There is excitement for 2022. The first months of 2021 were not good because the pandemic was still greatly impacting the industry in March and April. Howeve,r the last seven months of the year was really good in spite of COVID impacts. Projections for 2022 in Myrtle Beach are more encouraging than 2021’s statistics. One course booker said :
“It’s super strong. We’ve had a lot of advanced bookings, more than ever,” . “I think they probably missed last spring’s trip, for those who didn’t do it, so they were like, ‘Man, we’ve got to get this down.’ We’ve had crazy growth for advanced bookings from August through November. Like more than 100 percent compared to last year, which was a COVID year but it was still strong. “Now because the prices change — because as they fill up they raise the rate — the earlier you book the better the price is.”
Read more at: https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/sports/golf/article257120947.html#storylink=cpy
''It's just golf, let's have fun''
Rates for 2022 have gone up drastically. That may work for this year, but I think a lot of package groups (like mine) will start looking for more affordable golf somewhere else. We are 26 year veterans of MB and love going there - but - we also are mostly retirees and have to consider price. I know golf course owners suffered the last two years, but raising prices so much to regain lost revenue probably is not a sustainable business plan. I think it will eventually cost them business.
''It's just golf, let's have fun''
@s333h That is a good article. Thanks for posting it.
It's interesting seeing the numbers, but it would have been better
if they went further back in years and if they had split rounds up
into Package + Local/Passport rates.
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Rates for 2022 have gone up drastically. That may work for this year, but I think a lot of package groups (like mine) will start looking for more affordable golf somewhere else. We are 26 year veterans of MB and love going there - but - we also are mostly retirees and have to consider price. I know golf course owners suffered the last two years, but raising prices so much to regain lost revenue probably is not a sustainable business plan. I think it will eventually cost them business.
The biggest golf increases look to be in the $100+ peak season courses.
You should be able to still find enough good courses to meet your budget
IE: Pearl, River Hills, Meadowlands, Brunswick, CP, DB, RE, AH, etc.
It's a lot more work to investigate a new destination and other places might
have similar increases.
I agree that big package increases could hurt MB for years to come, because
once a group does elsewhere, they may not be back. It's also frustrating to
get a course quote of $100 in Oct and when ready to book in Dec,
it's $150. Previously that kind of Dynamic increase didn't happen until
Feb/March when few tee times were left.
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''It's just golf, let's have fun''
Thanks for sharing a very interesting article. Price is always a consideration for us on a golf trip however I think price has increased not just in MB but other destinations too. Even my home course here in Ontario has increased membership fees by over 20%. Everything from wages to fertilizer has increased in price significantly and while I do not enjoy paying more to play I can understand the increase. At what point do the higher prices begin to remove players from the game. My group hopes to return to MB next spring but will probably look at more of the courses Art mentioned rather than the higher ones we would prefer to play. As Covid fades and we get back to the activities of the past I wonder if golf will maintain the popularity it has enjoyed in the past couple of years.
You ask the right question: At what point do the higher prices begin to remove players from the game? At my home golf course they increased the membership of a amount of 400$ for 2022. The year before it was 300$ more for the membership 2021. So 700$ in two years. It is huge. For 2022, i can confirm that at least 100 members decided to quit and has looked for an another golf course. In the case of Myrtle Beach, premium courses seems to have increase their rates for 2022, in particular for the golf packages. I think they can do that, for this year at least, because someone will always accept to pay more for to play on a premium course. But for the other golf courses, the owners should be careful with their rates.
''It's just golf, let's have fun''
Looks like the mid tiers will get a lot more play.
"King Of The Mid-tiers"
I wonder if anyone has considered building a new course. So many have closed in the past decade+, but now that golf is booming again... I doubt anyone has considering how valuable land is there now, but maybe a place like Barefoot that already has a bunch of undeveloped land.
If they could bring in someone like Tom Doak or Coore & Crenshaw to design a fifth course, it could be a huge boost for them.
2 years ago I predicted that in 10 years a new golf course will be built here. Horry County is projected to have double the population going to 500,000. There will be many golfers in those new arrivals. Not sure how far out the course would be since everything in town is being developed. Perhaps in Loris near Diamondback. I also see some courses trying to go private like Surf Club since many coming down are members at clubs that charge a lot more than what is charged here. Surf has a pretty long waiting list, don't know about Dunes and Wac private.
Golf is just an excuse to drink whiskey and smoke cigars
@undercover-golf-pro The Reserve also added a bunch of members in the past couple of years -- over 100, I think.
I think it would be difficult for a lot of the courses to go private because they don't really have the facilities. I know at one point the Reserve struggled to add new members (despite being one of the 3-5 best courses in the whole area IMO) because people didn't want to pay monthly dues for essentially just a golf course without a swimming pool, big dining room, etc.
I have always gotten the impression that the Dye Club at Barefoot was built with the option to go fully private, though, and I think the Thistle was originally planned as a private club as well.
If the courses stay busy, going private could actually be a hit to revenue instead of a boon. I think it's more likely someone would buy land and develop a new private club than take one of the existing courses and make it private.
I wonder if anyone has considered building a new course. So many have closed in the past decade+, but now that golf is booming again...
The MB courses that closed in the last decade were either very low end
or good courses with owners taking their retirement profits.
Those closures may scare away new course developers.
If Big Cats or a buyer of it would renovate their 4 courses and finish
Jaguar Lair, it would be like having 5 courses added to the rotation.
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@artmbgolf I wish they would, but I don't think Jaguar's Lair will ever be revisited. They'd have to start over from scratch because it's completely overgrown now. You can barely even tell it was cleared.
It was bizarre because at least one nine there was completely built. I drove by it all the time and the fairways were grown in, the landscaping was done, etc. -- the only thing they hadn't done was grow in the greens; they just had a tarp over them. Other than that it looked like you could walk out and play. It just sat like that for a while, presumably they were mowing the fairways and everything and then eventually they just gave up on it rather than finish it.
I wonder how much money they wasted building it and getting it that close to opening.
Our course this year went up $580.00 plus they added a 75.00 assessment per month to the restaurant. The assessment can be used for food and drinks and beer. Not sure how may members that quit but I do know of around 30. I did not renew my membership but I started working 2 days a week and then play for free.
Brownwood Bandit
