Golf Suffers When Public Green Fees Become an Illusory Pot of Gold

Re: “Can Golf Control Its Fade?” (Aug. 12): While it is encouraging that the National Golf Foundation and the PGA recognize the decline of the golf industry in the 1990s, it is discouraging that neither organization recognizes the root cause of the problem.

In the aftermath of World War II, municipalities embarked upon an ambitious program to build and purchase golf courses for the same reason that municipalities built and purchased other large recreational tracts: so that ordinary working men and women in large urban areas could avail themselves of the open-space recreational activities that had previously been available only to the rich. With an expanding base of affordable golf courses, the game’s popularity soared. The inexpensive municipal golf course became the point of entry for three generations of new golfers.

All of that changed about five years ago. Facing budget deficits, municipalities across the nation began to eye their public golf courses as cash cows. Los Angeles County raised its basic weekday green fee 90% between 1990 and 1995, a period of time in which Southern California wages, sales, profits, employment and real property values plunged. The combination of exploding prices and a sick economy produced the inevitable result: Los Angeles County’s 16-course system played host to 203,000 fewer rounds of golf in fiscal year 1994-95 than in fiscal year 1991-92.

Golf’s great point of entry, the affordable public course, is no longer attracting the new players necessary to keep the golf industry going at peak levels. Yesterday’s “muni” player is today’s purchaser of expensive equipment, resort packages and private club memberships. The industry must recognize that tomorrow’s big golf spenders will be a much smaller group unless the industry begins to take an active interest in restoring the availability of affordable public golf courses.

CRAIG KESSLER

Public Affairs Chairman

Southern California

Public Links Golf Assn.

Buena Park

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We appreciated your Saturday, 8/12/95, front page story on golfdom’s concern about a threatened decline in participation and revenue--especially since Lynx golf equipment (and Fred Couples, who wears the Lynx cap and uses Lynx equipment) was featured.

Alas, you failed to mention that Lynx Golf Inc. is in the City of Industry, in L.A. County--although you included the location of a competing golf equipment firm elsewhere in California.

Since our organization is also the Industry Chamber of Commerce, you can understand our concern about the oversight. After all, Lynx golf gear and its famed users are about the only media-covered “glamour” products we export in this busy industrial city.

R.H. REGISTER

Executive Director

Industry Manufacturers Council

City of Industry

P.S. By no coincidence, star golfer Ernie Els, who also wears the Lynx cap, was featured on the front page of the sports page on the same day your article appeared.