If only the golf industry could keep more players such as Bruce Randall engaged in the game, course managers wouldn’t be so concerned about the future.
It’s June and courses are at their greenest, but the industry is still struggling to keep golfers on the fairways. Despite an abundance of public courses on the Front Range, thanks to the late-1990s building boom, the number of rounds has continued to drop since its peak in 2002.
About 2 million rounds were played at 53 greater metro-area courses in 2002, a number that decreased 10 percent in 2007 to around 1.8 million. It’s a trend that is being felt in the game on a national level, as well.
Randall, an Arvada resident and 12-handicapper, jokes that one of the toughest things about golf these days is deciding which course to play — at least for those living along the Front Range. Within about an hour’s drive, he could play every day of the month and not have to visit the same clubhouse twice.
“A couple of weeks ago playing at Willis Case (in Denver), I was paired up with a guy from Michigan,” Randall said. “I could tell he was enjoying himself, and after we finished the round he said, ‘This must be one of your best courses.’
“Don’t get me wrong. I like Willis Case Golf Course. But I had to tell him, ‘Well, no, it isn’t.’ ”
From 1996 to 2000, at least 17 public golf courses opened from Loveland to Larkspur. The only public course to open in the area in the past three years was Heritage Todd Creek (2007) in Thornton.
“Courses that were fat and happy back then aren’t fat and happy anymore,” said Ed Mate, executive director of the Colorado Golf Association.
“The good news is, we’re not adding to the supply. Golf is all about housing developments. And with the housing market being in a slump, our area golf course operators are saying there’s finally a moratorium.”
Said Dennis Lyon, director of the City of Aurora golf division: “Some golf courses were built not to meet golf demand but to sell houses. They weren’t golf decisions. As a result, the golf supply has exceeded the golf demand.”
Operators of the 54 public courses from Fort Lupton to Castle Rock charted by the CGA continue to look for ways to stop the exodus of players while trying to grow the game with nontraditional players.
According to the CGA’s data, the average number of rounds at metro-area courses decreased from 43,378 in 1997 to 33,278 in 2007. Granted, last year’s unusually harsh winter forced golf courses to close for as long as 2 1/2 months. But average rounds played in 2006 weren’t much better, at 35,000 per course. That’s a decrease of 19 percent from nine years earlier.
“If the pie isn’t getting any larger but we keep dividing it into smaller slices, it makes it tough,” said R.T. Nelson, assistant executive director of the Colorado PGA Section.
Clubs now resting in the garage
Dwayne Adams was an avid golfer who has allowed dust to collect on his golf clubs. A 40-year-old research-and-development manager for Boston Market restaurants, Adams once played as many as 15 rounds per year. These days he’s lucky to get out once a summer.
“It’s mostly a time constraint,” said the Lakewood resident, who has two young children. “Even if you only play nine holes, it can take three or four hours if you don’t live near the course. Sometimes I think I’d like to play more. But once you tail away from golf, it’s harder to go back. It’s like the law of diminishing returns.”
Fox Hollow director of golf Craig Parzybok knows golf can be intimidating. He wishes there was a way to gauge when golfers have hit the point of frustration that turns them away from the game.
“Unfortunately, that’s hard for us to know,” Parzybok said. “They don’t tell us, ‘Well, if I don’t break 100 pretty soon I’m going to quit.’
“I wish we had a way to monitor that. It sure would be nice if we knew it might be a golfer’s last day in the sport. We’d try to make sure he comes back, maybe give him a free lesson or something.”
Not having four-plus hours to devote to golf is a common reason given by those who banish their clubs to garage sales. Studies by the Orlando-based National Golf Foundation show that the costs of green fees and equipment are much less a factor in why people give up the game.
“The time demands that everybody has these days, as an industry we have to start addressing that,” Nelson said. “There’s been this mystique that playing nine holes isn’t really a round of golf. Maybe after a day of work, a guy wants to go out and play four or five holes, which may only take an hour or so. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Indian Tree has a $10 rate ($15 with cart) for six holes. Nelson hopes others will follow. “We have to change our mind-set,” he said.
