Cost of Game Is Driven Up : Golf: Plush new courses in Southern California carry a high price tag: Their green fees leave ordinary players on sideline.

The new wave in Southern California golf is not an oversized driver, cross-over putting grip or even Payne Stewart’s Oakland Raider knickers. It is high-class, high-cost courses, which are squeezing weekend golfers into a tight and vulnerable spot.

According to estimates by the Southern California Golf Assn., 11 public courses have been built since 1990, with an average daily greens fee from $49 to $75, all but one including a mandatory golf cart. By comparison, the average round at Griffith Park, one of the most popular municipal courses, is $16 to $20.50, not including an optional $15 cart.

“There is a concern right now because the new courses that are coming in carry a higher price to build and therefore must charge more to play a round,” said Robert Thomas, director of communications for the SCGA. “Most low daily-fee courses are already played to the maximum, and we are not going to see any more being built.”

As a result, the Southland will likely remain one of the thinnest areas in the nation in terms of holes available per golfer.

The Los Angeles/Long Beach metropolitan area and its population of 9.1 million ranks No. 298 out of 302 in public golf hole supply, according to 1994 figures compiled by the National Golf Foundation. The national average is 43 holes per 100,000 people. Los Angeles/Long Beach offers only 13 holes per 100,000.

The highest daily fee among the courses built since 1990 is charged at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach. For $75 to $145, anyone can play the ocean course that opened in 1991 or the links course that opened in 1993.

Despite the high fees, the response to Pelican Hill “has been very positive,” said Jay Colliatie, director of golf. While some golfers complain of high greens’ fees many simply pay and play.

“People want the experience of a country club facility but for various reasons do not want to pay the fees to join one,” Colliatie said. “People are willing to pay the money as long as they are treated well and can get that country club experience.

“Both courses have been a success since they opened, and I think it is because we have a large population to draw from and offer an experience and environment that golfers want.”

All golfers may dream of playing the plush holes of Pelican Hill, but reality leaves them on the crowded city courses or on their local course, which may be both affordable and unspectacular.

But it is also reality that pushes developers toward upscale courses that bring higher fees.

“To build just an average golf course in Southern California today would cost between $6 million and $7 million,” said Doug Howe, vice president of Club Corp. of America, which owns or operates 13 courses in the Southland. “Unless you’re building a course subsidized by something else--like a real estate development--you can’t afford to go out and build a course and charge low daily fees.”

One alternative to courses like Pelican Hill may be a revamped course that looks and plays better than before but still carries a low price tag.

Management companies such as American Golf and Club Corp. are hired by cities or private companies to clean up courses, organize day-to-day operations, increase or maintain the revenue to the owners and, in general, make the courses better and the golfers happier.

In 1994, American Golf Corp. was hired by Long Beach to run five of its courses. The company overhauled them, but the city did not raise fees that year, then increased prices in 1995 according to the current price index, which turned out to be about 50 cents.

The city receives lease payments and a percentage of revenue and gets better courses for residents without having to handle the day-to-day operations of the courses.

“The positive thing is we’ve been able to maintain our greens fees but also upgrade the quality of our golf courses,” said Phil Hester, Long Beach’s manager of parks. “With the trend now toward a more expensive round of golf, we understand the need to keep the fees low.”

American Golf worked a similar deal with courses in Pasadena and Los Angeles and operates more than 50 courses in Southern California.

“The problem has always been and will always be that there are not enough municipal courses,” said Joe Guerra, vice president of American Golf. “With the land constraints in L.A., that is always going to be that way. That is why it is vital to maintain the public courses already available.”

But upgrading courses does not solve the central problem of too many golfers and not enough low-cost courses.

There are no simple answers, but one possible solution emerged in Escondido with the opening of The Vineyard in December 1993. The par-70 layout is not a low-budget course for those seeking a $10 round. But according to the SCGA directory, golfers can pay between $18 and $40 a round, depending upon factors such as age, day of the week and tee time.

The Vineyard was created because the cities of Escondido and San Diego owned a large portion of land and wanted a first-rate golf course. What they did not want was the cost burden of developing the land, designing the course and constructing the facilities. Cobblestone Golf Group then contracted to build and operate the course, paying rent and a percentage of revenue to Escondido, as American Golf does with Long Beach.

The unique aspect of the deal was that before any dirt was turned, city officials and Cobblestone agreed on greens fees and on the rate of increase in ensuing years.

“I think we were able to please both sides because we sat down and discussed the costs and what it would take for the course to be a good investment for both sides,” said Gary Dee, vice president of operations for Cobblestone. “We understood the city’s desire to give a discount to residents [$15 for a round], and they understood that to support the costs of a nice modern facility, and I am not talking lavish, it takes $30 to $45. We told the city that up front and they knew that, and we were able to go forward from there.

“I think our deal with the city of Escondido was not terribly different [from] what has been done before but I think it is rare in this day and age. I think what was unique and also what made it successful was that we agreed on fees that the city was comfortable with but also were enough for us to get a return on our investment.”

In April, the American Society of Golf Course Architects met at St. Andrews, Scotland. One of the topics of discussion was attempting to build cost-effective courses for the consumer.

“In Scotland, you see how near and dear public golf is to the people,” said Chad Ritterbusch, director of communications. “The response from the members after the meetings was to find a way to build quality low-cost courses in the U.S.”

However, the 125 members of the society are at the mercy of their clients, and there is little an architect can do if the investor wants a certain caliber course and maximum return from the investment.

“Not cutting corners, putting a little more into your golf course is worth the investment,” said Jeff Brauer, the society’s president. “In California, a developer can get away with putting an extra $300,000 to $1 million into a course, and with the 12-month season, that translates into maybe one dollar added to the cost of a round.

“Plus, you have to pay for the first impression. People used to be willing to play a course that was still growing, but now they want their new courses perfect when they open. In California, even spending $10 million to $12 million on a course can be economically viable.”

The ASGCA is trying to educate its members on ways to keep design costs down, which could result in a lower fee when the product is complete. A five-page newsletter is being sent to members with tips on how to cut irrigation costs and improve land management.

But even an effort by course architects probably won’t completely solve the problems of Southern California.

“The image of golf as an elitist sport is something we’re trying to combat,” the SCGA’s Thomas said. “But any time you put an upward rate on fees, you are pushing somebody out of the market.”