In Louisiana, the average rounds played in all of 2008, in an odd coincidence, exactly matched those played in 2007, at 21,293 for both years. In 2007 and 2008, the TPC Louisiana course saw more than 26,000 rounds played each year.
State Sen. John Alario, D-Westwego, who was instrumental in the TPC Louisiana taking up residence near Bayou Segnette State Park in his home district, said the course's original business plan did not factor in a failing economy and might have overestimated the city's lure as a golfing destination.
"They figured there would be enough conventions in town where it would work to get those people in here to play," Alario said. "But tourism is way down, and the TPC Louisiana has not been the overwhelming success we had hoped it would be."One recent day at the newly minted Lakewood golf course, director Brad Weaver stood outside a temporary clubhouse as workers put the final touches on the course's $9 million renovation, complete with a sand bunker shaped like a fleur-de-lis.
The upscale course is the first piece to a $200 million puzzle that ultimately will include a new clubhouse, golf villas for tourists, condos and retail. Weaver laid out Lakewood's niche in the local golf scene.
"We're cheaper than TPC Louisiana and more than Stonebridge," Weaver said, referring to his West Bank neighbors and competitors.
The opening of Lakewood, designed by Ron Garl and financed by the New Orleans Firefighters Pension and Relief Fund, represents a bullish bet even as demand for golf has waned nationally and some local courses struggle for survival.
Lakewood's financiers hope the renovated course can help transform New Orleans into a golfing destination. The course enters an increasingly crowded field of mid- to high-priced options, including TPC Louisiana, English Turn and Stonebridge, all nearby on the West Bank. Lakewood also might compete with a $46 million golf complex planned for City Park, including a championship course that could open as soon as 2011 and could lure major tournaments one day.
The addition of Lakewood and plans for City Park undoubtedly enrich options for local golfers, who saw many courses decimated by the flood, and the new competition could hold down green fees. Leaders of the golf industry hope such additions can increase demand among both tourists and locals. But if that doesn't happen, some fear consumer demand won't support all the players in the market.
"I'd be crazy to say it's not going to have any effect on us by opening more golf courses," said Jay Maumus, general manager and director of golf at Stonebridge. "Even if they take one golfer away from me, that's money not in my pocket."
Still, Maumus remained hopeful that, eventually, more high-quality courses will translate into more golfers and higher revenue for all local courses.
"We need more good golf courses in New Orleans, or we all will die," Maumus said. "We have to keep golfers interested, because if they break their habit of playing golf, it's hard to get them back."
One cause for optimism: Statewide, the number of rounds played has been stable or increasing in the past two years. Golf remains a powerful economic engine, employing 11,000 people statewide in an $800 million industry, according to 2006 figures.
The latest report, from the PGA and the National Golf Course Owners Association, shows that the average number of rounds played at Louisiana courses through the first two months of the year increased by 19 percent over the same period last year, from 2,251 to 2,675.
Those figures are based on a survey of a representative sample of PGA member courses across the state. The average rounds played in all of 2008, in an odd coincidence, exactly matched those played in 2007, at 21,293 for both years.
That contrasts with the national picture, in which average rounds declined by 4 percent in the first two months of the year, compared with last year.
Though golf statewide seems relatively healthy, assessing the New Orleans area golf landscape remains complicated by the lingering effects of Katrina. And if some worry about an overcrowded market, the new courses might be offset by the closure of other local courses since the flood -- and still others who might join them.
Katrina casualties
All local golf facilities, from low-rent municipal courses to exclusive country clubs, face economic challenges, including mounting maintenance and operational costs. Some have positioned themselves better than others.
Katrina closed down the East and West courses at City Park; the North Course reopened in September. Joe Bartholomew Golf Course, commonly called Pontchartrain Park, remains closed, awaiting a $5 million renovation. Eastover Golf Club in eastern New Orleans tried briefly to bounce back from Katrina, reopening nine of its 36 holes, but it ceased operations altogether in October 2007. And The Bluffs at Thompson Creek, a nationally recognized golf resort in St. Francisville, recently closed amid the recession.
Some low-cost courses have struggled as well. On a recent weekday morning at the down-market Brechtel Park in Algiers, golf director Fred Frederickson braced himself for another low-profit day. Brechtel has struggled to keep its fuzzy fairways tended and its bills paid. The course hopes for city-financed improvements of about $3 million -- not yet approved -- but really needs more than double that for a proper renovation, Frederickson said.
Frederickson said he hopes Brechtel can weather the downturn by appealing to customers with its "ridiculously low" green fees: $8 to walk, $18 with cart. He recalled a conversation during the oil bust of the early 1980s with Henry Thomas, the longtime golf director at City Park, widely considered the father of the sport locally.
"In tough times," Thomas told Frederickson, "your best place to be in the golf business is at your low-end facilities. People are still going to play, but they just don't have the dollars to play the nicer courses."
Competitors welcome
Were he alive today, Thomas might puzzle over the plans to add high-end courses to the city's landscape against a backdrop of economic turmoil.
