Page 28 - BusinessWest April 4, 2022

Golf
Continued from page 25
momentum generated over the past two years is sustainable.
Meanwhile, on the banquet side of the bal- ance sheet — a huge part of the business for many operations — there are many signs of improvement as well. Indeed, after 2020 was almost a complete washout and 2021 saw events but certainly not a full slate, especially later in the year, 2022 looks to be something approach- ing normal.
“The phone is ringing off the hook on the banquet side,” Burak said. “And that’s been so quiet — it’s been killing us for two years.”
Cardaropoli agreed, noting a slower pace of improvement at Twin Hills, with the phone ring- ing far more often than it has the past few years, at least with people looking to book events.
“The banquet side is just starting to pick up now,” he said. “Our January and February were terrible, we picked up a few in March, and April looks a little better; it’s really starting to look good for the fall, especially for charity tournaments.”
Returning to the golf side of the business, while the outlook is certainly upbeat, one wild card when it comes to how well these courses do concerns what happens with pricing, said Menachem, noting that, while increases are inevitable, courses need to walk a fine line on this matter.
They no doubt need to raise prices to cover the increases they’re facing, but they should be careful not to raise them to the point where such hikes might discourage those getting into the game or becoming more serious about it.
“There has to be some caution and some bal- ance,” he said. “With the way we’re seeing these trends with new golfers coming in and others coming back to the game, we want to make sure we’re not boxing them out or
potentially losing them again. Ten to 15 years ago, we saw some similar trends, when golf was at its peak and we were get- ting new golfers. Prices were going up, and we lost some of those fringe golfers.”
Those we spoke with said they’ve had no choice but to raise fees given all the price increases they’ve been hit with — on the labor front and every other front, for that matter.
turn out to be once things really get going,” he said, adding that these sentiments are true on both the golf and banquet sides of the business.
“With the way we’re seeing these trends with new golfers coming in and others coming back to the game,
we want to make sure we’re not boxing them out or potentially losing them again. Ten to 15 years ago, we saw some similar trends, when golf was at its peak and we were getting new golfers. Prices were going up, and we lost some of those fringe golfers.
“Wehavetogouponour
membership, and we have
to raise our price on greens
fees and cart fees just to stay stable and com- petitive with the market,” Fontaine said. “With COVID and now the war in Ukraine, people have become accustomed to seeing prices going up, but I’m not sure how much higher we can go.”
Burak agreed, noting that Tekoa has increased greens fees $3 across the board, with member- ships going up as well. Those hikes, implement- ed last fall, probably don’t cover all the increases he’s facing, he said, but competition for the
golf dollar is steep, and the somewhat modest increase he’s implemented reflects that.
But he was quick to note that further adjust- ments may be necessary if inflationary trends continue.
“We’re going to have to see what our expenses
”
Bottom Line
Summing up the outlook for 2022 and beyond, Menachem said there is plenty of room for optimism within the golf industry, but there are also some bunkers and water hazards, figu- ratively speaking, that present real challenges to progress — and profitability.
“With all the positivity or demand and inter- est, there’s definitely, on the flip side, things we need to be focused on,” he said, adding that, in most respects, those within the industry expect to build on the momentum that’s been gener- ated and put up some good numbers. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
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