Posted 02.24.2009

Against the wind

Corporate golf bookings remain steady despite the recession

By Gary Baines

Dennis Lyon, manager of golf for the city of Aurora, didn’t know exactly what to expect when Aurora Golf recently sent out a survey to 25,000 people on its e-mail list, asking them if they planned to play more, less or the same amount of golf in 2009.

Given the state of the economy, and that people are watching their expenditures closer than usual, Lyon wouldn’t have been at all shocked to get a different consensus than the city received. But by a 12:1 margin, more people indicated they planned to play more rather than less this year. Out of 280 respondents, 133 said “more,” while 11 said less and 136 about the same. “That was really surprising to me,” Lyon said.

Lakewood Country Club

Though golf operators in Colorado fully understand they’re not immune to economic downturns, it appears things aren’t as bad here as in many other areas of the country. After all, a telephone survey conducted in November by Seton Hall Sports Poll and the Sharkey Institute indicated that 47 percent of U.S. golfers were going to cut back their spending on the sport because of the recession.

If that’s the case, it’s reasonable to assume booking of corporate golf events might also be taking a hit. But at least in Colorado, the outlook isn’t all that grim. Conversations conducted late in the fall with 15 golf executives, directors of golf and head professionals in Colorado indicated that while the booking of such events may be a little softer than normal in our state, in many cases it’s been business as usual — while keeping fingers crossed about the future.

“I haven’t heard any horror stories yet, but that’s not to say we aren’t keenly aware of the (economic) situation,” said Tim Lollar, the director of golf at Lakewood Country Club and president of the Colorado Section PGA. For some, it comes down taking a big-picture view of the situation. “Most people are still booking (corporate outings); they’re not sacrificing entertainment or marketing,” said Kevin Laura, president of Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver, home of the HealthOne Colorado Open Championships. “Golf is still an affordable entertainment tool and morale booster. … Smart people realize that in tough times you want to stay in front of customers instead of cutting your marketing arm off like what sometimes happened in the past. “The return on investment for golf is so much higher — it’s enjoyed by all. It’s a low price point per head for all day. You could see 100 to 150 clients in one place.”

The consensus among Colorado golf officials contacted was that most in-state courses expect to host close to the same number of corporate events in 2009 as they did in 2008, though the number of participants in those events may decrease. “People are a little more price-sensitive and price-conscious,” said Matt Schalk, director of golf at Vista Ridge Golf Club in Erie. “In years past where we might have had 144 players (for a corporate outing), some now will have 100 or 120. It’s not that the events are going away, but the numbers might be a little smaller.”

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