Golfing began its history in Edinburgh Scotland in 1456.  The modern game of golf has spread to be a worldwide sport with courses in majority of modern countries.  Golf digest estimates there to be 32,000 golf courses in the world with about half of them located in the United States.  There is a downward trend of golfing in the US with about 7 million golfers in the US in 2000 with only 4.5 million players today. 

Has the economy played a part in the dwindling number of golfers?  Some say yes and some say no.  Those in the golf industry associations say no, but others say absolutely yes.  The PGA of America says golf is a $75 billion dollar industry- larger than the newspaper industry, which is an odd comparison given that the newspaper industry as we know it is disappearing before our very eyes. 

But there is much more to golf than just the greens-fees.  The golf industry is tied to country clubs, television advertising, dining, and meeting space.  All are dependent on a low-wage level workforce which is sometimes filled with migrant workers.  Perhaps the most dangerous tie that golf courses have today is to the real estate industry.  Let’s tackle this one at a time.

First, with the economy in free-fall, one of the first things cut from household budgets is discretionary spending and country club memberships are reeling from this.  There are now  golf courses for sale in the US ranging from one million dollars to those that are going for hundreds of millions.

Courses tied to real estate are having special trouble.  Homes or condos located on a course used to increase the value of that home significantly and many homeowners would gladly pay the $30,000 or so to become a member.  Industry statistics show, however, that only about 25% of those who lived on a course actually played the course.  So, with real estate at a standstill, golf courses suffer.  They don’t have new members, who just bought real estate, joining their clubs.  Further, with people cutting things like golf out of their budgets, they aren’t gaining membership from people outside of the development.  Some golf course projects have lost funding and been completely abandoned leaving some home developments stuck with an unfinished course as an eyesore. 

One way for courses to cope with this is to lower membership fees if they are a private club, and public courses are lowering greens fees as well.  Some industry experts say that courses are earning 20% less today just for a golfer to play the course.  CB Richard Ellis expert Jeff Woolson says “there are a lot of distressed properties out there.”

Many courses and clubs have a double or triple whammy.  When membership is down, it leaves the restaurant empty providing for yet another high cost center with dwindling revenue.  Customers are also cutting back on lavish weddings and other events they may have otherwise held either at public or private courses.

While many businesses can cut back on costs when business is slow, but in order to keep a golf course in good condition, the owner has to keep the course maintained.  It costs between half a million dollars to several million to keep courses in playable condition.

Adding to the problem is many experts say golf courses have over-built.  In 1999, over 500 new courses were built with only 113 in 2007 and as few as 50 new courses were built in 2008. 

The real problem today is that too many golf courses are failing.  Whether they are standing incomplete, or whether they aren’t gaining new members or are losing members many golf course owners are sinking fast with a high cost property and are losing money.  Some owners have the ability to wait it out and some may need to just “get out.”

If you own a golf course or resort, and need to sell it, there is expert help available.  There are many consultants who would gladly help you write a new business plan and provide you with a number of statistics on how your can turn your asset around.  Those consultants will most likely only cost you a great deal of money and provide you with a turn-around plan that may take years, costing you even more. 

A local Southern California company, Terra Asset Management.com is an expert in liquidation risk and works to sell your property to interested parties.  Operating in Palm Springs, Terra Asset Managers and its partners have unique foreclosure expertise and are the leading foreclosure specialists in Southern California.  Terra Asset Management.com can cut your time of sale down.  Equally important, Terra can limit your liquidation risk and most importantly Terra has the resources and the relationships to get your property sold quickly. 

The 4 step process of Terra Asset Management takes the worry off your shoulders and handles all aspects of selling the property.

Terra Asset Management.com is a full services real estate firm and has contractors,
CPA’s, legal and other help that may be necessary for you to sell your property.