This is why I like private courses

[DavidSauls]

I wonder if those memberships bought special days at Morley, when no more than 30 people were allowed on the course at a given time, they might sell better.

The presumption is that a course worthy of a large annual fee would be more than a course, more than a great course, less than a country club, but in that general direction. It would be tricky to have the right location (close enough to enough players, but far away from excellent free courses). My belief is that it's not viable. But if it is, that might be the direction.

 

[Jay Dub]

If there was money to make in a private ptp course they would be all over the place already.

 

[roggenb3]

Isn't a year pass at Maple Hill $200 or $250? I would be all over that if I lived there. So if there was a place that had a few Maple Hill quality courses, I would consider a $500 year pass.

But I don't get this obession some have with making disc golf as much like ball golf as possible. The differences between the sports are what makes disc golf attractive.

 

[Halcón]

What's better:

Paying $10, ten times a year to play a great course, and play the free courses around you more often, OR

Paying $250, 350...500..700 for a year's membership and feeling stuck to that course all year so you get your money's worth.

I'd much rather pay $10-20 a handful of times a year to enjoy the high life once in a while, then bum it on the free courses the rest of the time. And I think the vast majority of disc golfers are the same way.

 

[AndyJB]

What's better:

Paying $10, ten times a year to play a great course, and play the free courses around you more often, OR

Paying $250, 350...500..700 for a year's membership and feeling stuck to that course all year so you get your money's worth.

I'd much rather pay $10-20 a handful of times a year to enjoy the high life once in a while, then bum it on the free courses the rest of the time. And I think the vast majority of disc golfers are the same way.

Bingo.
It doesnt even have to be in the hundreds. There is a course on a Jellystone campground here in Colorado and the first year it was open I bought a years pass for 50 bucks, even though its almost an hour drive for me. I ended up feeling like I HAD to play there every weekend because the normal fee (at the time) was 5 bucks.

The next year I didnt pay for the pass but still ended up playing it 10 times or more...I just didnt feel beholden to that course.

The year after,they did away with the annual passes and raised the price to 10 bucks per play and now no one plays it. Make of that what you will.

 

[Seabrook]

If there was money to make in a private ptp course they would be all over the place already.

We are seeing the rise of private PTP courses. VisionQuest. BTP, Sabatus are a couple but we are seeing more of the private model sprouting up. As the sport becomes more popular, the age of the player (and income) slowly rises and public courses become busier, many are going to demand better quality facilities.

 

[Jay Dub]

We are seeing the rise of private PTP courses. VisionQuest. BTP, Sabatus are a couple but we are seeing more of the private model sprouting up. As the sport becomes more popular, the age of the player (and income) slowly rises and public courses become busier, many are going to demand better quality facilities.

They can demand it but will they spend enough for someone to profit?
Like it or not it's about money.

 

[BrotherDave]

Let's see here, disc golf courses are growing like weeds while golf courses are scraping by and closing down.

Yeah, we need to adopt the ball golf model.

 

[Puckstopper]

I'm not sure the OP meant that you would pay $500 to play one course. In real golf it's very easy to pay $50 per round, which gets you to $500 bucks pretty quick. I'll grant you that disc golf courses require nowhere near the upkeep of real golf course, so greens fees wouldn't need to be anywhere near $50. However very few disc golf courses see the amount of play an average golf course sees, so you might be looking at more money than your typical disc golfer thinks is "fair". Let's hypothetically say the average course in your area charges $10, and there are no free courses. Do you play 50-70 rounds a year to reach the OPs $700? I know I play many more rounds than that. Granted, they're spread out across a variety of courses, but if all the courses charge, it's still easy to spend that kind of money if you're an avid disc golfer.

Now, would you cut back if you had to pay per round? Many would. On the other hand, if a course offered basic amenities like multiple tee/pin positions, a modest pro shop, food/water on site, clean rest rooms and a well groomed course many would get used to paying.

 

[Cgkdisc]

The annual fee is $1200 for the golf course run by my city's Park Dept. It's only open from May thru maybe mid-October. The DG course also run by the Park Dept. combined with a neighboring city's course is $40 annual and open all year and pretty much free from Oct thru April.

