Are We Witnessing The Next Evolution in the Private Golf Club?
by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 21, 2009 4:28 PM EDT
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PrintThe notion of the country club is one that is fast changing in the United States. Amidst the growing trend of American golf course closures is an impact on the country club set.
At the peak of the real estate boom, clubs were selling land to developers in exchange for heavy payouts. Even now, members of private clubs are facing difficult decisions and growing competition from high-end daily fee courses that provide players with a club feel without having to pay off-season dues. Most impacted are the modest, blue collar golf clubs that cannot afford to maintain the same degree of exclusivity because the golfing and social habits of 21st century yuppies are changing.
Clubs are responding in a variety of ways - cutting expenses, reducing initiation and monthly fees in hope of attracting new members, and suspending parts of the operation that don't make financial sense for the club.
Ultimately, this works out pretty well for the consumer that is looking to join a club. For the club, though, they are seeking new revenue streams admist the cuts that they are having to make and the cutbacks that their members are making in this economy.
One of the areas the clubs are looking most closely at is - naturally - filling open tee times. Open tee times at country clubs can vary, but at some clubs, as many as 75% of all tee times go unused. Though there is less of a load on the course, there still remains a very substantial sunk cost in operating a golf course. By filling these open tee times, clubs are able to make up ground on the sunk cost while also overcoming the incremental cost of every new golfer on the grounds.
Clubs are starting to reach out past exchange days in order to fill these times. A new service has been created that connects golfers interested in playing private clubs with the clubs that are looking to host non-members. The service is called Boxgroove.
Boxgroove features connections with clubs in nine states. Players can join the service for $80 per year. With that membership, they can interact with a network of clubs and club members looking to fill tee times at their own club or play other courses. Players seeking out other clubs can search Boxgroove to find times available at clubs they want to play.
Clubs and their members can set restrictions upon which players are invited to come to their club. They may only want people that do not already belong to a club in the hope of inviting prospective members. Perhaps they only want players with a certain ability level, instead of a weekend hack that will tear up the place. If a connection is made between a player and another player or a club, then the price, form of payment, and date are set. It's a pretty simple, but powerful notion that essentially expands the boundaries of exchange days and prospective member rounds to courses around the country. The solution also works well for the club golfer that wants to maintain a membership, but still experience a decent amount of variety in a private club setting.
The idea of Boxgroove perhaps suggests another iteration in the evolution (or devolution, depending on who you are) of club golf. Perhaps clubs are not far off from a network approach, kind of how corporations and municipalities create groupings of public courses. Clubs could create networks similar to the TPC network that owns clubs throughout the country. Is it inconceivable that private clubs could align together to create an optional add-on for their members to become associate members at other clubs in the network, or at least gain access to regular tee times? The green fees pulled in as a result of the creation of such a network would act in many ways like Boxgroove does, but allows clubs to maintain agreements with themselves and give membership the feeling of maximum privacy.
By the sake token, are we far off from seeing the inverse operation? Will individuals be able to buy into a network of clubs as opposed to one at a time? This would allow for the individual to benefit with multiple memberships, but dissolve some dollars spent in the pro shop and other facilities to multiple clubs. After all, an associate member spreading time out among multiple facilities - almost strictly for golf - would allow the club model to persist without much additional cost to the club. In other words, the associate network member would be a squatter on the course for four hours with little draw to the club.
This would also allow the club to preserve its social benefits for its most devoted members. Pass through golfers would come to the facility with a vested interest in proper social and golfing behavior, but have little impact on the overall social network of the club.
In other words, I'm trying to make the case for a tepid pulling back of the curtain on club memberships and interclub agreements. As someone who has an outsider's perpsective, though, I want to hear from club members about the state of their clubs and their attitudes on these different types of memberships. Finally, what do you think of a service like Boxgroove? Would it prove valuable for you as a golfer and for your club?
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Having worked at a private club for 9 years...
