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Article Courtesy of The News-Journal By KEN WILLIS Published August 16, 2010 The golf industry basically mirrors the housing market. If you have some cash, it's a great time to be buying. But a tough time to be selling. Many of the courses in Volusia and Flagler counties have never been in better shape, yet fewer and fewer people are noticing. Golf numbers are down, not just here but everywhere. Golf Datatech, a golf market research firm, reports a nearly 3 percent drop in number of rounds played this year, nationwide. The firm lumps Daytona Beach into the same market as Jacksonville, and that region is down 6.9 percent this year, largely due to a big hit in the normally busy month of January. Knowing they're not alone is small solace to those in the local golf business, where some are doing better than others, but no one is thriving.
Prices are always lower in the summer, but nowadays many courses have reduced their green fees to rates not seen in a decade or more, just to keep business flowing. "I was charging $50 during race week in '06, and people were throwing money at us," said John Cameron, director of golf at Daytona Beach's 36-hole municipal course. "I was running $45 during the rest of the winter, every day -- 'Don't like it? There's a guy right behind you ready to pay.' "Not anymore." City-owned: Daytona club's strategy backfires DAYTONA BEACH -- That old saying -- "be careful what you wish for" -- has again come back to haunt. Several years ago, John Cameron set out to put fewer golfers on the 36-hole Daytona Beach Golf Club. Nowadays, there's no effort necessary; too many golfers are staying away on their own. "There were a lot of tradesmen in town during the housing boom, and a lot of them played golf," says Cameron, director of golf at the city-owned facility. "And then the bubble burst. I gotta tell you, those guys aren't around anymore. Journeymen -- electricians, plumbers, sheet-rockers, whatever -- they're going on to the next town, wherever the work is. They were in Daytona for a good couple of years." If anything, Daytona was putting too many golfers on its two courses -- the North and South, which hosted well over 100,000 annual rounds through 2004 (even with 27 days lost to the three hurricanes of '04). In the name of quality control, a strategy was employed to lower the rounds while maintaining income. The tried-and-true method: Raise rates, not just daily green fees, but rates for those who purchase "pre-paid" green fees for an entire year (a public municipal course doesn't technically refer to the pre-paying golfers as "members"). "We had 650 pre-paids here," Cameron says. "When your tee sheet is loaded up with them, it creates other problems. Full tee sheet, slow rounds. No carts available at 10:30. Paying customer coming in at 10:30, teeing off at 11:15, doesn't have a cart. They're waiting 30 minutes for a cart. We worked to create fewer rounds, generate more money and build a better experience. And we succeeded, but then the economy went in the dump." In the last fiscal year, 2008-09, Daytona recorded just under 70,000 rounds played, and with prices stagnant or reduced, that's a big dip from the high-water marks. One of the advantages of municipal courses has always been their pricing. Generally speaking, a "muni" is cheaper to play than most other courses, especially those courses that are tied to a resort or a community and strive to be recognized as a "must-play" layout. But these days, with business down, prices are reduced everywhere. For instance, this time of year, you can play Daytona Beach for between $15-25, depending on the time of day. For $35, on Monday through Thursday, you can play either of LPGA International's two courses -- and golfers would consider the Champions and Legends courses to be "big league" compared to a typical municipal experience. "Everything from the top down is constricting down to where I am," Cameron says. "You have a choice. I know golfers; I know why I buy things. What am I gonna do?" Many businesses have one dominant overhead -- salaries. Golf courses also have large pieces of property that demand equipment, supplies and constant care. Over the past few years, Cameron says six full-time positions have been eliminated and largely replaced by part-time workers. His maintenance crew totals 17, which might sound like plenty until you consider all that goes into maintaining two golf courses on a daily basis. "That 17 includes the superintendent, two assistants and two mechanics," Cameron says. "Tell me who's doing that on a 36-hole course." Unlike non-municipal courses, Cameron doesn't answer to a board of directors, CEO or shareholders. However, he does have a city manager who answers to city commissioners who, eventually, answer to voters. "The last thing we want is for the taxpayers who don't play golf to pay for this," Cameron says. "I think we'd really be rolling in the dough if we hadn't hit the skids in '07, '08. We were on the cusp of doing something really great. Easy cruising, clearing profit of $150,000, $200,000 a year without even breathing hard. Now that's all reversed. Now we're operating at a deficit. "Lack of golfers, bad weather. Look at my rain days," he adds, thinking back to this past winter. "They're all coming in the worst months. You look out the window and say, 'I could've