 

[BirdieMachine]

Today's announcement at GBO that Friday rounds from Olpe course will not be count is unfortunate especially from an important event like an NT. The reason for the cancellation is not because of the rain, every course receives rain sooner or later. It is because this is a public park and as with many parks its located on a flood plain, generally unusable land for anything else.

Its time we see real investment in courses, building on private land with proper facilities. We as a sport need to suck it up and say "I'm willing to pay $500-$700/year to play on high quality facilities that are specifically dedicated to disc golf. Essentially we need to take the model for a private ball golf course and apply it to disc golf.

There are lots of private DG courses out there but not enough. We as the sport's general population need to change our mentality that we are cheap and this is a cheap sport to play. If you are really excited to play disc golf then show it with your wallet.

I live in an area where DG is relatively new but growing fast, unfortunately we are not going to see a private course too soon (unlike Maine just below us) however I would pay the price to have a dedicated facility.

You're on the right track but off on your pricing. I routinely pay to play 5 bucks a day at BRP and sometimes Kaposia, VisionQuest or Fort Snelling and also 45 bucks for a season pass at the Three Rivers Courses. Pay to play is fine but not 500 bucks at one course for a year.

 

[markmcc]

Bingo.
The year after,they did away with the annual passes and raised the price to 10 bucks per play and now no one plays it. Make of that what you will.

I played the Jellystone course when I was in the area in 2014 and found it to be a very decent course. At the time the $5 I paid seemed reasonable, but I will admit that $10 per round starts to seem a little steep for that course. Perhaps they are learning what the market will bear for DG, whether they mean to or not!

 

[reposado]

If there was money to make in a private ptp course they would be all over the place already.

it depends on the area. in maine there is money to make in a private ptp course and they are all over the place already.

but there really isn't money in a ptp course when free courses already exist in the vicinity.

 

[AndyJB]

I played the Jellystone course when I was in the area in 2014 and found it to be a very decent course. At the time the $5 I paid seemed reasonable, but I will admit that $10 per round starts to seem a little steep for that course. Perhaps they are learning what the market will bear for DG, whether they mean to or not!

They are. The course is being pulled.

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

Why is a private course immune to flooding? I've seen/heard of plenty of private establishments flooding, if the conditions are going to result in flooding, any ideal course location will have water in play.

The $$ to be made in p2p is in alcohol sales - look at Rollin Ridge and BRP, they are making it work beautifully.

 

[B3NDER]

The Rollin Ridge bar was pretty sweet when I was that way.

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

The Rollin Ridge bar was pretty sweet when I was that way.

Last time I was there a group of local non-discers stopped in just for the bar, to drink and play pool. That's how awesome the bar is.

 

[Hyzer Ale]

They are. The course is being pulled.

When are they pulling it?

 

[markmcc]

They are. The course is being pulled.

That's a shame. They had put a good bit of money and effort into it. I guess it turned out not to be worth it. Didn't they have the Colorado College DG Championships there?

 

[BionicRib]

The $$ to be made in p2p is in alcohol sales - look at Rollin Ridge and BRP, they are making it work beautifully.

If someone had the balls and the cash to put something up in a heavier populated area I'm sure it could work.

Take the Chicago area for example. Sure we have a lot of courses, but only a handful are worth going to. I've played almost 200 courses and there are about 50 courses within an hours drive from me that I've never been to....and probably never would go to.

If you put up something comparable to brp...or even Bryant lake and had a nice bar/restaurant. People would pay to play it for sure. 500 to 1000 for an annual pass wouldn't be too far fetched if the amenities were well above anything else.

If you're going to do any business involved with disc golf have to have something else to sell other than discs or greens fees. You'd be crazy not to have other avenues of revenues covered before diving head first.

Sure free courses are always nice, but I'm tired of how crowded courses in my immediate area have gotten. I'm not rich or poor, but if brp or Rollin ridge were less than an hour away from my house in the burbs I would buy a membership asap.