EDITORIALS: Farewell to Cheap Golf

EDITORIALS: Farewell to Cheap Golf

Myrtle Beach Online

January 17, 2007

Nobody wants to pay more for anything. So golfers, residents and snowbirds alike, are upset over higher fees for winter golf.

The loss of 387 golf holes in the past eight years has caused increases in green and cart fees. Fewer golf courses (supply) and continued or increased desire to play (demand) causes the price to rise.

Thousands of golfers in the Grand Strand Senior Center's golf group are paying 15 percent to 20 percent more for green and cart fees. The higher cost is all the more painful because in recent years fees essentially remained unchanged.

It's easy to lament the loss of golf courses to housing and commercial development and to have sympathy for folks on a budget who benefited from cheap, plentiful golf. However, let's recognize the economics of Grand Strand golf. Unlike many other places, Horry and Georgetown counties and Brunswick County, N.C., do not have true public golf courses, those owned and operated by taxpayer-supported entities such as park districts or municipal park and recreation departments. Courses are private businesses that exist to make money - a fundamental point some folks constantly overlook.

Owners of marginal enterprises cannot be forced to remain in business just for the convenience and benefit of Joe Local and Sam Snowbird.

Really low fees are fading or gone now, although attractive rates are available. One group of 20 to 32 golfers organized by a Myrtle Beach retiree now has a rotation schedule of three lower-end courses for the entire year. The cost is $30 or less.

The former owner of Calabash Golf Links, a highly popular layout until it closed in 2005, said his course was getting a 5 percent or 6 percent return on an investment of millions of dollars. If you're seeing that return and an opportunity comes along, the decision to sell - and be rid of the headaches of operating a golf course - is basically a no-brainer. That's the way things work in a free economy, and it's unrealistic to think otherwise.

In the big picture, fewer courses and higher green fees strengthen golf in the Grand Strand tourism economy. This is a good thing for all of us.

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