Upscale golf clubs see renewed interest

Published: Sunday, January 13, 2013 at 4:16 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, January 13, 2013 at 4:16 p.m.

At least two of Southwest Florida's luxury golf clubs that debuted during the housing boom have seen a sharp turnaround in new memberships in the past year ? after a prolonged recession that kept sales in the bunker.

"It's really starting to pick up," said Hugh O'Donnell, manager of The Founders Golf and Social Club, on Fruitville Road in eastern Sarasota County. "A lot of them just moved down, and real estate and golf usually goes hand-in-hand."

Upscale club membership represents a unique barometer of the region's overall fiscal health.

Seven years ago, when home prices were still seeing healthy appreciation and credit was widely available, the trio of new area clubs ? Founders, The Concession and The Members Club at the Ritz-Carlton ? charged fees of $100,000 or more, in many cases, plus costs for usage.

But memberships dried up in the years during the Great Recession and in its wake, marked by rising unemployment, sinking home prices and generally languishing business.

The clubs also suffered because they require intense capital contributions to build and maintain, making them cash draws as membership projections fell short. Besides developing lavishly-appointed courses, most also added opulent clubhouses, on-site restaurants, catering operations and other amenities.

Staffing is expensive because courses must be landscaped and kitchens need personnel regardless of whether the clubs' are crowded or sparsely used.

'Members on the fence'

The Founders Club opened just as real estate values deflated, wealth vanished and discretionary spending ? read: golf memberships ? was halted.

None of the clubs have been helped by dwindling interest in golf, or the waning desire of many homeowners to live on or near a course.

Amid changing demographics, in which Florida buyers are younger, the number of active golfers and rounds played at U.S. courses has fallen dramatically this decade. Surveys show many of the 78 million baby boomers nearing retirement seem to be more interested in activities other than golf.

In response, the exclusive clubs have trimmed the cost of dues, expanded the types of memberships and crafted more social and casual activities.

So far, the strategy seems to be working.

Total memberships at the Founders Club jumped 15 percent this year to a record 228. The club, slated to cap membership at 275, carries an average ownership age of 55.

The club now offers golf memberships for $17,500 per year and social memberships, which only permit golfing outside of the busy season, for $7,500.

A busy day on the course will attract upwards of 100 players.

O'Donnell attributes the recent uptick to the club's enhanced social calendar ? with new activities and events aimed at drawing members not interested in golf every day. More and more members also seem to be coming to dine in the the club's restaurant.

"It's to get the members on the fence," O'Donnell said of the social campaign. "We have exercise classes, yoga and a tennis program. None of that existed three years ago."

An even stronger spike

The membership spike has been even stronger at The Concession, where golf memberships run a steep $125,000, plus $11,500 per year in dues.

The club now has 165 members, and while that is still far short of the 300 total the club hopes to sign up, about 50 of them joined in the past year, said Alan Pope, director of sales and marketing.

"It used to be pretty quiet," Pope said of the Concession. "Now I get several calls and emails inquiring about new membership every day. It has been a significant increase."

Representatives of the Ritz-Carlton, the third members-only course developed during the real estate boom, declined to comment on membership trends.

The Members Club, which allows resort guests and members access to a Lakewood Ranch golf course designed by Tom Fazio and a beach club on Lido Beach, has struggled to attract members in recent years amid the Great Recession and because of competition from other clubs. A few years ago, for example, the resort unveiled a new price structure aimed at boosting its ranks.

Members, too, say they have noticed that their swanky locker rooms and well-manicured courses have become more crowded lately.

"It comes down to choices at the end of the day," said Gail Clifford, a four-year member of the Founders Club and president of the club's ladies' association. "People are comparing a lot more now, but the cost of the club has proven itself."

Other players coming

With the renewed popularity, other builders are joining the club in developing upscale clubs.

Taylor Morrison, a prolific Southwest Florida builder whose predecessor developed The Meadows and its golf and country club in Sarasota County in the 1970s, earlier this fall announced plans to build a new 18-hole golf course at its Esplanade community in Lakewood Ranch.

If Taylor Morrison's plans reach fruition and it begins development of the course on 400 acres early next year, the "Esplanade Golf and Country Club at Lakewood Ranch" will mark the first new, private course built in the region in years.

In addition to its C.W. Golf Architecture-designed course, Taylor Morrison also plans to build a 12,000-square-foot clubhouse, tennis courts, a restaurant and a 6,000-square-foot wellness center at Esplanade.

Golf courses exploded across Florida in the 1980s and 1990s ? especially in areas like Sarasota, Naples and Orlando ? to feed a retirement demographic that grew up playing the game.

But membership-based clubs of all kinds have largely struggled since, as waves of new retirees simply were not as interested in a hobby that requires spending five hours playing and thousands of dollars on equipment, said John Neal, a custom area homebuilder.

More luxury real estate buyers now are instead favoring nature views and waterfront property over the once-dominating fairway, he said.

"I think it will come back," Neal said. "But the new retiree is more focused on passive recreation. The baby boomer worked hard, they would rather travel the world than play golf."

Source: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130113/article/130119862

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