensive to attract and retain talent in the golf industry. Here are the top five reasons why:
What is Golf Course Maintenance?
Golf course maintenance is best defined as taking action to properly maintain and manage a golf course so that all resources work as expected for public use. It may include repairs, mowing, cart availability, aeration, pest management and extermination, to name a few.
How Much Does it Cost to Maintain A Golf Course?
Of course, before you decide on a maintenance plan for your golf course, it will be useful to understand the costs of the most common and essential maintenance actions.
Golf Course Maintenance Staff & Crew Breakdown
If you’re just starting out in the golfing industry and are hiring a crew from scratch, it’s important that you understand the roles of essential personnel. The average size of the maintenance team at a golf course is around 28 people (9 full-time, 16 part-time, 3 other).
What Are Common Golf Course Maintenance Tasks?
A lot goes into running and maintaining a successful golf course. A few of the most common—potentially daily—tasks for course upkeep include:
Benefits of Golf Course Maintenance
Most regular golfers look forward not only to playing, but to the tranquility of golf course scenery, as well as the benefits of belonging to a club (if you course offers club membership). To provide exclusive benefits for your members, however, you’ll need to perform routine maintenance and inspections.
How to Reduce Golf Course Maintenance Costs
It’s probably clear by now that you shouldn’t skimp on proper maintenance if you want to establish a successful golf course. That said, you should absolutely consider ways to reduce your overall maintenance costs. Here are a few simple ways to ensure a great golfing experience for your guests at a lower cost to you:
Golf Championships on SMGD courses
At Close House – Colt Course. Sept 2017. A prestigious European Tour Championship hosted by Lee Westwood.
The Cost of Building a Golf Course
It’s one of the most difficult questions to answer, but one of the most commonly asked, how much does it cost to build a golf course? The answer depends on a variety of factors; three of the most important being, what type of course the client wants, what type of land the course is to be built upon, and the competency of the golf course architect.
What is the most frequently mowed area of golf courses?
Putting greens are the most frequently mowed area of golf courses and the associated costs are significant. Mower technology has improved to the point where triplex units can produce a quality of cut equivalent to that of walk-behind mowers.
Why are golf courses removed from the Southwest?
Out of necessity, many courses in the Southwest removed maintained rough in peripheral areas to cut down on water usage and save money. For years, golf courses have also replaced mown rough with naturalized or unmown rough.
How does failing to invest affect golf?
Failing to invest in improvements and upgrades may also affect how golfers perceive a facility. Golf is a competitive business, and golfers are more likely to play at golf courses that demonstrate a commitment to quality by making improvements.
How did the recession affect golf?
These effects are not surprising given the challenges created by an oversupply of golf courses that is partially the product of the aging golfer demographic and declining participation rates among younger generations. Furthermore, extended periods of severe drought have increased the price of water and limited its availability for golf courses.
What was the effect of the recession on golf courses?
The good news is that the recession caused golf facilities to re-evaluate maintenance practices, presentation options and course amenities. Many golf courses were forced to differentiate between essential and nonessential maintenance programs so they could focus on what matters most.
Does fertilizer save money?
Fertilizer and Plant Protectants. Carefully analyzing fertilizer costs can reveal some significant opportunities to save money even though fertilizer does not represent a major percentage of a typical golf course maintenance budget.
Is golf course maintenance competitive?
Golf course maintenance work is demanding and the labor market is very competitive. Recruiting and retaining reliable maintenance staff is currently one of the biggest challenges at golf facilities across the country. Additionally, there are many hidden costs associated with hiring and training new maintenance employees.
Buzzkill
Don't have midwest info but when I worked in Florida our budget for two 18 hole courses with 2 mechanics and 15 greenskeepers was $750K which I believe is low by most standards. This was a private country club too.
Pepperturbo
In my experience - some numbers quoted here are low. Maybe they are low end courses (not meant as an insult anyone), can't say. On average, courses in AZ and CA cost about 6M-15M, depending on course turf, turf equipment and facilities. An acquaintance bought a tournament level course years back.
HenryBall
If you are running an 18 hole facility with food and beverage ops here are some of the numbers you can expect Food and Bev operation: 150,000 Golf related expense (flags, event signs, handicapping, pos software, staff, range balls, etc): 100,000 Maintenance: 200,000 Marketing: 75,000 Misc repairs/expenses: 100,000 These numbers may be slighlty skewed.
8orBetter
I'm sure the cost of gas is a budget buster for a lot of courses out there, especially with a weak economy where membership is cutting back either due to being laid off from work or just cutting back on expenses.
KennyLee
Way too broad of a question to get a good answer to without a ton more information. I've seen budgets that were $300k per year (goat track) and places where the greenskeeper made that much or more.
Tstiles
How much could one expect to spend on operating expenses for an above average golf course in the Midwest? I don't have much information to offer but would like some info on this. Thanks guys.
SFbaybum
Are you guys including other op expenses if you have more than a golf course (pool, tennis, etc)?