… we were faced with quite a few financial options and issues that drastically effected our membership totals, especially recently. What our club decided to do was cut back on a few amenities (such as tennis memberships) while expanding into other forms of membership (i.e. “social members”, which did not have golfing privileges but still had full access to other clubhouse activities). This seemed to keep membership enrollment rather steady, however we still had numerous membership defaults due to inability to pay dues.
Adam Fonseca
angling to be the Golf Blog Czar ? :-)
ah yes, comrade Ryan, let’s force private clubs to open their books to the public. these evil rich people and their private clubs.
Most of the clubs that are having these kinds of problems are new money clubs…including some that have the letters TPC at the beginning. These were built as expensive subdivisions with golf courses that stretch out between houses and streets.
Old money clubs will not face these kinds of problems because their backing is much more stable…unless this present regime decides “we the people” has to take a turn even further to the left and the government takes over private clubs along the same lines as they have the banking and automotive industries.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I definitely want nothing to do with opening books. I just want to see what kind of options are out there for clubs to be able to get new members.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 21, 2009 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions
uh-huh...
…the ol’ sheep in wolves clothing defense, eh ? :-D
Boxgroove is a take off on the original – LastMinuteTeetimes.com, designed by a Ga Tech grad (go Jackets !!), which expanded nationally to LastMinuteGolfer.com – then got bought out by Comcast and xxx Golf Channel to become GolfNow.com. Run correctly, it is a win-win-win situation. Clubs, players, and, of course, the guys running the system all make or save money, and more people get to play some very nice courses.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
When...
…are all the baby boomers supposed to die off? I’m holding out for that fire sale on memberships.
Probably a good 15 years
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 21, 2009 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m one of the last generally labeled as a Boomer (September 1960…send birthday cards to…) – so I’m getting to the general age of demise fairly soon. (you ghoul !) (lol)
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
May I interest you...
…in a bacon sandwich? Heh.
From Grumpy Old Men
Grandpa: What the… what the hell is this?
John: That’s lite beer.
Grandpa: Gee, I weigh ninety goddamn pounds, and you bring me this sloppin’ foam?
John: Ariel’s got me on a diet because the doc said my cholestorol’s a little too high.
Grandpa: Well let me tell you something now, Johnny. Last Thursday, I turned 95 years old. And I never exercised a day in my life. Every morning, I wake up, and I smoke a cigarette. And then I eat five strips of bacon. And for lunch, I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack?
John: Bacon.
Grandpa: Bacon! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner.
Ryan. Don't hold your breath.
Private clubs are usually 501 ©7 non-profit entities ( http://golfne.ws/nwwj ) and, as such, cannot spend one penny in advertising to generate outside income over a certain percentage of total income. A large chunk of that outside income is already chewed by wedding receptions, local office Christmas parties and business conferences held at the club’s banquet facilities. Many clubc, ours included, cut it pretty close each year.
In this political environment, I do not foresee the IRS relaxing ANY rules on non-profits. If my club lost that tax exemption and had to start paying normal property taxes on 100+ acres in the middle of Catonsville, there would be no club.
Nice idea, Comrade Ryan, but it is dead in the starting gate.
...from the land of pleasant living, Baltimore.
by One-Eyed Golfer Guy on Sep 21, 2009 6:11 PM EDT reply actions
Breath holding...
Per 501c7 IRS regulations, up to 15% of a club’s revenue can be derived from non-member sources. This service simply allows clubs to maximize the revenue within that 15% threshold. And, unlike banquets, conferences and the like, allowing controlled use of the course by non-members has a more meaningful chance of converting non-members into paying members.
And, by the way,
you hit the problem right on the button. You (yes, I mean you, RB) and all of you cheap-ass Gen-X and Gen-Y’ers have changed the way people think about every single penny out of their wallet. Baby boomers like myself never worried about spending and that is why we have practically squandered your future.
If 95% of private club members took a calculator to their monthly club bill and tried to justify expense per round and total overall value received per dollar, they would resign tomorrow. Plus, with both spouses working, weekends rarely afford five hour chunks of time. Also, parents today spend twice as much time with their kids than the previous generation. Less time for golf.
