what does it cost per month to maintane an 18 hole golf course?

by Odessa Russel 9 min read

How much does it cost to maintain a golf course?

As a start, let’s consider the following scenario: While the median club in the country spends close to $1.2M on course maintenance, two clubs within a few miles of each other spend $700K and $1.75M respectively on their 18-hole courses. We all know, and have probably played at, clubs on both ends of this spectrum. The Usual Discussion

How much does it cost to water a golf course?

Mar 07, 2019 · Mow fairways- 6 hours X 2 people X 3 days/week X 52 weeks/year = 1872 hours. A FTE (full time equivalent) is a person working 40 hours per week for 52 weeks which equates to 2080 hours. In the example above, just performing these three tasks would equate to a staff of 2 FTE (4264 hours / 2080 = 2.05). When you add all the other tasks such as ...

How many employees does it take to maintain an 18-hole course?

Apr 11, 2022 · The cost per green might range anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000, based mostly on the cost of the supplied sand. How much does it cost to build an 18-hole golf course? Development expenses for 18-hole courses in Europe range from €1.5 million in Eastern Europe to €2.6 million in Northern Europe to €2.7 million in Central Europe to €3.9 ...

What is included in a golf course maintenance plan?

Apr 06, 2015 · General Staffing for an 18-hole Golf Course 15 ... Cost-Reduction and Conservation Strategies 40 Appendices! 42 City of Rapid City Job Descriptions 42 ... (Naturalized areas may need burning or scarifying to keep the grass stand thin so golf balls can be easily found.)

Is owning a golf course profitable?

Buying a golf course is often a passion play. But with the right business savvy, it can also be a profitable enterprise.Aug 4, 2021

What are the financial costs of golf?

The cost to achieve the condition players expect — or will tolerate — ranges from about $500,000 a year for a daily-fee course to $1,000,000 a year for a private club, estimates Bob Randquist, chief operating officer of the Golf Course Superintendent's Association of America.Jul 1, 2020

How much does a golf course spend on fertilizer?

Their average is$325,000, with a breakdown for fertilizer at $20,000 and chemicals at $18,000.

How much does Augusta National spend on maintenance?

Membership is believed to cost between $100,000 and $300,000 and annual dues were estimated in 2020 to be less than $30,000 per year.

How many people maintain a golf course?

As a result, private facilities employ on average 10 full-time and 12 seasonal maintenance workers, while public courses have an average of six full-time and a dozen seasonal workers.Feb 10, 2012

What is the first basic etiquette rule in golf?

I. Remember the old staples of getting around in good time: Play "ready golf" (hit when ready, even if you aren't away) until you reach the green, be prepared to play when it's your turn on the tee and green, and never search for a lost ball for more than five minutes.Jul 27, 2008

What is golf course agronomy?

Superior golf courses depend on the expertise of professional agronomists. At its root, agronomy is the science of growing and maintaining plant life in the healthiest, most sustainable way. Golf courses depend on turfgrass that thrives within the area's environmental conditions.Aug 22, 2019

How much money does the Masters bring in?

The 2022 Masters purse was set at a record $15 million, paying out a total of $3.5 million more than it has in any prior edition of the tournament. Scheffler will bring home 18% of that sum ($2.7 million) for winning at Augusta National and taking down an extraordinarily talented Masters field.3 days ago

Do they paint the grass at Augusta?

Trees are cut so they all lean in toward the fairway, making the holes seem tighter. Any patches of bare grass are painted green to disguise them. The water contains food dye to maintain its immaculate sheen.Apr 10, 2019

Is Tiger a member at Augusta?

Augusta National member. Tiger Woods' playing partner. And, as of this week, golf course small project manager, too.Apr 4, 2022

How many bunkers are there in an 18 hole golf course?

Three recognized golf course equipment vending companies were contacted to provide a quote on a maintenance fleet that they thought would be necessary to maintain an 18-hole golf course with approximately 60 bunkers, 3 acres of greens (average size be-tween 4,000 SF and 6,000 SF), 3 acres of tees (46 tees), 35 acres of fairways, and the rest comprising out-of-play areas, and acreage for parking, clubhouse, maintenance, etc. We also asked the companies to estimate replacement cycles, and to recommend which pieces would be appropriate for purchase versus a lease option. These propos-als are included in the Appendix. GDI did additional research, consulting with two 18-hole golf course superintendents each with 30+ years experience in the industry, and a fourth equipment vendor with equipment sales and lease package experience. Their recommendations are the basis for recommendations herein.

What is Meadowbrook Golf Course?

The vision for Meadowbrook Golf Course is to restore the golf course to it’s former award-winning position as one of the top public golf courses to play, offering playable golf conditions for golfers of all abilities as well as being able to deliver a challenging venue for tournament play. In order to provide the golf conditions that realize the vision, the City of Rapid City and Meadowbrook Golf Course Maintenance staff must first de-fine a maintenance standard policy that outlines standards and expectations. Further-more, based upon expectations, adequate funding must be allocated to secure appro-priate equipment, and hire and/or educate professional and seasonal staff. The first step in developing this maintenance plan and budget was to clearly define maintenance standards and expectations, starting with the most labor-intensive task.... mowing.