made $10,000 today.' Those add up. City-owned: 'New' Palm Harbor faces stiff competition PALM COAST -- You could practically golf in Palm Coast before you could live there. One of the first undertakings, when ITT began developing the community in the early 1970s, was construction of the Palm Harbor golf course, laid out by local course designer Bill Amick and opened in 1973. The course is still in good shape today, and appears to be doing solid business, considering the economic obstacles. But the road from then to now was anything but a steady round of par golf. In fact, the city's oldest golf course is also, for all intents and purposes, its newest. The course, closed in 2007, reopened late last year with a new look (there was significant redesign), new management (Illinois-based KemperSports, which also manages Cypress Head in Port Orange), and new ownership (the city of Palm Coast). The course's early days -- when most of Palm Coast was little more than an engineer's blueprint -- were highlighted by a relationship with Nancy Lopez, the future Hall of Famer whom ITT signed as "Resident Pro." Her Palm Harbor deal coincided with her rapid rise as an international golf star, and it was quite beneficial to ITT to have "Palm Coast" attached to her name on tournament pairing sheets around the world. Over the next three-plus decades, the Palm Coast golf scene would take on many different looks. Today it includes courses in all categories: Private, semi-private, resort, public and, in the case of the new Palm Harbor, municipal. Palm Harbor was closed in 2007 when Dallas-based developer Centex pulled out of its Palm Coast projects, including operation of the course. It donated the course to the city, and the city spent $4.5 million on renovation, which included a redesign by the DeLand course-design group Clifton, Ezell and Clifton. "It was a complete renovation from tee to green -- new complexes, new fairways, new drainage system," says Tom Cioffi, the course's general manager. "Completely brought the golf course up to today's standards. They did a wonderful job." Cioffi, a career club pro who has moved to the "front office," likes what's happened in the first nine months of Palm Harbor's new life. "We've done very well," he says. "We were budgeted to play a little over 37,000 rounds in the fiscal year. Even with the miserable winter we had -- the worst I've ever seen, and with our golf course being new, it took it hard -- we're still right on track to play those 37,000." But he also knows how tentative the golf business has become. For a county of a little over 90,000 people, Flagler has a glut of golf courses. One of the originals -- Matanzas Woods -- was shuttered three years ago. The supply-and-demand laws, combined with the shrinking number of golfers nationwide, keeps everyone on edge and begs the obvious question: Are there too many golf courses in Flagler County? "I don't know the answer to that," Cioffi says. "I can tell you that if one more would open, something would close. I think there are barely enough players to support what's here right now. What's happened in the industry is that the number of players has decreased, which is historic in the game. "Secondly, those players that are playing aren't playing as many rounds. And third, when they're playing they're not spending as much money per round. They're not buying clubs; they're buying one beer instead of four. All the ancillary spending has been affected." A municipality can draw on a variety of resources -- such as administrative staff and cheap reclaimed water -- to keep a golf course functioning and presentable, so Palm Harbor has certain advantages not enjoyed by corporate-owned facilities. Still, there are bottom lines and a chain of command that eventually demands results. "When we opened, there wasn't a new pool of players added to the area, so we're drawing from everyone else," Cioffi says. "We're all taking the same pie and splitting it up a little bit more. It's been very competitive." New private: Decline surprises developer NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Earlier this decade, when Jerry Johnson began developing Venetian Bay, his timeline included the well-received golf course that has dominated the community's southern acreage since late 2007. Two things he didn't envision, however: 1. That his golf course, designed by longtime area architect Lloyd Clifton, would dominate mainly by default ( because the flood of new housing dried up before finding Venetian Bay's southern reaches); and 2. That he'd be underwriting the operation of the golf course in his current fashion. "If you knew how much it cost a year to subsidize this place, you'd think I was nuts. Every week, I write a big check -- I know, to the penny, what we have spent," says the veteran home builder and developer, whose previous golf communities were Pelican Bay and Plantation Bay. "This is my third," says Johnson, who then pauses and delivers, slowly, what appears to be a stock completion to his sentence, ". . . and . . . it . . . will . . . be . . . my . . . last." If someone wanted to totally sabotage a project, wanted to open a budget-sucking recreational centerpiece to a large and very ambitious planned community at the very worst possible time, he couldn't have timed it better than to open a private golf course near the beginning of 2008. Still, Johnson has