Tobacco Road Prices 2.5x from last year?

[theweekendgolfer543]

Hi All,

 

I'm based in the Carolinas and was looking to book a weekend round at Tobacco Road and was taken back after seeing the prices...$260. I have played the course many times over the years (including last year) and have never paid over 120 dollars. Aside from the obvious (inflation/popularity gain), is there any reason for such a rate hike (i.e. new ownership, building additional lodging/courses, etc.)?

 

Thanks!

[Maroon_19]

Paid $225 per player in May, 2022.

Paid $170 per player in February, 2023.

Guessing they are charging $260 because they can get $260 and keep a full tee sheet.

Is it worth $260?  To me, yes.  To others, maybe not.  Every course has a price that would keep me from playing.

Edited June 20, 2023 by Maroon_19

[spineshank]

They have steadily been raising the rates and they are usually jam packed.

[smashdn]

Feel fortunate to have paid around $45 on a weekday morning around 10 years ago.  It is a fun course and all but not a $120 course let alone $260.

[So_Cal]

This can all change very quickly.  But for now it’s crazy.  

[puttnforthe8]

This is POR for pretty much any "destination" course!  TPC Stadium here in AZ was charging $495 plus forecaddie fee!   That course is barely worth the forecaddie fee.  And still it had a full tee sheet every day!!

[Abh159]

13 minutes ago, puttnforthe8 said:

This is POR for pretty much any "destination" course!  TPC Stadium here in AZ was charging $495 plus forecaddie fee!   That course is barely worth the forecaddie fee.  And still it had a full tee sheet every day!!

 

That's wild! When I played it a few years back I want to say it was around $175 and no caddie/forecaddie.

 

At $175 I thought it was priced about right. Fun course and solid conditioning. Absolutely no way I would pay $500 to play it

[North Butte]

I loved Tobacco Road both time I played it. That was in the late 90's/early 00's and I don't recall it being anywhere near $100 at that time. Maybe 60 or 70 bucks? 

 

There are very, very few courses in the world for which I'd pay a $260 green fee and Tobacco Road isn't even close to making that list. 

[klebs01]

5 hours ago, smashdn said:

Feel fortunate to have paid around $45 on a weekday morning around 10 years ago.  It is a fun course and all but not a $120 course let alone $260.

$45 10 years ago is about $260 today. 🤣

[North Butte]

If my memory is correct about having paid, let's say, $65 in the year 2000 that would be $117 in today's money. So I think the "2.5x" in the title is about the right multiplier. Tobacco Road has gotten 2.5x as expensive in constant dollars as it was two decades ago. 

[ArtMBgolf]

I am not aware of the situation/value at Tobacco Road.    
 
Golf Package destinations can get away with high rates, because of group 
trips, where group members don't always know the course per course.   
A couple low cost courses and 4 roomed in a condo can hide a couple 
high priced courses.    
 
Another possibility is using Dynamic Pricing and weekend rates.   
 
I have seen courses in Myrtle Beach that start the booking season up 25%, 
but can grow to up 75%, due to Dynamic Pricing.    
 
And the resorts can fill open tee times with discount rates from locals at 2-7 days out.   

[sabram]

17 hours ago, smashdn said:

It is a fun course and all but not a $120 course

Not a $120 course??? It's one of my favorites and I'd gladly pay $120 to play it . I  don't know where you live or where you visit to play golf, but in my experience, there are thousnads of courses in the U.S., Great Britain and Ireland that charge in excess of $120 that are not nearly as good as TR. TR has been filling its tee sheet for years at $120 or more, so I'd say it is a $120 course

[sabram]

9 hours ago, North Butte said:

If my memory is correct about having paid, let's say, $65 in the year 2000 that would be $117 in today's money. So I think the "2.5x" in the title is about the right multiplier. Tobacco Road has gotten 2.5x as expensive in constant dollars as it was two decades ago. 

