 
It is the time-tested, gallows humor of a recession ”“ getting laid off at least leaves spare time for some extra rounds of golf.
As the economy struggles to swing back into gear, country clubs are entering the spring with renewed questions about maintaining their membership levels as corporations and families look to cut extraneous costs.
Tri-state area golf rounds played dropped 28 percent between 1999 and 2007, according to the Elmsford-based Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA), and a survey of more than 100 members this winter showed that more than half expect a decline in their membership levels in the upcoming year.?With the Northeast golf season unofficially kicking off in April, it is too soon to tell how the recession will impact rounds played; East Coast golf resorts have showed differing results this past winter, according to Golf DataTech, a Kissimmee, Fla.-based market research company. While some Florida destinations like Naples and Palm Beach recorded a 3 percent increase in rounds played in January from a year earlier, others like Myrtle Beach and Charleston in South Carolina reported declines ranging from 1 percent to 10 percent.
Out West, Arizona courses notched across-the-board gains in January, despite the state”™s parched economy; California courses did likewise.
Courses in the Northeast are taking steps to retain and add members and control costs, according to Jay Mottola, executive director of the MGA. Many courses are discounting their fees and allowing members to stretch payments over time or even take a leave of absence.
While about a third of courses surveyed by MGA indicated they were proceeding with capital projects as planned, the rest indicated they were scaling back such projects or freezing them outright. Â
To compensate for lost revenue, some courses are considering lifting caps that limit the number of members, on the theory that courses will not be overpopulated due to existing members playing fewer rounds in recent years.
And several are looking to produce a “ripple effect” by relaxing guest policies to get more non-members to experience a course in hopes they may join ”“ even allowing guests to play unaccompanied by a member.
And courses can drum up word of mouth by being extra accommodating to charity groups that sponsor tournaments at their facilities.
Most importantly, clubs are teeing up programs to spark interest by women and juniors. MGA sponsors youth clinics throughout the tri-state area, and has focused its “Golf Grows Here” capital campaign on bringing new players to the game.
The National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) is sponsoring small-group introductory lessons at hundreds of courses nationally, including Twaalfskill Country Club in Kingston. Dubbed “Get Golf Ready” and offering five lessons for $100, NGCOA”™s CEO calls it the most ambitious player development program in the sport”™s history.
“I won”™t insult your intelligence by characterizing the year just completed as anything but extremely challenging for many of our members,” said Mike Hughes, CEO of NGCOA, in a letter to members. “On the other hand, I”™m not ready to declare, as Chicken Little did in the enduring fable, that the sky is falling ”“ even if it sometimes feels like we”™re being pelted by acorns the size of golf balls.”