I see a gradual, but major, decline in the entire golf industry for the foreseeable. That God there is still millions to be made by having a golf blog.
This would have happened without the present economic downturn.
...from the land of pleasant living, Baltimore.
by One-Eyed Golfer Guy on Sep 21, 2009 6:21 PM EDT reply actions
My feeling is that this club issue is one piece of a much bigger coming decline in the game when the baby boomers stop playing golf. The money just isn’t there and the perceived ROI isn’t there among many of my peers to join a club.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 21, 2009 8:49 PM EDT up reply actions
interesting comments
I don’t claim to be an expert as others will and do. However, I can tell you this much. My father was a PGA Club Professional for 40 years . He saw this coming 5 years ago.
The bubble had to break at some point. All you need to do is look at the stats the NGF has compiled and you will see that there is a huge challenge if front of operators of private clubs across the nation. I agree, if some one would have tried to sell this idea to private country clubs even 3 years ago. No way in hell!! We don’t need those “outsiders”.
But as the golf clubs see rising costs to keep the doors open they will more than likely look at business differently.
Like I said, I am no expert. However growing up around country clubs does give me some insight into how things have changed.
Maybe that is why my father was happy to see me become a United States Marine. He would rather I fight for our country in Afganistan instead of fighting the up hill battle that faces clubs that are not willing to change their ideas until it is too late.
I wish the forward thinkers at BoxGroove nothing but success.
We did a series on the aging of golf earlier this year with some significant success around a bunch of age-based issues in the game. Participation is one of them, and that really has an impact at all levels of the game and all price points. It’s kind of scary, actually.
http://www.waggleroom.com/2009/5/29/892876/the-aging-of-golf-part-1-the-next
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 21, 2009 8:51 PM EDT up reply actions
As if we baby boomers do not
have enough character defects, this one is also killing private clubs.
XY Gens are spending more time with each other and with their children. If their spouses and kids are not 100% welcome, they ain’t interested. Most clubs, including mine, resent change and want things like it used to be. We do not have tee times, always play in 3-3 1/2 hours and only recently could women play on weekend mornings. Kids should be seen and not heard, etc,., erc…
Usually the Board and most committee positions are held by, guess who?, those dreaded BB’s. Enlarge the dining area to be family friendly? NOPE. Add exercise/health club areas? NOPE Give up the mens card room? NOPE…
You can see the dilemma…
...from the land of pleasant living, Baltimore.
by One-Eyed Golfer Guy on Sep 21, 2009 9:01 PM EDT reply actions
I don’t know, with a 50% divorce rate and people my age more apprehensive to get married, I would think that a golf club would be the perfect example from our social media world.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 21, 2009 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions
I wish I was a member at a private club
Unfortunately, being a member at a decent public club (neither high-end nor low-end) is about as well as I can do in my price range. I’m really sick of the crowds, slow play, and so on, though. If I could afford a private club where there’s a much smaller volume of play, I’d be in heaven.
Even at my public course, membership is dying. I just got my renewal letter last week and there are some fairly deep cuts in price for those renewing early, and even those waiting until the last minute will see a noticeable discount over last year.
Frankly, I’m a little concerned that quality is going to suffer. However, play seems solid at the course, so it could just be a sign that membership was a little overpriced. Or, maybe people have tightened up and have just been choosing to pay as they go. I’m sure it also has something to do with the fact that people looked at the bottom line and realized that there’s not much benefit because paying as they play is cheaper and being a member really doesn’t come with much other benefit.
I think what leatherneck pointed out is true. I believe this has been a long time coming. I believe we’re in for a bit of a contraction.
That said, I do see services like BoxGroove as a win for everyone. I know there’s a club or two around here that opens up to public play for a small window each week. They just do it themselves instead of through a service. But they fill empty tee times, make a little extra revenue, and it works for the guy off the street that wants a taste of the country club experience.
GOLF IS...
(1) very difficult.
(2) time consuming.
(3) expensive.
This is why, even with the most polarizing man in sports playing golf, the sport will never experience an incredible boom in growth.