I don't think that's unusual for green fees. Golf green fees and College Tuition have skyrocketed almost everywhere faster than the inflation rate for most other things

[North Butte]

18 minutes ago, sabram said:

Not a $120 course??? It's one of my favorites and I'd gladly pay $120 to play it . I  don't know where you live or where you visit to play golf, but in my experience, there are thousnads of courses in the U.S., Great Britain and Ireland that charge in excess of $120 that are not nearly as good as TR. TR has been filling its tee sheet for years at $120 or more, so I'd say it is a $120 course

If I were going to be in the area, I'd probably be willing to splash for $120 to play Tobacco Road one more time. That would be pushing it for me but I do like the course a lot. And I know $120 isn't as big a green fee now as it would have seemed just 5-10 years ago. But something like $260 isn't even worth considering for me.

 

There are certainly a lot of courses around price far beyond what I'd be willing to play them. But other courses also being ridiculously expensive doesn't make $260 for the Road less ridiculously expensive. 

[sabram]

9 minutes ago, North Butte said:

If I were going to be in the area, I'd probably be willing to splash for $120 to play Tobacco Road one more time. That would be pushing it for me but I do like the course a lot. And I know $120 isn't as big a green fee now as it would have seemed just 5-10 years ago. But something like $260 isn't even worth considering for me.

 

There are certainly a lot of courses around price far beyond what I'd be willing to play them. But other courses also being ridiculously expensive doesn't make $260 for the Road less ridiculously expensive. 

But your post said it's "not a $120 course".

[North Butte]

10 minutes ago, sabram said:

But your post said it's "not a $120 course".

Actually, you were replying to @smashdn who made that particular statement. I said TR wasn't even close to making the very short list of courses worth $260.

 

But of course @smashdn is apparently correct, Tobacco Road isn't a $120 course it's a $260 one nowadays!

[sabram]

1 hour ago, North Butte said:

ctually, you were replying to @smashdn who made that particular statement.

Ooops. Apologies NB

 

[dcmidnight]

22 hours ago, theweekendgolfer543 said:

Hi All,

 

I'm based in the Carolinas and was looking to book a weekend round at Tobacco Road and was taken back after seeing the prices...$260. I have played the course many times over the years (including last year) and have never paid over 120 dollars. Aside from the obvious (inflation/popularity gain), is there any reason for such a rate hike (i.e. new ownership, building additional lodging/courses, etc.)?

 

Thanks!

 

PH has probably the most seasonal fluctuation in pricing of any place I've been. Sure it might be $280 in high season/right now but it could be half that in the off season.

 

IMO its worth it but again for others it might not be. Good thing is between Raleigh and PH you have dozens of places to take your business if you dont like it.

[smashdn]

2 hours ago, sabram said:

Not a $120 course??? It's one of my favorites and I'd gladly pay $120 to play it . I  don't know where you live or where you visit to play golf, but in my experience, there are thousnads of courses in the U.S., Great Britain and Ireland that charge in excess of $120 that are not nearly as good as TR. TR has been filling its tee sheet for years at $120 or more, so I'd say it is a $120 course

 

I live north of Nashville, TN and $80 for a public course is too much for most all of them around here.  

 

This is one of the best public course offerings in the area > https://www.hermitagegolf.com/president-s-reserve and https://www.hermitagegolf.com/general-s-retreat .  It is max $85 peak time on weekend.  This is another top level public in the area > https://www.gaylordsprings.com/ < it had $90 weekend rates when I tried to book online just now.

 

So no, using that as a barometer, TR is not a $120 golf course.  Fun course, interesting architecture, I loved it when I played there save for the condition of the greens, but not $120.

Edited June 2, 2023 by smashdn

[Avidswampthing66]

That's outrageous.  It's just not a $260 course. 

 

I love golf so much, but I'm not a fan of the cost of it all.   

Edited June 2, 2023 by Avidswampthing66

[So_Cal]

18 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

This is POR for pretty much any "destination" course!  TPC Stadium here in AZ was charging $495 plus forecaddie fee!   That course is barely worth the forecaddie fee.  And still it had a full tee sheet every day!!

