Golf Clubs Feel Pinch of Economy

Posted by doug

March 23, 2009

sugarloaf countryclub Golf Clubs Feel Pinch of Economy

Behold the golf country club, a place of privacy, exclusivity, privilege and markdown bargains.

Bargains? Markdowns?

Although many restrictive private country clubs traditionally recruit members by invitation only, this month, the private Glenwood Country Club in Old Bridge, N.J., is advertising on the New York sports-radio station WFAN to promote memberships with no initiation fee and no monthly spending limits. The club is raffling off a free membership online and has advertised on billboards in New Jersey, inviting member applications.

In eastern Massachusetts, the resplendent Golf Club of Cape Cod opened two years ago with an attention-grabbing initiation fee of $85,000. Late last year, the club announced it would accept affiliated members who did not have to pay the fee for about three years. When that time period ends, the affiliated members will have to decide whether to remain and pay the full fee or to resign from the club — perhaps to look for another deal from another club.

In Arizona, the Anthem Golf & Country Club, about 35 miles north of Phoenix, is offering this month to pay the golf dues for new members through November. Anthem is also pursuing what is becoming a common strategy among private clubs, aggressively chasing the family market with a host of low-cost, nongolf programs and attractions.

“There are definitely bargains out there,” said Dana Garmany, the chairman and chief executive of Troon Golf, which manages 200 golf facilities, including 50 that are private. “It’s just like buying a car or a house right now. You just have to have the guts to pull the trigger.”

Read the rest of the New York Times article here:

Golf Clubs Feel The Pinch