As the golf industry continues to right-size itself, clubs and courses in the Memphis area seem to have made it through the storm. Rounds on city-owned courses have bounced back from lows in 2010 and 2011, while membership at Colonial Country Club has held steady, with the club now looking to reap the rewards of an ongoing redevelopment on its property.
The closing of Germantown Country Club in February was just one in a long line of golf courses shuttering across the United States since 2006, when more courses started closing than opening, the Memphis (Tenn.) Commercial Appeal reported. The industry has been right-sizing itself, experts say, after unsustainable growth added more than 4,000 new facilities—but not many new golfers.
But in the Memphis area, at least, golfers shouldn’t look to more closures in the future, the Commercial Appeal reported. Rather, those working in the business hope the area has weathered the storm and will be able to keep its remaining courses open—as long as the industry can get the next generation interested in golf.
“Every situation is a little bit different, depending on the population base around the golf course and how many courses are competing for those same golfers,” Scott Flynn, Director of Golf for the Tennessee Golf Foundation, told the Commercial Appeal. “There are some extremely healthy golf markets and some that are pretty competitive right now.” Overall, the market in Tennessee seems to be re-balancing in terms of supply, Flynn added.
Usage did decline on courses owned by the City of Memphis in 2010 and 2011, but by 2012, the number rose and since then it hasn’t dropped deeply in any given fiscal year, the Commercial Appeal reported.
Mickey Barker, Golf Manager for the City of Memphis, said the city courses have maintained steady usage better than some other parts of the country over the past 10 years, the Commercial Appeal reported. City-owned courses are also doing better than the national average in terms of paying for themselves, Barker said. In fiscal year 2019, the golf courses brought in $3.4 million, while expenditures were $5.2 million.
The city doesn’t plan to shutter any courses anytime soon, Barker said, particularly because they treat them like any other city amenity, parks or community centers around the city, the Commercial Appeal reported. The recent closure of Germantown CC and a brief scare with Stonebridge Country Club in Lakeland, Tenn. aren’t necessarily an indication that more closures will hit the Memphis area, Barker said.
Private courses also hope to have weathered the worst of closures, the Commercial Appeal reported. While they hate to see another club close, Colonial Country Club has seen some members from Germantown CC join it, said Bobby Cochran, the club’s Head Golf Professional.
Several years ago, Colonial closed its north golf course, which is currently undergoing plans for a $300 million redevelopment, the Commercial Appeal reported. Membership was down and upkeep of two golf courses was just too much, Cochran said.
Since then, membership has been pretty steady, he said. And once the north course has been redeveloped, people living there will be social members at Colonial, with the option to convert to a full golf membership—something Cochran thinks will boost numbers at the club.
“We’re ready to build and move on,” Cochran told the Commercial Appeal. “We’ve got a lot of good things coming in our future at Colonial, with the new company coming in and buying and developing and renovating our clubhouse and the golf course.
“You just hope to get the younger generation to play golf,” he added. “That’s where you’re going to sustain golf in the area.”
Larry Antinozzi, Senior Head Golf Professional at TPC Southwind, told the Commercial Appeal that his course also has seen increased usage.
“As we continue to grow as a club, I see our facility continuing to grow at a steady pace,” Antinozzi said. “Hosting the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational will also help us gain more traction and keep the members using the facility.”
Even if the area has made it through a time of golf courses closing, golf faces another hurdle: getting a younger generation to play, the Commercial Appeal reported. Austin Chinn, the new Head of Player Development with the City of Memphis, said society is currently in a “microwave effect.”
“People expect results to happen immediately, and if they don’t receive them, it’s on to the next activity,” Chinn said. “[Golf is] not as easy to learn like soccer, baseball, basketball, etc. One of the biggest battles that golf faces is the time it takes to play a round.”
There’s also the cost of equipment, club membership and green fees, and competition with phones, friends and other sports, the Commercial Appeal reported. Time is always the biggest struggle in getting younger people playing golf, Antinozzi said—and one reason TPC Southwind now hosts golf nights after 5:30 and offers social events concentrated on evenings and weekends.
The city courses are also offering complimentary green fees to youth 17 and younger, and the city is in discussion with the First Tee of Tennessee to bring its junior program back to Memphis, operating the program from the Links at Whitehaven, the Commercial Appeal reported. The professional staff members are going to community centers to teach, as well as to some schools to offer after-school programs.
“Over the last four years, we’ve had a lot bigger emphasis on our youth development,” Barker said. “We decided it may hurt our revenue a little bit and hurt our cost, but we can give kids these opportunities to play golf.”
Last year, almost 5,000 youths took advantage of free golf in the City of Memphis, the Commercial Appeal reported. Halfway through this fiscal year, the number has already surpassed that.
“Every sport should always invest in the future, and our future is the youth,” Chinn said.
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