What happens when golf courses close? The Urban Land Institute takes a look at some of the options being explored around the country in this recent article. It’s a continuing problem, as golf course closures across the country continue to dramatically outpace openings.
“The idea of building residential developments in the United States around golf courses is being rethought as demand for golf facilities continues to fade. The National Golf Foundation (NGF) reports that 2013 was the eighth-consecutive year that golf course closures outpaced openings, with 158 closures and 14 openings. Ninety-six percent of those closures were public courses. The foundation also reports that there had been an estimated drop of 600,000 golfers compared with the year before, reflecting a continuing decline in golfing since 2006. The total decline in golfers since 2006 has been roughly 4 million. Following a 40 percent growth in golf in the United States from 1986 through 2005, a period when more than 4,500 courses opened, 643 18-hole courses have closed since 2006, according to the NGF.
In 2005 … there were about 16,000 total courses … as of January 2014, the total U.S. supply of 18-hole golf courses was 14,565, according to the NGF.”
Read more here.
Thumbnail Photo Credit: Emi Yañez from Barcelona, Spain via Wikimedia Commons