Golf Inc. Strategies Summit 2025

While widely acknowledged that golf is still healthy from the COVID surge, there is no doubt that the surge has risks and new ideas abound. With the “gamification” of golf related activities, there is most definitely an effort to get the estimated 23 million folks believed to represent latent demand from “couch to course”, and still a concern that the growth of on-course participation suffers from golf being poorly branded, and perceived as an elitist activity. My friend Mike Zisman of Golf Genius highlighted that golf needs to diversify as birth rates continue to fall. It’s no secret that Gen Z and Millennials are marrying later and having fewer kids.

A big area of interest I’ve observed and worked with clients on is the integration of gamification (TopTracer, etc.) and short courses into their golf facilities. In particular, short courses are much more efficient uses of land and Hoyt McGarity of 8 AM Golf noted that the The Cradle (Pinehurst’s popular short course) only occupies 17 acres and generates considerable revenues. Even some of the larger short courses I’m familiar with that have par 4’s and 5’s and measure 2,200 to 2,900 yards in length (9 holes) occupy less than 40 acres and provide a great golf experience as well as an easy place for novices to learn. I spoke with several users about TopTracer installations and all have been positively impacted.

Among the most interesting discussions was Invited Clubs’ Tom Bennison’s comments on defining EBITDA. EBITDA is technically Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation & Amortization, and is often used by market participants in evaluating golf course acquisitions. In the valuation and brokerage world, this has typically differed from cash flow/Net Operating Income in that there’s no allowance in EBITDA for management or reserves. Some, however might include one of those two and others sometimes don’t include the costs of equipment leases. It’s a good thing to ensure what is and isn’t included in a calculation of EBITDA. A standardization would go a long way toward consistent comparisons.

One of the most interesting sessions was on Renovation Planning, a big part of today’s golf world. Golf architect Forrest Richardson cautioned against clubs doing “too much”. I couldn’t agree more. The “Space Race” as I like to call it is a potential killer, especially during economic downturns. Richardson advocates “doing less right than more wrong.” He also advocates the “DIME” (Design, Infrastructure, Maintenance, Environment) approach to renovations, and has written a great book (Course Brains), which helps clubs and owners define issues that require attention and suggests alternative ideas for improvements that can be more cost effective, such as Rombuas Cart Paths for golf courses.

Last, but not least, a group of golf industry CEO’s addressed some of the prominent issues of the day. Among the topics mentioned by Jim Hinckley, Peter Nanula, Steve Skinner and Sports & Leisure’s Jon Last were that golf is a hyper local business, private equity clubs are not keeping with the times and that clubs need to invest not only in golf, but other amenities as well. Clubs need to be in a position to be on the right side of the choice some club members may encounter about whether to drop the club membership or the private school tuition if and when the economics become challenging, as so many today expect.

For me, these conferences are always a great learning experience and help me advise my clients more effectively. As I see it, golf has many advantages currently but is not without risks. In particular, when we’re advising owners on potential sales of their golf courses, not only do we consider the market dynamics, but also the goals and objectives of the owner. Then, it’s important to develop an exit and marketing strategy that pursues those goals.

Now, if only I could find a fairway wood I can hit higher!