signs of a golf course in trouble

20 + 1 Signs of a Failing Golf Course. Is This Your Neighborhood Golf Course? 

DO YOU RECOGNIZE ANY OF THE 20 SYMPTOMS AT YOUR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT GOLF COURSE? 

  1. Irrigation is over 25-years old. Line breaks, water beds on fairways, rusty controller boxes, can’t find heads. Blank or dead spots?
  2. The parking lot is breaking up. Potholes. Striping faded away. Tree root bumps?
  3. Cart paths breaking up. Same as the parking lot?
  4. Many kitchen appliances not working properly – or not at all?
  5. Point-of-sale (POS) system software is ten years out of date?
  6. The advertising and marketing budget is almost down to zero?
  7. Newest greens mower is over ten years old (fluff falling out of the seat)?
  8. Management (or management tactics) has not changed or adjusted in several years?
  9. The banker calls almost daily - asking how many golfers booked on the tee sheet today.
  10. All the club can pay rank-and-file employees is the bare minimum wage?
  11. Accounts payable dating averaging up to 90 days?
  12. The average age of the membership is well over 60?
  13. Membership roster has declined by 20% or more since 2015?
  14. Recent appraisal far below what it was ten years ago?
  15. The clubhouse is over 15,000 square feet in size?
  16. That big beautiful banquet hall sits idle 99.9% of the time?
  17. The greens need re-grassing?
  18. Sand traps don't drain. Discolored due to sand and soil mixing?
  19. The club hired a golf course management company hoping for a 'magic' turn-around, because the owner or board can no longer manage it? 
  20. Do you recognize any one of the above? Then your golf course neighborhood is (probably) already in big trouble!

Now is the time for your HOA to act. Read this article by highly respected appraiser, Larry Hirsh, of Golf Property Analysis: https://golfprop.com/blog/hoas-and-poas-now-could-be-the-time-to-act/

Here's number 21 (scary): The golf course is offering special longer-term memberships for cash today. Many courses do that in desperation to raise capital for major breakdowns like a leaking clubhouse roof, or to refurbish a 30-year-old irrigation pump house. 

Your HOA/POA can hire the team of Kahn, McIntosh, and White as your consulting team for 30-days, which includes an on-site visit and analysis. You've got over 150-years of combined experience available to you by email, phone, or text for 30-days. We are experts on any type of golf course and residential community golf course-related issues. Before you hire us we'll arrange a get-acquainted conference call with your Home Owner Association (HOA/POA) Board of Directors.

We can provide endless references.

SEND AN EMAIL TO mike@golfmak.com TO ARRANGE FOR A FREE CONSULTATION. GET GOLF COURSE  BUSINESS EXPERIENCE GOING BACK TO THE 1950s. In your email message, include a brief outline. I always answer. Learn about the team of Kahn, McIntosh, and White at https://golfrescues.com/about-us/

In our experience, many golf club owners, bankers, homeowners, and especially member-owned facilities don't know (or don't want to know) how bad their financial situation has become. Eventually, they fall into the eleventh-hour mess and are forced to make decisions that seal their doom. If the golf course is part of the residential development, potential losses in property value can run to many millions!

Evidence everywhere indicates there are thousands of courses in the USA right now bordering on bankruptcy. "We can't tell you how many properties we hear from by the time it's too late to save them." Mike Kahn

If you are a banker, course owner, or board member, or HOA/POA board member and there is even a hint of the golf course in financial trouble - that's the time to call Mike Kahn: 941-739-3990, or write to mike@golfmak.com.

To experienced operators, which we are, the signs are all around. Wet spots on clubhouse ceilings, shaggy bunkers, soft cups, leaning flag sticks, broken cart paths, or spot treating diseases instead of full eradication are just some of the obvious signs of a golf course in trouble. It all boils down to deferred maintenance - like not changing the oil in your car. Remember the slogan, "Pay me now, or pay me later!" It's the entire community that will suffer.

Like most curable illnesses, we believe many golf courses can be saved if treatment begins early. However, the process must start with a proper analysis. Our approach is to be aggressive - especially the HOA/POA. For a golf course to survive - especially residential development golf courses, some strategies may be painful - including lawyering up to start protecting your community.

In our analysis, we visit and review the entire property and all of its components, including; financial statements, operational behaviors and activities, membership activity, the competitive marketplace, equipment, key personnel, and we also learn about the community where the golf course is situated.

We look over, under and around as many nooks and crannies as we can find. We carefully inspect the clubhouse, kitchens, washrooms and locker rooms. We inspect the maintenance facility, pump house, storage rooms, offices, and parking lot. We inspect all amenities like swimming pools, tennis courts, fitness centers, banquet facilities, practice facilities, cart storage, and any other parts of the property. What we see tells us all about how the business is managed.

We also learn about the relationship between the golf course and its immediate neighbors. In many cases, we learn the relationship has been strained for a long time.

Our inspections are done together with the principals, significant board members, or concerned bankers or lenders, and HOA/POA members. In the course of our physical inspection, we will have provided our observations, opinions, and recommendations for the decision process going forward.

Let's be clear. Not every golf course can be saved. In such a case, we recommend several re-purposing strategies for golf course lands.

We'll travel to most any golf course property anywhere in the USA and Canada.

kahn

At least try the free consultation. Call: 941-739-3990, or write: mike@golfmak.com