Why is mowing important in golf?

Mowing patterns, color, and contrast are very important in defining the boundaries of a golf hole, separating playing surfaces, and helping the golfer to read the golf hole.

How does mowing affect golf?

Mowing heights and mowing direction can affect turf color and appearance, and thus affect the legibility of a golf hole.

What is the green speed on a stimp meter?

Green speed as tested with a Stimp meter will be 9 - 9.5 for daily play, and up to 10-11 for certain tournament events. Adjustments will be made as needed on Hole #11.

How tall is rough grass?

Rough will be comprised of bluegrass/fescue mix that will be maintained at pre-ferred height of 1.5 inch height of cut (HOC) for daily play. If fairway definition is insufficient, GDI recommends rough height be increased to 1.75 to 2 inches.

How long does it take to edge a bunker?

At a club with a comparable design/type of bunker, it takes 2 laborers 1 day to edge 10- 13 bunkers. At the club with a comparable bunker design, it takes two (2) laborers three (3) weeks annually to edge all 101 of their bunkers.

What is the most frequently mowed area of golf courses?

Putting greens are the most frequently mowed area of golf courses and the associated costs are significant. Mower technology has improved to the point where triplex units can produce a quality of cut equivalent to that of walk-behind mowers.

What are golf course accessories?

Golf course accessories – e.g. ball washers, benches, tee caddies, cleat brushes, divot mix containers and ornamental plantings – have become commonplace at many golf facilities. While course accessories are meant to add convenience or decoration, purchasing, installing and maintaining them requires considerable expense and labor. Increasingly, courses are removing some or all of their course accessories and ornamental plantings in an effort to focus more time and money on tasks that improve playing conditions. The result is streamlined maintenance, considerable savings of staff time and maintenance dollars and a cleaner presentation. The USGA case study, “ Eliminating Golf Course Accessories Saves Time and Money ,” documents the positive results at one course that chose to reduce course accessories.

Why are roughs important?

Even though they usually are not maintained intensively, the mowing and equipment costs associated with roughs add up because of their large size. The cost of maintaining rough areas may be much higher in arid regions where rough requires irrigation and water costs are high. Out of necessity, many courses in the Southwest removed maintained rough in peripheral areas to cut down on water usage and save money.

What is PGR in agriculture?

Many courses have adjusted fertility, pest control, wetting agent and plant growth regulator (PGR) programs in an effort to cut costs. However, overzealous reductions to these programs is a double-edged sword. For example, timely applications of wetting agents can reduce the need for labor-intensive hand watering.

How did the recession affect golf?

These effects are not surprising given the challenges created by an oversupply of golf courses that is partially the product of the aging golfer demographic and declining participation rates among younger generations. Furthermore, extended periods of severe drought have increased the price of water and limited its availability for golf courses.

How to save money during the recession?

A common approach to save money during the recession was to suspend capital expenditures for course improvements, replacing turf maintenance equipment and upgrading infrastructure such as irrigation systems and maintenance facilities. In the short term, this tactic was reasonable and successful.

Does fertilizer save money?

Fertilizer and Plant Protectants. Carefully analyzing fertilizer costs can reveal some significant opportunities to save money even though fertilizer does not represent a major percentage of a typical golf course maintenance budget.

Buzzkill

Don't have midwest info but when I worked in Florida our budget for two 18 hole courses with 2 mechanics and 15 greenskeepers was $750K which I believe is low by most standards. This was a private country club too.

Pepperturbo

In my experience - some numbers quoted here are low. Maybe they are low end courses (not meant as an insult anyone), can't say. On average, courses in AZ and CA cost about 6M-15M, depending on course turf, turf equipment and facilities. An acquaintance bought a tournament level course years back.

HenryBall

If you are running an 18 hole facility with food and beverage ops here are some of the numbers you can expect#N#Food and Bev operation: 150,000#N#Golf related expense (flags, event signs, handicapping, pos software, staff, range balls, etc): 100,000#N#Maintenance: 200,000#N#Marketing: 75,000#N#Misc repairs/expenses: 100,000#N#These numbers may be slighlty skewed.

8orBetter

I'm sure the cost of gas is a budget buster for a lot of courses out there, especially with a weak economy where membership is cutting back either due to being laid off from work or just cutting back on expenses.

KennyLee

Way too broad of a question to get a good answer to without a ton more information. I've seen budgets that were $300k per year (goat track) and places where the greenskeeper made that much or more.

Tstiles

How much could one expect to spend on operating expenses for an above average golf course in the Midwest? I don't have much information to offer but would like some info on this. Thanks guys.

SFbaybum

Are you guys including other op expenses if you have more than a golf course (pool, tennis, etc)?