The closing of golf courses in the U.S. is almost a daily occurrence and private courses it’s no secret are having financial troubles as members drop out and prospective members are few and far between. The reasons are well recorded but the bottom line is private golf clubs are having a tough time as revenue shrinks.
The National Golf Foundation reports at the end of 2009 the number of golf facilities dropped to 15,979 a loss of 90 in twelve months and the fourth consecutive year of losses. Combine this with a decline in the number of golfers and its no wonder all courses, public and private, are looking for ways to increase revenues.
Private courses now have a new option to bring in more money. They can signup with a year and a half old service from Boxgroove.com that sells access to private courses to the public, courses normally not available for non-member play. For a service charge ($49 annually or $19.95 per tee time) non-member golfers can get a tee time at one of roughly 150 participating private clubs nationwide. Of course the non-member has to pay the course’s guest rate which can be as much as triple a public course’s fee but he gains access to links otherwise off limits. Tee time availability is at the discretion the clubs so don’t plan on your group teeing it up at 10:00 on Saturday morning but a Boxgroove.com user may request a specific time if those offered don’t fit his schedule.
The biggest question though is why a private club would open its facilities to outsiders? The answer is of course added revenue plus showing off the facility to people who conceivably could become members at some point in the future. However, everyone acknowledges hard time in the golf course business won’t be over any time soon so one can reasonably expect more clubs to sign up with Boxgroove.com in the coming months.
Ed Travis is a well known golf journalist and writes the monthly Player's Perspective column appearing in New England Golf Monthly. He carries a 1-handicap and with his wife lives on a water hazard in suburban Orlando.
