A survey of major country clubs in Naples, Bonita Springs and Estero is reporting that a flood of middle-aged buyers, coupled with a shortage of new courses, has pushed up demand for golf course memberships.
Not long ago, pundits were predicting golf was in the rough as a favored pastime and community amenity, but that’s not the case in Southwest Florida, where a flood of cash-rich, middle-aged buyers, coupled with a shortage of new courses, has pushed up demand for golf course memberships and homes in some of the priciest country clubs in the area, the Naples (Fla.) Daily News reported.
According to a new survey by John R. Wood Realtors of 53 major country clubs in Naples, Bonita Springs and Estero, there are 3,749 full golf memberships available in Southwest Florida—16.5 percent of the 22,729 total golf memberships in the clubs, the Daily News reported.
All but six of the surveyed clubs are residential, drawing most of their members from homeowners in the community—although some also allow nonresidents to join, the Daily News reported. “Bundled” communities, where golf club membership is mandatory and included in the home price, were not included in the survey. That’s because bundled golf communities make up only about a fifth of the 180 golf course communities in the area, said Tom Des Roches, who conducted the survey.
Phil Wood, president of the real estate brokerage, said the survey showed demand for golf has rebounded sharply from the recession, when many private country clubs saw memberships slipping, the Daily News reported.
Now, the sport is on the upswing, largely because of a recent influx of retired or semiretired boomer home buyers to the region who have both the means and the time to play. Consequently, golf-course memberships and golf course homes are “selling like crazy,” Wood told the Daily News.
Although some clubs will return a portion of the initiation fee when a member sells, most return little or none of it, the realty firm reported. That’s a result of a general restructuring of area club rules since the recession, when there was a rush to cash out equity golf memberships, hurting the clubs financially, the Daily News reported.
But that doesn’t seem to bother golfers at Shadow Wood Country Club in Bonita Springs, which has only six out of 850 memberships available. With the initiation fee priced at $45,000, and annual dues at $11,000, sales of memberships are up sharply, said Danita Osborn, director of membership for the club.
From 2010 to 2013, sales were running between 15 and 25 a year, she said. This year, she has sold 36 memberships. About half of the members live in the community full time; the others are second-home owners, the Daily News reported.
Although most golfers are couples, in recent years, there’s been an influx of single players, especially women, Osborn said.
“It’s different up North, where golf is male-dominated and used to interact with clients,” said Osborn. “There aren’t as many retirees.”
In her club, 55 percent of the rounds are played by women, who enjoy the social aspects of the sport and tend to bring in their friends. The club, which has three 18-hole courses and a 30,000-sq. ft. clubhouse, also hosts a women’s golf school, the Daily News reported.
Although golf course members tend to be middle-aged, many clubs offer aged-based incentives to encourage golfers to join at younger ages. At Shadow Wood, for instance, young members can defer half the cost of the initiation fee until they turn 60, the Daily News reported.
Many clubs also give golfers a discounted taste of the club before asking for a commitment. At Quail Creek Country Club, the $20,000 initiation fee is deferred for the first 12 months, although golfers still need to pay the annual $13,500 dues, said director of membership Lorijane Graham.
At the end of the period, if they want to join the club as a full member, the initiation fee becomes due. Otherwise, they can walk away without paying anything more, or join as social members, the Daily News reported.
The program is popular and has attracted many golfers, even though the two aging Arthur Hill-designed courses have been undergoing renovation since the spring of 2012, the Daily News reported.
“We have a ton of new people coming through,” said Graham.
Although the John R. Wood survey showed few clubs currently have waiting lists, there’s a good chance that situation will change within the next 18 months, said the brokerage’s chief operating officer Dottie Babcock.
And the shortage might continue, she said, as there are fewer and fewer parcels available in the region big enough to accommodate a golf-course community. But there’s also the possibility that demand might slacken over time, the Daily News reported.
A survey of homebuyers done in 2012 by the National Association of Home Builders showed that only 13 percent thought a home in a golf-course community was essential or desirable.Even more telling, 66 percent overall rated such a home as undesirable, including slightly more than half of buyers with an income above $150,000. Instead, buyers preferred communities with walking trails, parks and pools, the Daily News reported.
Naples real estate broker Glenn Ginsburg said that even though area clubs offer incentives, many of his younger buyers are losing interest in the sport. Busy with work, they prefer to spend their leisure time outdoors in less costly pursuits, such as jogging, kayaking and windsurfing, the Daily News reported.
“They’re just not as into golf as boomers,” he said.
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