What if my course doesn't make it?

[dgarland]

Right now I have a golf course that is about 10 minutes from my house. Anything past that is 45+ minutes. We barely get by most years and now with this forced shutdown I'm worried they'll just never open back up. Has anyone heard of any grants or loans (maybe a tour player with deep pockets) that may be available in case? This is an absolute gem of a course setup, especially for the area. Due to location though it just never makes enough money to really get in the clear.

[Zen_Golfer]

I would say that if they dont make it, either someone will buy it or you will have to find a new course. In the city where I live, a couple courses that I really loved have shut down and they built houses on the land and it sucks but it happens.

[Milfordlefty]

If they barely get by, it is more a question of when, not if. Hope it is able to carry on after the Covid-19. If you don't want to have your location in your profile, I understand, but it would be ok if you indicated the general location (ie: was city or general area in a state) so we get a feel for your local conditions. As an example, one course closing in FL is very different than one course closing in IA. I am in SE MI and have a large number of options and am surprised how some courses manage to stay open each year.

[storm319]

Based on the fact that there is only one course within 45 minutes, my guess is that the OP lives in a very rural area. Unfortunately if the course was struggling to survive prior to this crisis, it points to unsustainably low demand in the area so the course was likely to fail at some point in the near future anyways (I know this sucks for the avid golfers in the area). The one possible benefit to this type of setting is that the land will not likely be of high value to a housing developer so it has a better chance of remaining a golf course upon resale than if it were in a higher populated area.

[caligolfer2103]

i know my local club is looking into the CARES act and whether they qualify for a loan... And i'm in a similar boat. our club is 7 minutes from home. there are plenty of other courses nearby but the initiation fee here is 15 - 100x lower and our monthly is anywhere from 1/2 - 1/4 that of the other clubs in my area. So praying we can hold on!

 

[llewol007]

If it doesnt happen and they stay open, good for them. The reality will be difficult for the courses that live and die by the amount of play they get and some subsidies from the city or county they are in. One course near me was able to survive before finally being engulfed by the city leaders that saw dollar signs and a waste of open space in their eyes. Plans to place some condos which are really apartments that the city can sell of as blocks to be able to collect on each owners property taxes. The big sell off is going on in the silicon valley and its unfortunate to see a city golf course close with the plans of having a million dollar shopping center and entertainment destination right across the way from Levi stadium. Im hoping for better results for your local golf course. It will take a lot of grass roots support from those who play on that golf course in hopes to keep in from going under. Once they are gone, the likely hood of another one to replace it even in the nearby area, are slim to none.

[Myherobobhope]

No idea if this is possible, but are there enough people like you who like the course and want it to stay open? Basically, is it worth it for you to try to buy the course?

That might be a silly suggestion, but if you are in a rural area, the land shouldn't be super expensive, so it might be possible to afford it... Might be worth looking at the numbers and seeing if it makes sense... worst case scenario, you end up buying some land near you.

[farmer]

I'm in a tiny rural area. Our club has the only swimming pool for 30 miles and we have many members who only use the pool. If the lockdown keeps the pool from opening, we are done. With less than 100 members, we have struggled for years, but this would be the killshot.

[ChipNRun]

If it's a gem of a course, it has a better chance of surviving than a beat-up course. In our region, one out-of-way course failed and the second bounced back.

One was a tight, landlocked public course that had no driving range. A next door university bought it and lost $$ on it for a few years, and then shut it. The school did get a chunk of land next door to campus. I was surprised that no one bought a quarter-section of land on the edge of town and build a new, more modern course. (The failed course was way too short for college golf matches.)

My brother belongs to a bounce-back course that was bought by a former NFL player. The course had decent greens and an interesting layout, so a little investment really whipped it into shape. It gets a lot more players than it formerly did - golfers get more value for their dollar now.

The finances of golf courses are interesting -- and odd. In 2013, I worked as a hole marshal at Bellerive CC for the US Senior PGA championship. A banker was on my hole team, and he had put together a deal to resurrect a failed St. Louis area country club. The buyer was a local businessman with $$ to spare. He was willing to put the money into purchase and refurb, and to subsidize it until he had built up a clientele of new members.

The banker jokingly told me that golf course and winery owners both have the same "problem." Their operations can turn a profit if they run them properly. But, for the millions of dollars of capital they have tied up in the course or vineyard, there's much better investments out there in terms of financial return. Basically, golf course and vineyards are often a labor of love rather than a financial bonanza.Ending suggestion: Find a monied idealist to buy the gem of a course.

[cristphoto]

It sounds like you're in an area with not many golfers if adjacent courses are 45 minutes apart. Where is this? Courses have a tough time turning a reasonable profit in good areas during good times. I wish you and the course well.