seen many economic downturns during his building career, so he too was expecting this one to follow the normal progression from dip to cellar to the climb-back. Oops. "I've been doing this for 40 years and have NEVER experienced anything like we're going through now," Johnson says. "The end (of the downturn) in the real estate, the end in the golfing market, I don't think is near. People don't have jobs; they don't have that extra money. They can't take that extra 50 or 60 bucks and put it on a game of golf, just like they've had to cut back on going out to dinner and on a lot of other things they've had to do." And if looking to bust the maintenance budget, you'd also be hard-pressed to find a better way than dotting an 18-hole course with some 140 sand bunkers -- the upkeep on bunkers is steep, and after torrential rain, which can wash out and deep-rut a bunker, it's downright staggering. "When we get a cloud-burst, it takes two days to get those traps back in shape," Johnson says. On the bright side, as an overall project, Johnson says the Venetian Bay community is about where it would've been -- in terms of numbers -- if the past several years had been relatively stable. "We probably, in the first three years, did as much as we should have in six years, so we're probably pretty well even if we maintain the reality of 150 homes a year," he says. "We did 300 homes a year. We did twice as much early on. It was a 10-to-15-year project and we're about six years into it. Even though we got fat in the beginning and skinny the last couple of years, it all turns out to basically be the same." The main cog of Venetian Bay's social blueprint involves memberships -- all-encompassing memberships, or those that include just golf or practically everything but golf (including dining and the beach/swim clubs). Johnson's lieutenants say they have just under 300 memberships, with about two-thirds of them being for golf -- at an average of 2.5 golfers per family membership. That number is actually up this year, they say, but not without financial inducements. "We gave some better value, I think, and we took away the need to have a (monthly) minimum on food and beverage," Johnson says. Like private clubs across the nation, however, they're willing to take outside play to help pay the bills. At Venetian Bay, they call it the "member for a day" program, with greens fees running from $50-60. Outside players can take advantage of this four times a year. "We have different programs we run for the public; we just don't let it interfere with the members, of course," Johnson says. "And the members don't seem to mind at all, as long as it doesn't interfere with their memberships. I think the members appreciate what we try to do. Our golf course is in better shape than it's ever been, and it gets better every day. I think the members understand and try to support the best they can, and that's a good thing." Family-owned: 'Gotta love the Riv' ORMOND BEACH -- If you find yourself in the company of folks from the local golf scene, just mention Riviera Country Club and await the quick and predictable response. "Ah, the Riv; gotta love the Riv," they'll smile and say. Of all the trouble in the Volusia-Flagler golf community, Riviera appears to be the rare course that's skating by largely unaffected. Not totally, but certainly better than most. The Riv is a rarity in many ways, beginning at the top. It's a family-owned golf course, with Eric Meyers serving as second-generation owner along with his wife Charlotte. They're not only on the deed, but in the office practically every day, heading a staff -- from pro shop to restaurant to maintenance building -- that sees precious little turnover. The phrase "home away from home" gets tossed around a lot, but it seems to fit at Riviera. The close proximity of the pro shop with the putting green, first tee, restaurant/bar and back porch makes for a very homey feel for the 200-plus golfing members and many visitors (locals and tourists). Says DeLand Country Club general manager and golf director Rob Onuska: "That's got to be the ultimate situation. I don't know how you explain it. Riviera has over and above what everybody else is trying to grab. It's definitely the model you aspire to be nowadays." And Daytona Beach Golf Club's John Cameron: "One owner, and the guy is there every day. Cares very deeply about the golf course. It's a great recipe. Eric is a great businessman, a smart guy. Whatever he's made he put back in the course, and the people love that. When they see the slow, steady improvement like that, they love that. They say, 'He's taking my money and putting it into my playground.' " Meyers has heard it before, but it never gets old. "I'm proud of that," he says of his club's reputation. But he's hesitant to take responsibility for the feel and vibe that's so evident at Riviera. Mostly, he'll spend all his time aiming the credit at Mike Boss, the longtime head pro ("he's the key," Meyers says). "The atmosphere? I haven't broken anything," is Meyers' simple explanation. "That's pretty much the answer. I don't have to monkey with it. I put out some fires every now and then, but that's it." None of it would work, of course, without a decent course. It's not long, by any means, and except for a few holes it's not especially challenging. It probably falls into the category of perfect "old