Arizona Golf Club Memberships prices being slashed

Arizona Golf Clubs all over Arizona, from Superstition Mountain in Gold Canyon to Seven Canyons in Sedona, have been hurt by the economy and Country-club exit lists that are years-long as members choose to cut their discretionary spending and live without memberships that cost from $500 to more than $1,000 in monthly fees, plus other charges for carts,lockers, shoe-shining, food and drinks. But the economic fallout is especially noticeable in Scottsdale, the pinnacle of the Valley's sprawling golf landscape of close to 200 courses. There are just too many golf courses for the metropolitan Phoenix market, said Roger Garrett, an Insight Land and Investments partner who has sold golf courses for 25 years."This is about the low-water mark I've ever seen," he said.   Scottsdale's Sanctuary Golf Course was sold in the past month to Phil Mickelson and his agent, Steve Loy, for $2.2 million, a price far below its value of five years ago, Garrett said. Brad Klein, a GolfWeek magazine editor, said the problem at Phoenix and Scottsdale golf clubs is that real-estate development subsidizes the golf operations.

When members take over the golf cub from the real-estate developer, they are forced to cut operating costs or tax themselves to maintain the courses at a high level, he said."There is a statement in the industry that the third owner makes the money," Klein said.The third owner buys a course for $4 million that costs $20 million to build and $4 million to operate annually, he said.

Meanwhile, the value of memberships decline with the real-estate values."That's capitalism," said Klein, a retired political-science professor. "A golf-club membership is a commodity. It has no inherent value."

Membership fees that have been cut:
The Country Club at DC Ranch reduced its golf-membership cost to $75,000 from $135,000 in 2009 and has since gone to a market-based pricing system, with the average membership selling for $37,000.


The Boulders Club has non-equity memberships as low as $45,000, down from $55,000 two years ago, with monthly fees of $561.

Terravita Golf Club lowered its non-equitymembership fee a few weeks ago to $25,000 from $40,000, said Steve Mallory, Terravita's golf director.

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