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BOB HARIGMembership dues for 15 Southwest Florida golf courses are six figures.
NAPLES - Golf courses and clubs across the country are suffering through the aftermath of the game's growth spurt. Too many courses coupled with too few players have led to supply exceeding demand.
Though many golf clubs are offering deals, it still can be an expensive proposition to join one, when you consider initiation fees, monthly dues, food and beverage minimums and cart fees.
Then there is Southwest Florida, which might as well be another planet when it comes to golf club membership.
There are at least 15 clubs in Collier and Lee counties that charge a minimum initiation fee of $100,000, according to MasterLink Club Services, a golf club management company in Naples. Old Collier Golf Club near the Gulf of Mexico tops the list at $260,000, not including dues. At least 20 more have initiation fees that are more than $50,000. Compare that with the Tampa Bay area, which has its share of nice clubs but doesn't have a single one that requires $100,000 to walk in the door.
What's the deal with I-75, Alligator Alley, Naples, Fort Myers?
"It's really a unique part of Florida, and we've seen it evolve quite a bit," said Tary Kettle, the president of MasterLink. "It's driven by high-end real estate and high-end retirement, second homes. When you look at the demographic profile for who lives here ... they are here for recreation, and they have the jingle in their pockets for recreation. People are willing to pay for it.
"From a golf standpoint, the club business in Naples is larger than government and education in Collier County. It looks like a quilt of golf courses. Each development has tried to one-up the other development in trying to design it. Developers are willing to pay. And you realize there are a lot of people with money, and they all have a story. Eye surgeons, heart surgeons, lawyers. ... They certainly have the ability to really want the best. I've watched people walk in and write checks for $80,000 without a blink of an eye. It's just a different mix of people."
The golf courses themselves have huge drawing power. There are so many of them, more per capita than any other place in the country. And as more golfers arrive, demand increases. And so does the pressure for quality.
Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Greg Norman have designed courses in the Southwest Florida area. Then there are Arthur Hills and Tom Fazio, one of the top designers in the country.
"Golfers have become educated as to who designs their golf courses," said Fazio, who got started in the design business with his uncle, George Fazio, some 35 years ago. "There is a whole concept of name and product recognition. There was a time, 20 or 30 years ago, when everybody didn't have a name on a shirt. It's the same with golf courses. Designer golf courses came into style."
Fazio did the Old Collier Golf Club, which in addition to its $260,000 initiation fee charges $1,000 per month for dues. That doesn't include cart fees and restaurant fees. The course is one of the few that is west of U.S. 41, and nine holes come within a quarter mile of the Gulf of Mexico.
"It's a very special piece of property," said Lynn Josephson, the membership director at Old Collier. "That's why our price is what it is because of location, location, location. We are what we are because of our location, Tom Fazio as our architect, and the financial stability of the people behind our project."
The club is owned by the Collier family and is not an equity membership, which is an important distinction. Some golf clubs offer an equity membership, which means, in essence, you are considered a part owner. Your membership has value if and when you decide to leave. But as a member, you also can be on the hook for expenses at the club, charged in the form of an assessment.
At Old Collier, the entire $260,000 is refundable - when another member is found to take your place. In the meantime, your money is tied up, and you are responsible for dues.
Southwest Florida has not been immune to the economic realities that have hurt golf. But clubs here have felt it in a different way, such as people who join one or two clubs instead of five or six.
"I have a member who is a resident of Bonita Bay, and he's a member of 13 country clubs all over the country," said Ed Rodgers, vice president for the Bonita Bay Group, which runs seven facilities that include 13 courses in Southwest Florida. "He has three memberships in this town. He splits time between here and his northern home.
"But as things got tougher economically, people didn't buy that second or third membership. Some clubs have had to re-price their membership or do some unusual membership programs that they hadn't had to do in the boom years. With that said, this year we've seen a recovery in both the housing industry and golf industry. It's not back where it was, but we've seen some of those memberships absorbed by the market place."
Rodgers, who likens the area to an East Coast version of Palm Springs, moved to Naples in 1968, when he said there were roughly 30 courses in Southwest Florida. The 26 that have been added in this decade bring the number to 164. Among the courses he runs is TwinEagles, designed by Nicklaus and his son, Jackie. It is home to a Champions Tour event.
"The big boom started in the mid '80s," he said. "It's been quite a growth spurt. And it's still going. It's not as frenetic as it was, but we're still growing."
And another one's coming. Tuscany Reserve, a community in North Naples, is scheduled to open next year with a golf course designed by Norman and Pete Dye.