The new courses aren't the first effort to fashion New Orleans as a nationally attractive golf destination. The effort started in earnest with the opening of the PGA Tour-backed TPC Louisiana in 2004. The course provided local golfers with a premium course and offered discounted green fees for state residents.
It also took over as the host of New Orleans' PGA Tour event, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The success of the course was dealt a setback when Katrina damage forced it to close for 10 months, but in 2007 and 2008 the course saw more than 26,000 rounds played each year.
State Sen. John Alario, D-Westwego, who was instrumental in the TPC Louisiana taking up residence near Bayou Segnette State Park in his home district, said the course's original business plan did not factor in a failing economy and might have overestimated the city's lure as a golfing destination. The course also had the misfortune of opening in spring of 2004 -- just before Hurricane Katrina devastated the tourist market.
"They figured there would be enough conventions in town where it would work to get those people in here to play," Alario said. "But tourism is way down, and the TPC Louisiana has not been the overwhelming success we had hoped it would be."
Even so, TPC's general manager, Luke Farabaugh, welcomes other high-quality courses.
"Initially, you'll probably see a couple less rounds here and there," Farabaugh said. But "any time you can add another good golf course to the mix, it creates an added demand."
At nearby English Turn, which serves the same upscale clientele, golf director Derek Sanders expressed similar excitement.
"The more people we can get to play the game of golf, the better," he said. "The new complex at City Park is going to be huge for the city . . . Now, has Lakewood affected English Turn? No, but it could. Everybody wants to go play it."
At Audubon Park, a popular executive course, golf director Stan Stopa questioned whether local golfers will support a plethora of courses charging between $50 and $100 a round.
"I honestly don't know where we're going to get any more players. They say we're getting more residents back, but are they golfers? The kind of golf that some facilities are venturing into right now, who's going to pay those kind of green fees?" said Stopa, whose course charges between $25 and $40 per round. "The next 12 to 24 months are going to be critical for a lot of golf courses in our area."
Revenue down for some
While some New Orleans area course managers look toward a more lucrative future, many others report bleeding revenue. Paid rounds are down at most local public courses and flat at others, several course managers said. One country club pro, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his rounds are down by 400 in January and February compared with a year ago, partly because of weather and an early Mardi Gras.
Another pro at a prominent local semi-private club reported revenue down 33 percent from a year ago, forcing the facility to cut expenses by 26 percent.
At facilities that cater to corporate and charity events, such as Stonebridge, Oak Harbor, English Turn and Audubon, managers cite fewer foursomes. Golf merchandise sales have also plummeted, down an estimated 30 percent at one retail outlet. Moreover, fewer people are taking golf lessons.
"I've got a table of golf shirts that went for $55 last year, and they're on sale for $30," said Jamey Clark, director of golf at Oak Harbor.
Timberlane Country Club, a mid-priced West Bank course, has maintained its membership rolls at about 360, but only through reduced membership dues, said golf director Tom Arnold. And the number of outside rounds has declined.
"We're not seeing as many hotel guests or as much out-of-town business coming here to play golf," Arnold said. "Revenue is down, and our costs are increasing."
In Slidell, Pinewood Country Club has seen fewer members, but more people choosing to pay by the round. The club had about 400 members in the early 1980s, but now has just 242, said golf director James Leitz. He said two other Slidell courses, Royal and Oak Harbor, have seen similar trends.
"Golf has become a la carte. Everyone is scared to make a financial commitment" to membership, Leitz said. "They'll get in the car and chase the best deals."
Eastover: a cautionary tale
Jimmy Headrick, now the executive director of The First Tee of Greater New Orleans, a youth instruction program, had been a fixture as the director of golf at Eastover before it closed in 2006. He now warns other courses to live within their means.
Eastover made a tidy profit of about $500,000 annually in the 1990s -- then decided to add another 18 holes, adding more debt and operating expense than the course could bear, particularly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks struck a blow to local tourism.
"Courses that get overextended start living for the bottom line and lose sight of the fact that you also got to grow the game and build relationships with members," he said. "I shudder to think how many courses are out there like that right now."
Tim Duhe, owner of Belle Terre Country Club in LaPlace, has decided to cut costs by operating without a golf pro and letting his course superintendent handle all golf operations.
Some observers see Duhe's novel management approach as a way to reduce his mounting debt, brought on in part by four destructive hurricanes since he purchased Belle Terre in 2005 and a stalled $27 million condo project he's seeking to develop in LaPlace.
"In this industry, cash is king," Duhe said. "Yes, I've had cash flow problems . . . but the likelihood of us closing down is not really there."
More important than cost-cutting, local courses need to promote and grow the game to survive, Headrick said.
That's why The First Tee program, junior golf and similar national programs such as PGA of America's "Play Golf America" are seen as crucial to building a new generation of golfers.
"This is not a quick fix," Headrick said. "We're building golfers for life. At The First Tee program, I'm planting a forest of pine trees, one seed at a time."
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