Rounds played remain flat
According to data collected by the National Golf Foundation, the number of rounds played in the United States has remained relatively flat for about a decade. The “Tiger Woods effect” produced a slight bump in the late 1990s, but the participation numbers settled back to between 28 million and 30 million golfers who play at least one round a year.
Nelson said the biggest benefit of the “Tiger Woods phenomenon or whatever you want to call it” is the increased diversification of the sport.
“If we want to grow golf, we have to find a way to reach out to all the segments of the population,” Nelson said. “I think that’s the way the game has to go. You can’t just target the juniors or women or seniors. There’s a lot more to it than that.”
Course operators and organizations such as the PGA of America (with its “Play Golf, America” program), junior programs such as the First Tee and various women’s groups are making the game more available. Lyon points to the city’s free clinics, mother-daughter clinics, senior clinics and junior programs as a way to grow the game.
“I think we need to reach out to diversity, getting different people involved,” Lyon said.
While there are success stories, the overall data reveals disappointing results at the ground level of the sport.
“The easy answer on whether too many courses were built in this area is yes, and I think that’s the answer you’d get from most of the golf course owners,” Mate said. “But if you ask the avid golfer, they’d say no. Golfers here are really spoiled. For the player, it’s wonderful.
“But I’d like to see the number of rounds go up. You can’t have 10 years of barely making it and that not having an impact. Course operators need enough revenue to reinvest into making things better. Otherwise, we might someday have clubhouses falling down.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
Top 10s
Tom Kensler’s favorites
1. Mariana Butte, Loveland
2. Ridge at Castle Pines North, Castle Rock
3. Bear Dance, Larkspur
4. Riverdale Dunes, Brighton
5. Heritage at Westmoor, Westminster
6. Red Hawk Ridge, Castle Rock
7. Green Valley Ranch, Denver
8. Fossil Trace, Golden
9. Murphy Creek, Aurora
10. Pelican Lakes, Windsor
Walker-friendly courses
1. City Park, Denver
2. Flatirons, Boulder
3. Lake Arbor, Arvada
4. Fitzsimons, Aurora
5. Aurora Hills, Aurora
6. Meadow Hills, Aurora
7. Overland Park, Denver
8. Wellshire, Denver
9. Eagle Trace, Broomfield
10. Saddleback, Firestone
Greater metro area growth
Public and semi-private courses
A look at the public and semi-private courses that have opened since 1995 from Loveland to Larkspur along the Front Range:
1995-99 (14 courses opened)
Black Bear (Canterberry), Parker, 1996
Buffalo Run, Commerce City, 1996
Ridge at Castle Pines North, Castle Rock, 1997
Saddle Rock, Aurora, 1997
Ute Creek, Longmont, 1997
Spring Valley, Elizabeth, 1997
Highlands Ranch, 1998
Box Elder Creek, Brighton, 1999
Broadlands, Broomfield, 1999
Heritage at Westmoor, Westminster, 1999
Omni Interlocken, Broomfield, 1999
Red Hawk Ridge, Castle Rock, 1999
Coyote Creek, Fort Lupton, 1999
Pelican Lakes, Windsor, 1999
2000-04 (11 courses opened)
Heritage Eagle Bend, Aurora, 2000
Murphy Creek, Aurora, 2000
Deer Creek at Meadow Ranch, Littleton, 2000
Green Valley Ranch, Denver, 2001
Saddleback, Firestone, 2001
Bear Dance, Larkspur, 2002
Homestead at Fox Hollow, Lakewood, 2002
Antelope Hills, Bennett, 2002
Fossil Trace, Golden, 2003
Vista Ridge, Erie, 2003
Highland Meadows, Windsor, 2004
2005-present (1)
Heritage Todd Creek, Thornton, 2007
Private courses
While the construction of public golf courses has come to a halt along the Front Range, private country clubs seem to be sprouting up all over the place:
Cherry Creek Country Club, 2002
The Golf Club at Pradera, Parker, 2005
Blackstone Country Club, Aurora, 2006
Colorado Golf Club, Parker, 2006
The Golf Club at Ravenna, Littleton, 2007
