What Makes a Golf Course Successful?
Have you ever wondered why some golf courses are successful and others nearby with similar terrain are not? Aside from the golf course’s reviews, operations or the value of real estate, what makes a golfer decide that a specific golf course is successful? What qualities deem it successful in the eye of the beholder? And who judges these courses anyway? It would seem that opinions on the success of a golf course would vary dramatically. Think about how a handicapped person would judge a golf course.
What about a professional golfer with exceptional skills that loves to be challenged? In contrast, how about a young group of women who occasionally get together to play golf on easy terrain because they think it’s just something fun to do, but are not truly dedicated to the sport? And, for that matter, do non-golfers opinions count? If a non-golfer drives by a course one day and notices miles and miles of beautifully cut green, perfectly landscaped trees and colorful flowers, with ducks swimming in a pond, do they get to decide if that course is better than another? With such varying opinions, who and what make a golf course successful?
It has to be said that the “wow” factor of a visually appealing golf course is usually a substantial determining factor relatable to its success. Although an architect may have designed the course with deep rough close to a fairway to be more visually appealing, does it make a golfer still want to play there if they are constantly losing their golf balls? That is a common and valid complaint in the golfing industry and most don’t consider losing their golf balls as a challenge, they view it as an annoyance. Deep rough may dissuade golfers from playing at that course. But on the other hand, if there isn’t deep rough or enough challenging bunkers, the course may seem too easy for golfers with higher skill levels who enjoy being challenged. The “wow” factor of a beautifully-designed golf course can make it successful or it can turn away some golfers who may view it as pretentious and overly-challenging.
In theory, a successful golf course should be designed to appeal to as many different people and skill levels as possible to give satisfaction and pleasure to all. Although there are many golf courses that strive to do just that, there will always be individuals or groups of people that will base a golf course’s success on their own personal list of criteria. A beautiful private golf course resort with challenging terrain may appeal to some, while a public course that is inexpensive and not very challenging may appeal to others. One of the best things to do is research golf courses online and read golf course reviews Read about how their experience was, if there were enough challenging shots, if the scenery was everything it claimed to be, if there were too many bunkers, not enough, and more. A golf course is only as successful as the customers make it.