Pebble Beach just reduced its price. Bandon Dunes has gone “affordable.” The Falls in Las Vegas just closed its doors. And I am sure there are other stories…

The fact is that the economic situation has effected all of us, and golf is starting to feel the effects too.

I am going to spare us all the “what happened” and “who is to blame” back and forth, and focus more on what can be done and how this will all effect us in the golf community. I am not going to talk Republican or Democrat or spend or taxes. I am more concerned with how the sport of golf can help you and I, and itself.

When I lived in Vegas I remember a few very disconcerting conversations with course professionals or directors of golf that I will never forget. I learned an awful lot about the “business of the sport” in these conversations as I heard the words “locals” and “tourists.” See, there were times that I, as a local, was not welcomed on some golf courses. It wasn’t because of the way I dressed or because the course was closed…it was because, that weekend, there were going to be a bunch of tourists in town so it was easier for the courses to tell me “Nah, we are all filled up” to leave room for the $100+ paying tourists.

Now the tables have turned. The “tourist” is staying home more and they have become a “local” wherever he/she lives. The courses are more and more empty. Golf stores have more inventory on the shelves and are seeing less traffic. If you ask your local pro or local golf store rep, you will hear the same word, “slow.” So what now? How do we proceed, given what we are dealing with?

I have some solutions that would work. If anyone is willing to listen to a golfer with a very savvy business sense…

First off, we have to get more golfers back to the golf course. The game is shrinking. There were fewer and fewer rounds being played prior to an economic meltdown. Now that golfers are making decisions between the weekly round and dinner or a mortgage payment, golf is losing the war for the entertainment dollar to necessities. It is a bad place for the industry to be. A disposable commodity being disposed.

So here is the way to get golfers back to the course…Its easy…LOWER YOUR PRICES!

I understand the whole “if we lower the prices, then the economy turns around, it will look like we are, then, raising prices.” I also understand “brand or green fee integrity.” To those I say this; “If your course is not open in 2 years due to lost revenue, your brand integrity is pretty much shot then, isn’t it?”

So lower your prices. Do it fairly and smartly and you will see a resurgence back to your golf course. You don’t have to give golf away, but would it kill you to lower your greens fees $5.00 for twilight and maybe $10.00 for a mid day time? Are those empty tee times paying the mowers to keep mowing the course? Is the empty block of times from 1 pm-3 pm paying the staffs wages or paying for the inventory in your pro shop? I would bet the answer is no.

So get creative. We are still here, we are willing to play golf. In fact, some of us are pining for it. But we are also value oriented now. Make it worth our while to make you a priority again. Trust me, we will reward you for a creative promotion that has us paying for 3 rounds and getting 5 on a punch card. We will be front and center on a 2 week promotion where green fees are 1/2 price. Maybe you make a couple fans of the course that come back the following week when your green fees go back to “regular price.”

It is well past time that the sport did not cost $40.00-$200.00 per round. The local soccer field is “free” and the local basketball court is “free.” You need to compete. You have been losing for years and this year will not be any different.

We are at a crossroads in this sport. Where we go from here is yet to be seen, but I can tell you that if the courses do not become competetive, in relation to the economic condition, the direction will not be a good one.

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