Golf Resorts in B.C. in 2010

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Tiger's scandals are the least of it. With declining participation rates and falling profits, golf operators are sweating. Yet B.C.'s long-suffering golfing resorts may just be turning a corner.

The North American golf industry is enduring a nightmare nine. Corporate golf has been devastated by shrinking margins and an optics issue. Overall participation rates and rounds played are dropping as women and juniors bypass the game. Dozens of high-profile U.S. resorts are shuttered or operating under bankruptcy protection, and for four years in a row more courses have closed than opened. Meanwhile, attendance and TV ratings for Tour events are plunging – and hey, there’s even some sort of controversy with Tiger Woods. 


 

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But how are things closer to home in B.C.? That depends on where in B.C. is home. In the Interior, and especially along the Rockies, the situation is, well, rocky. On Vancouver Island the outlook is cloudy but improving. And in Metro Vancouver, the great golf depression was barely even felt. In all regions, operators look forward in 2010 to what they hope will be a magic combination of a revived economy, a post-Olympic tourism bounce and continued brilliant weather. At the same time, they are taking steps to guard against another, less-welcome combination that could include a post-Olympic hangover locally, lower-cost competition internationally and the ongoing issues of rising costs and dropping revenues. And the strategies they adopt to cope could be dramatic enough to affect the everyday golfer. 


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