If there’s anything we learned from the pandemic, it’s that outdoor activities are great economic drivers, and recent golf course management studies have reconfirmed this idea. According to a study by the Spanish Association of Golf Managers (AEGG), 75% of golf clubs in Spain ended 2022 breaking even or with a positive account balance, a fact that seems even rosier considering the 2020 break and the slow recovery of 2021.
2019 was the last year of pre-pandemic numbers and, in comparison, 2022 resulted in 32% more golf courses with a neutral, profitable or very profitable economic result. Of the golf courses surveyed in 2022, 83% had an annual budget of less than 3 million Euros and 12% report a budget of more than 5 million.
Flexibility and the ability to adapt to change were determining factors when it came to economic results, and have incidentally had a positive effect on sustainability. During the months in which the influx of foreign tourists was reduced, Spanish golf clubs took the opportunity to leapfrog ahead of environmental regulations and implement new practices to reduce water consumption. The vast majority of respondents to the study indicated they invested in ferti-irrigation techniques, new desalination pumps and improved irrigation pipes and sprinklers. They also stopped irrigating practice fields, decreased the amount of irrigation of the roughs, and increased the use of recycled water.
In our Arum Talks on the impact of golf resorts in Spain, our participants spoke to the trend of reducing the number of holes per game in golf course design. Players are increasingly demanding 12-hole and even 9-hole tournaments due to time constraints. But this change will have a positive impact on sustainability as well, because it will reduce the area that requires irrigation and thereby reduce water consumption.
In terms of energy expenditure, it is notable that 60% of the clubs spend only 5-15% of their budget on electricity. In large part, this is achieved through the installation and use of photovoltaic panels, the prevalence of LED lights, and the reorganisation of member schedules.
According to the study, one of the challenges in the coming years will be to attract new players. Only 5% of clubs have more than 20% of members or guests under the age of 18. In the majority of clubs (60%), the average age of players is over 65. How can golf make itself more attractive to young people? This is one of the major questions that hangs in the air and for which strategies must be developed that include families, the programming of golf events, and a greater focus on women’s golf.
For the time being, the golf course remains the backbone of many tourist resorts, providing a great attractive power for guests, and the future of golf course management must link this activity with other educational or leisure activities that will give the clubs greater dynamism.
Download the full study (in Spanish)
