whither golf? • Lonnie Tate
BY LONNIE TATE
Whither Golf?
I
follow the news about golf being in decline. Some say that the sport will fall apart because of the decrease in rounds played. I doubt that. Rather, the golf world is changing. Facilities that understand the changes and tailor their service delivery models to meet new golfer expectations will prosper. Unfortunately, there will be some casualties. But overall, the sport is doing just fine. I can tell you my story and in the telling, some of the reasons for change become evident. This year, we did not rejoin our golf course. We miss some of the camaraderie with friends; we haven’t missed golfing at the club. My wife and were among the first to join the Glencoe Golf and Country Club in 1984. Like many people who are members of clubs, we thought we had “made an investment.” We have come to realize we didn’t make an investment, we threw some money at the club; the money was a sunk cost. Like most folks, we had an emotional attachment to the club and confused that with having made an investment. Once we came to the sunk cost approach, a lot of things became clearer. We are retired. Five years ago, we bought a modest place in Palm Springs with a 27-hole golf course. Between the two of us, we play 150-plus rounds in perfect weather and course conditions. We found our Calgary club became secondary to the California place. It may seem obvious, but we came to understand that golf is way better when played warm. We are both pushing 70; we creak and groan more than we once did – warm helps. In California, if it is not nice, we don’t play … there are lots of nice days. We gravitated toward that view in Calgary. Now everyone here knows if you do not play in suspect weather, you are not going to play a lot. So we were playing less because we adopted the California attitude. And our cost per round kept climbing. Last year, we were above $200 per round and there were a lot of inclement days in there. It got us wondering.
22 • November 2014 BUSINESS IN CALGARY | businessincalgary.com
The Glencoe Forest course has been closed for three years for renovations. The 2013 flood didn’t help. We could not take guests, so … we golfed elsewhere. Interestingly, it was this factor (more than any other) that got us thinking. Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that for us, there was a better answer for golf. There are benefits to public golf. Getting into pluses and minuses of the public courses we play versus those of the Glencoe (or any private club) would be counterproductive. There are 10 courses within our motoring range that meet or exceed our expectations. Here are some features we find important: the courses are comparable in both design and condition to private clubs; we can book tee times seven days in advance; we like 9 o’clock – our tee times have been either 9:00 or 9:09; driving time is normally less to the public course than to the Glencoe (we live in the beltline); we are treated like royalty (being a pay-for-play place will do that); and, we play in four hours (there is real, no-nonsense marshalling). Make no mistake, these places are not country clubs. But they are damn good golf courses. There are lots of F-150 pickups in the parking lots; I’ve never seen a Maserati or Aston Martin. On-course service is great … what can you do to a hotdog? Then there is the cost. The favourite place my wife and I play charges $121 for the two of us Monday through Thursday (add $10 for Friday to Sunday). That includes a GPS golf cart and GST. Others are more; all are less than $200. When friends invite us to the Glencoe, the cost will cross $300. My former course, the Glencoe Golf and Country Club, is a fine place and there are many parts my wife and I miss. But it is not much a stretch to compare our situation with a 40-something couple looking for 10 to 15 rounds of golf a year. There are alternatives. That is the new golf. BiC