From watching that course on tv they would have to pay me $495 to play it.  Can’t say I‘ve ever been impressed by an Arizona course outside of Saguaro.  Beautiful landscape though. 

[eboettne]

22 minutes ago, So_Cal said:

From watching that course on tv they would have to pay me $495 to play it.  Can’t say I‘ve ever been impressed by an Arizona course outside of Saguaro.  Beautiful landscape though. 

 

I had the option of TPC Scottsdale for $180 or Dinosaur Mountain for $60 a few years back in September.  I chose Dinosaur Mountain and was very happy with my choice.

[jholz]

For every hype-monster course charging in excess of $200 per round...

 

There's a comparable course within 20 miles charging half of that rate.

 

IMHO, the only thing you loose by playing the cheaper alternative is that you can't tell your friends/randoms that you played "insert name of hype-monster course."

[dcmidnight]

47 minutes ago, jholz said:

For every hype-monster course charging in excess of $200 per round...

 

There's a comparable course within 20 miles charging half of that rate.

 

IMHO, the only thing you loose by playing the cheaper alternative is that you can't tell your friends/randoms that you played "insert name of hype-monster course."

 

Have you played TR? Its not comparable to...anything - there is no cheaper alternative. Its nothing like any course I've played anywhere - and that includes a number of Strantz courses. Its literally a one of a kind.

Edited June 2, 2023 by dcmidnight

[jholz]

Just now, dcmidnight said:

 

Have you played TR? Its not comparable to...anything - there is no cheaper alternative. To any course I've played and that includes a number of Strantz courses. Its literally a one of a kind.

 

A reasonable question...and, of course, the answer is "no."

 

Having said that, I recognize that Tobacco Road is a unique place. I mean, we've all read the "Story of Mike Strantz." I can just picture him now...out there on his horse...in North Carolina...um yeah... Why they need to include that detail is beyond me. The schtick is so thick...

 

I'm sure the course is cool. I'm sure it's fun.

 

But, then again, so is the course down the road that charges a third of the price. 

 

Just my 2 cents on the issue.

[oneunderbogey]

The course down the road isn't comparable to TR other than them both being golf courses that's the point.  And there is definitely more to it than just telling your friends you played it. 

[golfday]

10 years ago it was still the quirky course that some people loved and a lot of people hated. Locals wanted to play it once in a blue moon, and people traveling to Pinehurst from outside the region generally skipped it. Afternoon tee times were not expensive and easy to come by. Golf wasn't booming and destination golf definitely wasn't booming. Then the legend of Mike Strantz grew and Tobacco Road got a cult-like following that evangelized the course online. Then the golf and destination golf boom hit and now their tee sheet is booked solid all year at significantly increase rates. Rates everywhere in the area have gone up a lot, not nearly as fast as TRs. Only Southern Pines have probably increased at a similar rate - but they've done a whole lot of work on it. TR is essentially the same place it was a decade ago.

 

It's been really interesting to watch it's reputation and cost transition over the last decade. 

 

For $260, I'd still say you should play it once if you're in the area. It's fun and unique. But I wouldn't play it at the expense of not playing some combination of #2, #4, Pine Needles, Mid Pines, and maybe Southern Pines on a trip to Pinehurst. 

[theweekendgolfer543]

Personally, I think that the worst part about the 260 is the fact that it takes atleast one round through to even "get TR". Round 2 and beyond was way more fun then round 1. Round 1 is pure trial and error....and mainly error.

[NCgolf135]

Yeah thinking there is a course down the road for $130 that is comparable to TR is crazy. It's worth it if you're in the area on a trip. 

 

Now i live 1.5 hours away, have played it 3-4 times and I love it. But I will play it less going forward due to the rate than if it was $100.

[puttnforthe8]

2 hours ago, jholz said:

For every hype-monster course charging in excess of $200 per round...

 

There's a comparable course within 20 miles charging half of that rate.

 

IMHO, the only thing you loose by playing the cheaper alternative is that you can't tell your friends/randoms that you played "insert name of hype-monster course."

 

Not in AZ.  Even the worst dog track of all dog tracks was over $100.