Golf clubs try deals to keep business at par

Heath Taylor had not been a member of a country club in four years when he joined Aiken's Houndslake Country Club a little more than two months ago.

What brought him back?

No initiation fee and deep discounts -- the same creative measures that are attracting new members to area clubs in an uneasy economy.

In February, Houndslake eliminated its $2,500 initiation fee and reduced its monthly dues, which ranged between $78 and $270, to $52.50.

From there, members pay for activities on what the club calls its a la carte menu.

A round of golf? That's $20.

Tennis or swimming?

Another $5 per activity.

Members who pay $125 on top of monthly dues, can waive the golf surcharge and play all the rounds they want.

Before joining Houndslake, Mr. Taylor had to pay a $40 guest greens fee each time he played. Now he doesn't hesitate to hit the course.

"I played sporadically -- once a month to once every two months," he said. "Now I'm planning on playing weekly. I'd love to play twice a week."

Houndslake general manager Jeff Howell said the club could no longer expect members to come to them in the current economy.

"We needed to do something now before it was too late to do something," Mr. Howell said. "Our membership had not grown in six or seven years. It was either flat or going down the past two or three years. We said, 'We've got to change that trend.' "

In the 10 months since starting the a la carte menu concept, Houndslake has added more than 300 members, with more than 100 taking the golf upgrade.

So-called membership drives are nothing new. Bob Rickman, a member at semiprivate Mount Vintage Plantation, remembers joining West Lake Country Club in 1977 for a $500 initiation fee, well below the normal rate at the time.

"There are plenty of bargains all the time around here," he said.

The difference now is they are more prevalent.

"I have not seen a situation like this," said Forest Hills Golf Club head pro Bill Robinson, who has been in the business since 1981.

Gregg Hemann, the head pro and co-owner of Jones Creek Golf Club, agrees it's a buyer's market.

"You can be a member anywhere now!" he said, imitating the enthusiasm of a salesman.

For most of this year, West Lake ran what it called a "40/40" new-member incentive. In celebration of the private club's 40th anniversary, the normal initiation fee, which fluctuates, was dropped to $40. The new member had to commit to four years of dues, which run $300-plus monthly.

To lure younger members, the exclusive Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken sometimes offers a discount on its $15,000 initiation fee to a limited number of golfers. The fee becomes $7,500, and the members can pay it in installments.

RAY MUNDY, ONE of the owners at Jones Creek, follows the golf course industry and says "what's happening in Augusta is happening everywhere."

In northeast Pennsylvania, four courses that have long been competitors formed an unlikely conglomerate. Under what is called a Preferred Golf Membership, golfers can pay a yearly fee and play all four courses, according to the Pocono Record .

Public courses such as Forest Hills in Augusta are also making it easier on golfers' wallets when it comes to becoming a member.

Forest Hills has kept its $500 initiation fee intact but is offering this promotion: For the first six months, a new member pays $75 a month in dues instead of the normal $110. The club is also running a two-for-one greens fee special every day after 1 p.m.

When new ownership, which included Mr. Mundy and Mr. Hemann, took over Jones Creek in March 2008, the $500 initiation fee was dropped in an effort to attract new members. All they have to do is pay the monthly dues, which start at $150.

"An initiation fee is an obstacle for a lot of people to join a club," Mr. Hemann said. "Our thought is we want to focus on members and grow the membership. If we give them a good product and do a good job with them, they're going to stay with us."

"It's marketing and business economics 101," Mr. Mundy said. "You get your customer base and then start doing things to manage your customer base."

Sometime in early 2010, Jones Creek will have doubled its membership from when the new owners took over, passing 400 members.

At that time, an initiation fee will be reinstated.

Houndslake, which has more than 1,125 members, will also consider bringing back its $2,500 initiation fee when it reaches 1,500 members, Mr. Howell said.

SOME courses aren't hurting. Among the private clubs, Augusta Country Club, which charges a $35,000 initiation fee, and Champions Retreat are weathering the economic storm without seeking new members.

"Those are the only two," said L.D. Waters, who keeps tabs on the golf scene as owner of Bonaventure Discount Golf. "Most of the folks aren't going to give up their membership at the (Augusta) country club."

Mr. Waters said Augusta Country Club and Champions Retreat "are so rich, they've not been affected."

The other private clubs have been hurt more because their members are not wealthy.

"They're the ones the stock market killed," Mr. Waters said. "They're the ones not playing golf. I've got retired doctors (who come into his golf shop) going back to work."

"Nationally, those clubs are slowly going out of favor," Spike Kelley, the co-owner of the semiprivate Goshen Plantation Golf Club, said of private clubs. "No one wants to pay $300-, $400-, or $500-a-month dues.

"They're looking at how many rounds of golf they play and the cart fee, and ask, 'Do I need this?' " said Mr. Kelley, adding that the membership at these clubs is also getting older and playing less.

For private clubs that have lost members because of the poor economy, there could be a fallout. When things get better, those former members might not want to return as dues-paying members.

"They've found a lot of different courses they like to play. I can foresee them not joining a club again," Mr. Waters said.

Not everyone will bite on the deals available at area clubs. Doug Hathaway isn't a member anywhere, and he plans to remain a free-agent golfer.

"You've got a down market and so much competition and so many courses around here that offer so much variety, I hate to get locked in," he said.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE hold for Augusta-area courses?

Mr. Kelley and others said there were too many courses in the area even before the recession. In Richmond, Columbia and Aiken counties, there are 10 private clubs, six semiprivate clubs and six public courses.

"How many golfers are in the area?" Mr. Kelley asked. "Let's say there are 10,000. When they opened Champions Retreat (in 2005), those members had to come from somewhere. They didn't create new members. No one said, 'They're building a new golf course. Let's take up golf.' "

"We're in a member-driven business, just like a workout club," said Jones Creek's Mr. Hemann. "In this economy, everybody's fighting harder."

"If you threw a net in a 40-mile radius around the Augusta area, you've got so many golf courses you could go to," Mr. Hathaway said. "Competition is so stiff you can't demand those elite prices."

While Mr. Hathaway says "a lot of golf courses around here are not in very good shape," it's doubtful any will close their doors.

If they do, they will reopen soon enough. That's already happened in the past two years with courses in Wrens, Ga., and Warrenton, Ga.

"As a rule, in the past, golf courses don't go out of business, they just sell for less money," Mr. Kelley said.

AS BAD AS THE golf course industry might be in Augusta, it is better than most areas in the country, according to those surveyed for this story.

"Of course it is better here," said Mr. Kelley, whose Goshen course is in south Augusta.

He cites the construction of new reactors at Plant Vogtle in nearby Burke County as a development that will boost the golf course market.

"Augusta is a pretty good place to do business," said Jones Creek's Mr. Mundy. "Its transient nature brings people into Fort Gordon and SRS."

Mr. Mundy uses this example: At almost any time, he says, there are about 30 houses for sale in both the Jones Creek and West Lake subdivisions.

"Are they for sale because it's a bad market?" he asked. "No, it's upper management from companies moving in and out. Two months from now there will be a different 30 houses for sale. A lot of those people who come in want that golf experience."

Over at Bonaventure Discount Golf, Mr. Waters said he believes the area's golf courses will come through the recession unscathed.

"We're in good shape. You ought to be in a place like Atlanta. We've got some stuff fixing to take off," Mr. Waters said.

Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachroncicle.com.