Despite the pussification of the modern male, I don’t think it’s all doom-and-gloom. Most of the guys prevented from joining a club right now by their nagging wife will end up divorced and on the golf course by their 30s or 40s! ;-)
I can see where a service like BoxGroove could help clubs with huge holes in their membership, but I surely hope not to see it at my club any time soon. When the day comes that my club requires a tee time, takes longer than 3-3.5 hours to play on a weekend morning (or longer than 2:45 on a weekday evening), I will begin looking for a new club.
I’m far from an elitist, I just don’t want any weekend hacks chopping up my club and driving my rounds up to 4.5 hours… =D
Matt, I created the more polite word “vagination” to describe the phenomenon you speak of.
When a friend went to to the theatre to see a movie that was rated “C” (for Chicks) by his own volition, I was razzing him, asking him exactly when he was vaginated. It took him about five minutes to get it.
by Charles Boyer on Sep 22, 2009 8:31 AM EDT up reply actions
Doesn’t ClubCorp essentially have massive inter-clubs already?
I’ve gotten on Pinehurst #2 thanks to ClubCorp connections; it was a member at a much smaller local club that they own.
With that said...
I just went to the BoxGroove site and noticed that Muirfield Village is among the courses you can play! I was going to immediately sign up and schedule my trip before realizing that there are two clubs at Muirfield Village – The Country Club (which is available through Box Groove) and Muirfield Village Golf Club (where they hold the Memorial). MVGC is not available to play through BoxGroove, unfortunately.
Looks like a good deal and I’ve changed my stance to the following:
I’m OK with being a member of BoxGroove, I just don’t want my club to be a member of BoxGroove!
Has anyone played at The Country Club @ Muirfield Village?
My brother-in-law lives in Muirfield Village on Memorial Drive. He couldn’t get me onto the course (no he is not a member, but he knows neighbors who are members) because they are pretty tight about guest play. Heck, I have gotten onto to other exclusive tracks one way or the other, but that one is a nut I have yet to crack.
by Charles Boyer on Sep 22, 2009 8:34 AM EDT up reply actions
Head to Floriday in October - not Ohio...
…Check out HenburgerCup.com – October 15-18 in Port St Lucie at the PGA Village Resort. $450 gets you three nights, 63 holes of scheduled golf, swag, a Bridgestone Ball fitting with a dozen balls, and a Callaway uPro GPS unit.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I’ve played in the event 3 times – but this is the first trip to Port St Lucie. We’ve been to Myrtle Beach, Vegas, Mississisppi (Golden Moon Casino), Destin…
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Wish I had known about this further in advance. I would have suggested a blogger meet-up.
by Charles Boyer on Sep 22, 2009 11:12 AM EDT up reply actions
if I hadn’t played so crappy in that last tournament I played, I’d be there next weekend.
Truth has a well-known liberal bias.
In Florida at least, it looks like joining clubs has been replaced by tricking out golf carts.
http://www.wired.com/cars/coolwheels/magazine/17-10/ff_ecars
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
feedback for MattSpence
Matt – yes, I have played The Country Club at Muirfield Village (TCC). In fact, that was the first course I booked thru boxgroove. While TCC is not in the league of Muirfield Village, it is a very nice course in a great setting…you will enjoy the experience.
I understand your reservation with your club signing up with boxgroove…but I poked into this and now I am no longer concerned. As I understand it, boxgroove has the ability to establish parameters around guest profiles which can be customized for every course in the network. For example….your course could restrict guest golfers to sub 10 handicappers, between the hours of 2-4 pm on Mon and Weds only, maximum of 2 rounds per month.
I never considered golf to be a manly sport.
It’s not like you’re punching a guy in the face. I think of it as fairly gender neutral.
I think golf will be fine, but the private club is going to slowly recede in the future. The newer generations are just more averse to the “Good Old Boy” network that permeates established clubs and want to play golf amongst other things. The world is more flexible, accessible, and modular, and people expect their recreation to be the same. These clubs exhibit traits in opposition with today’s social mores.
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