Article Courtesy of The Orlando Sentinel

By Mary Shanklin    

Published February 4, 2015

        
At a time when some golf courses are headed the way of shuffleboard courts, developers at ChampionsGate west of Kissimmee are unveiling a new one.
  
The debut of ChampionsGate's third regulation-size course comes as golf-course closings nationally outnumbered openings 11 to 1 last year and when industry leaders are looking at "hack golf" to be the sport's salvation.

But during those years when the half-built course sat idle, the sport "leaked" players — about 5 million of them during the last decade, according to the National Golf Foundation. Many of the players fled to other sports, said Orlando-based real-estate consultant Owen Beitsch, who has consulted with golf-course owners around the country.

"Now every age is competing in a variety of sports and, even in older groups, golf is less attractive than it used to be," Beitsch said. "And since we're getting younger as a market, it's getting squeezed."

In a notable turn away from the longtime strategy of using golf courses to sell houses, Central Florida's leading residential development recently announced it was pursuing an alternative to the sport. Lake Nona is partnering on a 11-acre recreational lagoon that targets families, swimmers, paddle boarders, and kayakers. A west Florida developer likened the lagoons to "the new golf."

No other golf courses are currently being built in Central Florida, according to MetroStudy Regional Director Anthony Crocco.

"Generally you're seeing more trails and passive parks with the clubhouse and pool and also recreational programs," he added.

I think one of the reasons for golf's decline is that it seemed as though every new course being built had to be a "championship" style course - billed that way to attract home development and "prestige". However, most golfers shoot from the mid 90s on up, and these...

Lennar Homes Senior Division President Brock Nicholas concedes that his company isn't banking on an emerging sport with the new golf course at ChampionsGate: "On macro level, I think golf is mostly flat to a little down in terms of participation."

But, he added, the new set of links differs from courses that have failed.

Punctuated with white-sand bunkers, Bermuda grass and rolling panoramas, the course will initially open to public play but is intended to become private under the ownership of the homeowner association. Homebuyers have no initiation fees, which can be as pricey as a luxury car at other country-club courses. Renters in the resort-style community can purchase annual passes for as much as $3,500. Upkeep will be part of the monthly association fees, which now run about $300 to $350.

Newly built Mediterranean-style houses line the fairways and greens. Ultimately, plans call for about 800 houses there.

As the golf course evolves, the homeowner association may want to expand the hole size or shorten the playing distance to attract more players, Nicholas said. But the association will drive that decision, he added.

The trend in recent years has been toward remaking the game to make it more accommodating with larger holes and shorter fairways. The head of TaylorMade-Adidas Golf has championed "Hack Golf" tournaments with 15-inch-wide holes. Orlando home-builder Matt Orosz said his parent company, Hanover Land Co., purchased a development near Asheville, N.C., and is remaking it with holes that are 4 feet wide, music at every hole, bars every three holes, and a casual dress code.

"It's intended to be more social, like bowling," said Orosz, president of Royal Oak Homes.

Standing at the 14th hole at the new ChampionsGate course, community manager Mick Toscano said other courses have failed because members have been able to opt out of their memberships, leaving a big upkeep tab and too few members to pay it.

"This is going to be the new trend — bundle the course in with the HOA," said Toscana, regional manager for ICON Management Services Inc.

Lining the fairways, greens and streets of the new community are houses priced from the high $200,000 range and a new clubhouse with a lazy river and other resort-style features.

Buyers might not necessarily play golf when they purchase but they often envision themselves playing in the future, Lennar sales executive Joe Catanzariti Jr. said. Prospective buyers in focus research groups for ChampionsGate said golf would play an important role in their decision to purchase but relatively few had ever played. And they might never pick up a club.

"It's that dream, 'This is what I've always dreamed of — being in Florida, in the sun, and playing golf,'" Cantanzariti said.