Madison golf courses post record loss, renewing talk of closures. (Madison.com, 5/8/2019)
After struggling for years and hit by an especially wet season, Madison’s public golf courses lost a record $863,320 in 2018, leaving the future of city golf operations uncertain with long-term closure of all four courses on the table, city officials said Tuesday.
Notes from Golf Courses: An Ever-Changing Challenge. (American Association of Appraisers)
Three traditional types of courses
- municipal
- daily fee
- private
Golf course closures during the 2000s
- 1083 facilities (or the equivalent of 800 18-hole courses)
- 57% 9 hole (Glenway and Monona category)
- 93% public
- of the public facilities that closed, 85% charged a green of $40 or less
Golf course openings during the 2000s
- 81% 18 holes or more
- >60% real estate or resort
- 66% of public facility opening had green fees >$4
- 28% private
- 92% regulation courses
Demographics
- 1950s golf 'boomers' are aging out of the game by 100,000 players per year
- From 2009 to 2010, number of rounds declined 2.3%, with higher numbers in Florida
- 8.4% Tampa region
- 7.4% south Florida
- 6.9% Orlando
- Avid golfer profile
- 56 years old
- $82,000 annual income
- golfs 25 times per year
Related reading:
Record loss for Madison golf courses prompt Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway to create task force. (Capital Times, 5/8/2019)
The financial loss highlights the uncertain future of the Golf Enterprise Fund, which operates Yahara Hills, Glenway, Odana Hills and Monona golf courses. Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said she will be pulling together a task force to develop recommendations for the city's golf operations.
“Everything needs to be on the table,” Rhodes-Conway said, including closures. “These are significant pieces of land in the city’s parks portfolio and what is the highest and best use for them. I think that’s really the question.”
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