neighborhood" course. "It's not Augusta National, but it's very playable. People enjoy it," Meyers says of the par-71 layout that, like many other area courses, is currently in excellent shape. Meyers' father and uncle -- Bill and Bob Meyers -- along with his mother Pat, moved here and bought Riviera in 1953 when it was just a nine-hole course. Bob was the "inside guy" while Bill drummed up business and got involved with the PGA and its sectional leadership. They built a second nine holes and, in 1960, began hosting a wintertime mini-tour event -- the Riviera Open -- that this year celebrates its 50th anniversary. Bill and Pat, Eric's parents, died in a small-plane crash in 1972 while on their way from Pensacola to Highlands, N.C. After some shifting of ownership shares over the next decade, Eric and Charlotte became sole owners in 1983. Along with continuing the golf tradition, they began increasing the other side of the business -- food and beverage -- and today there's a full-service restaurant and a cozy, dark, cool bar that's also the envy of other local courses. "When I was a kid," says Eric Meyers, "all we had was a snack-bar operation, with my grandmother making egg-salad sandwiches and my mom passing out Cokes." As good as it is, Meyers says you're fooling yourself if you think this past year has been smooth sailing. "We're feeling the effects," he says. "This year is not a good year, by the books, and I attribute it to the winter -- January and February, the unfavorable weather. I track it, and in January, we lost pretty much half the days due to the freezing weather and rain when no one is wanting to play. More of the same in February, and those months are our busiest times. When you lose those months, you don't recoup those. "The other thing, with the economy and the uncertainty of it, everyone has their specials on right now. We have rates now that we had back in the mid-'90s. Everyone is doing stuff like that." But the Riv is one of the few that seems to be successfully weathering the tide. "There are concerns," says Meyers, "but we're hanging in there." Old private: Bargains galore at DeLand CC DELAND -- The first "trouble in paradise" moment came last year, when ads started appearing in The News-Journal sports pages, telling golfers they could play DeLand Country Club, west Volusia's oldest and lone private golf course. On certain days at certain times, you could play for $35. Now: Any day, any time, $25. Or $80 for a foursome. That's good news for area golfers, especially those from the east side of the county who might like to play an old-school layout with actual elevation changes (subtle, but certainly not flat) at a low rate. But for members and staff, it was a concession to the current climate. "Obviously, it's financial," says Rob Onusko, general manager and director of golf. "Your membership can only decline so much and you have to open up the revenue stream. The economy hurt our membership so bad, we couldn't maintain." On July 1, DeLand Country Club officially became "semi-private," a designation given to courses that sell memberships and give certain privileges to members, yet remain open to outside play. Onusko said it wasn't the easiest of sells with the current members, but facts are facts. "They're probably still not a fan of it -- some of them. But the writing is on the wall," he says. "You either do it or you close. And they understand. They understand why you're doing it. We lost maybe 20 percent of the membership. Some decided it wasn't worth it -- if you're gonna belong, you probably need to play three times a week to make it pay for itself." Like most private clubs across the country, DeLand has been forced to lower its rates -- for golf, a yearly single membership is $1,300, or $1,700 for a family. The club's six-court tennis facility has been sold to a group from Orlando called "Tennis Maximus," which will operate separately from the golf operation. The club's swimming pool is currently closed and needs repairs. The golf course? It's not in its best shape ever, but remains very playable (and unique, compared to the rest of Volusia/Flagler courses), especially considering the circumstances surrounding its current maintenance team. "We're running a skeleton crew, skeleton budget, until we can get it to work, and I think we can get it to work," Onusko says. "We've chopped every possible expense that we can cut just to try to keep going. We were at 12 (maintenance workers), now down to six, which is very tough. Some of those are part-time." The club has also found corners to cut (or not) cut) on the course without, they hope, deeply sacrificing aesthetics. "Obviously, the fairways and greens you have to keep up on as much as you can, but we've definitely changed the patterns," he says. "Some of the off-the-wall areas that aren't really in play, now are cut like every other week rather than every week." Things may never again be the way they were for the old club, but Onusko thinks the recent moves are the best way to revive the golf business at DeLand Country Club. "We feel good about it working, and that's based on the response we've gotten the last few months, and the numbers that are coming in, as far as the rounds played," he says. "June was better than May, and July was better than June. If our numbers continue to improve and we get some more cash, we can spend it on the golf course." |
