It’s no secret that too many golf courses were built in the 1990’s in anticipation millions of new golfers as baby boomers became empty nesters. The self acclaimed industry gurus, The National Golf Foundation (NGF) was saying a course a day opening throughout the decade was needed to meet the coming demand. Just like the housing market bubble that burst in the beginning of the 21st century, so too did the golf course bubble. Over 1500 courses have closed in the past 15 years.

It’s called market adjustment. The supply was greater than the demand and courses that were losing money, closed. Some of these courses were the newest, and among the best facilities. The problem, as tee time prices were lowered in the competitive market space, some of the newer “mega-courses” with muti-million dollar mortgages and million dollar annual maintenance costs became unviable as businesses. Where do you think the biggest cuts were made as the facilities tried to stay in solvent? You guessed it, maintenance. And once the foreclosure became inevitable, you can really bet the courses became ragged. And yet, the course still may have remained among the more expensive in the area. It may have had a big name architect, built when cost was no object, and written up with high praise in the glossy golf publications. But the last 6 to 12 months on many of these courses saw golfers playing on a beautifully designed overgrown shadow of the course’s former glory. Heck, the nearby, paid for years ago, municipal golf course may have been the better value and certainly better maintained.

You don’t always get what you pay for. Luckily there are resources that allow you to get a good idea of a course before you invest a day and greens fees on the unknown.

So, you ask, “If I am playing a new course, or one I haven’t played in some time, how do I know if it’s a gem or a dog track?” The answer, check out North America’s most authoritative golf course web site, www.GolfCourseRanking.com. This is a “golfers helping golfers” web site where avid golfers provide feedback on the courses they have played. In addition to reviewing the course, they also let you know day of the week, time of the day that they played and price paid. Add to this, course descriptions, course architect, course photos, maps, scorecards, and in many cases a course video and you can see the value of this resource.

www.GolfCourseRanking.com is the answer to finding “Golf Courses near me” no matter where you are located in North America.

Have a golf course question; email the friendly golf staff at: [email protected].
Hit um straight.