On the heel’s of the “Golfsmith/Golftown restructuring” Post. Since that Post evolved into The Decline of Golf spectrum. My 2-bits on the future of golf. The courses like Pebble Beach, Hilton Head, Pinehurst#2 etc. Will never see there bookings drop. If Golf Equipment went to $10,000 for a set of clubs these courses would still be Booked. So let’s Eliminate these courses from the discussion! Since the time it takes to play a round is a constant on any course also Eliminate it! The Equipment you use is up to you (there’s no rule against using older equipment) “as long as the Grooves are acceptable”. So let’s Eliminate equipment as well! The CO$T of Clothes & Shoes is also totally up to you. So let’s Eliminate them as well! The Beverage Cart & Resturant again this is up to you. Some courses are $8 for a beer. Again this is one to Eliminate! Not sure where Golf Carts fit into this discussion? In Florida their included in your Fee so the Pace of play is maintained. Here it’s like stupid expensive! Something like $9 per Cheek. This goes Hand in Hand with the course design ie ¼ mile to the next hole so if you choose to walk the Carts blow by you & golf through. Personally I think everyone should walk unless you have a physical issue or are Supremely Mature. Hey Guys I want to rent a Golf Cart, Not an Impala. So lets Eliminate this also. Now were getting to actual CO$T of Golf. Perishable Products in Golf. The “BALL”, $60 a dozen or $15 for 3 dozen? I’ve played several rounds with the same ball. I’ve also lost up to 5 balls on a single round. The “GLOVE”, $18 or $5? I’ve had some FJ gloves Decompose after a few rounds. Not too tight on grip pressure or friction, just a little sweat. Bought a Synthetic Glove this year $7, got about 30 rounds out of it. Balls & Glove for a year lets figure $100 “your mileage may vary”. GREEN-FEES from $100 to $50. On these courses I had better not see any DEAD Spots, green, fairway or rough. Yet this year I’ve played a few courses that have had all three. I’m not paying for the “Prestige” of these courses I only want to pay for the Condition of the course. If the condition is down then the green-fee should reflect that. GREEN-FEES from $50 to $20. This is where the rubber meets the road. Many of these courses don’t have plentiful water resourses. Yet this year I’ve played a few at $45 with burnt fairways & crusty greens. Hit the green with a 7I & the ball bounced 10’ in the air. I feel sorry for the Members that layed out some serious cash & have to play those conditions all year. Rebate on your member Fees LOL good luck with that. Value is the key here. In today’s world not to many people have vast sums of disposable money and time. Do you remember how the CFL shot itself in the foot? They thought they were losing money from people not paying admission to local games, so they implemented the BLACK-OUT for televised games. Attendance continued to drop and they lost an entire generation of fans. Their cure, DROP ticket prices & bring them back. Guess what, it worked. Yet the Golf Courses won’t bend a knee. They see their attendance dropping and do nothing about it. Years ago there were only a few courses, the parking lot was always full & if you didn’t have a booking you were not going to play. Today you drive up to a lot of courses with ¾ of the lot open. Supply & Demand is telling you your Green-Fee is too high. What action do they take? Nine & Dine. I don’t know about you but what if the SENS sold you at ticket for ½ the game & the last ½ they sat you down for a dinner. I really don’t see this approach as a cure, it’s a band-aid at best. Yes it generates some income for the courses but not for Golf. If a guy takes his girlfriend to a Nine & Dine, of course they will have a nice date. If she likes golfing she will probably buy a set of clubs but will also spend a BOATLOAD of money on Clothes. So your Nine & Dine is the answer for the Equipment & Clothing suppliers! Your courses however are still no further ahead. The Real Revenue in this scenario goes to Others. What I’m getting at here is that IF Golf Course Owners are truly interested in growing the game they need to DROP the admission price. If the Parking lot is not FULL your Greenfee is too high. Yes at year end you made a small profit & hope next year is better. Do a little generic Math, if your Parking lot is full (4-fees every 10-min for 8-hrs.) that’s 192-fees. If Your Fee is $40 & your lot is near empty, lets say 60-4 somes and compare. {{{{{ 60 x $40 = $2400.00 now look at 192 x $25 = $4800.00 }}}}} For the Math deficient, dropping the greenfee by $15 Doubles your Revenue. You can’t tell me that people don’t like playing golf. My first round I was 16, my older brothers never laughed so hard for so long in their lives. I think I was at 100 by the 3rd hole, but never ever thought of throwing in the towel. Somewhere around #15 it happened, near exhausted & sweating I finally took an easy swing & SMACKED the 3 wood from heaven. One good shot is all it takes and anyone is going to LOVE playing golf. So now that you’ve enticed some people onto the course, Why aren’t they coming back? It’s STARING you in the Face, yet you choose to blame other conditions ie the Economy, Time it takes, Equipment costs. The Plan & Simple TRUTH is it must be your EGO. My course is better than his so I should charge more. Even though both of you are just making enough to stay afloat. Golf NEEDS Owners to Step UP & Compete. It’s Unfortunate that this burden falls on your shoulders and the Real Revenue of Golf goes to Equipment & Clothing Manufacturers. Any Rebate or Profit sharing from them? Not a chance! This is where Growing the Game of Golf is BROKEN and ALL of you know it! Is it the Golf Course Owners responsibility to drop their price to grow revenue at his course so that the Manufactures can see their Revenue Rise? Personally I think it has to start there. If people won’t pay the greenfee, it’s the END for the Entire Industry. So there you have it, just my opinion. The SOLUTION: “One year Trial” At the End of this year, ALL Golf Courses “Under $100 Greenfee” Rollback the Green-Fees 40% ish. I can think of NO reason the Parking lots wouldn’t be full. The Courses Revenue would Increase, The Manufacturers Revenue would Increase and there would be a lot more people enjoying a truly great game. EVERYONE WINS! One Year TRIAL: to GROW the Game of GOLF, I can’t see anyone losing anything. Of course that next year when the Price$ are Returned to normal some people will stay away. At the end of Year Two perhaps the revenue lost by the Manufactures will WAKE them UP. Into some form of PROFIT Sharing for the Local Golf Course Owner who is really the source of there PROFIT. Instead of giving it to the Pros for there endorsment. The Pros should earn their money on the course. If the Manufacturers ceased paying all that money for endorsments & rolled it back into the Growing the Game "Investment" wouldn't that also be a WIN-WIN? Just my thoughts on what it will take to GROW a Great Game. Yes there are a lot of other parameters but I think this are at the Heart of it. Please don't """Crittersize""" my thoughts but lets hear your Ideas.