Interested in being a golf course owner in the future? Get in line.
Changing global tariffs and geo-political uncertainty notwithstanding, existing course owners — and those who own high-end golf homes — continue to have the upper hand in 2025 when it comes to the macro golf real estate market. At least that’s what published reports from Leisure Investment Properties Group (LIPG) and the National Golf Foundation are signaling.
According to LIPG, 2025 is shaping up to be another “seller’s market” for course owners after four strong years of pandemic-powered golf and private club participation, membership revenue gains and investor interest. Meanwhile, after the U.S. golf industry recorded record numbers of rounds played in three of the past four years, the National Golf Foundation reported on Sept. 4 that the industry could be headed for another record-setting year in 2025.
“We have not seen operations this good or average prices this high since 2006, the year before the great recession,” wrote Steven Ekovich, LIPG’s executive managing director, in his annual “Golf Investment Report” released earlier this year. “Golf has gained back its lost territory taken by the wicked down-turn that lasted from 2007 through 2023, an unprecedented 18-year cycle.”
Fueled by these economic headwinds, LIPG said the total number of course transactions with available sales data in 2024 was 92 — a 9.5% increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, the average and median sales prices last year were $6,870,417 and $3,025,000, respectively, accounting for 38% and 22.7% increases in both categories.
The last time average prices were at these levels was 2007, and LIPG went on to report with “continued optimism and momentum post-Covid, both the average and median values have consistently trended upward (year over year) and are now more than double 2019.”
The most obvious catalyst to the increase in values, according to LIPG, is “improved operational performance but another critical factor we’ve witnessed on the brokerage side of the business is the shift in investor sentiment.”
“Golf has proved resilient in recent years and is now viewed through a much different lens than just a short time ago,” added LIPG associate advisor Kody Tibbetts, whose group sold or placed under contract more than $200 million in golf course assets in 2024. “With popularity growing and attractive cap rates in comparison to core commercial assets, more capital is flowing into the golf airspace than we’ve seen since the ‘Tiger Boom’ of the early-to-mid- 2000s.”
The U.S. golf market became oversaturated after 4,000-plus courses were built over a 20-year span from 1986 through 2005, fueled by a real estate development boom driven by developers/home builders and consumers attracted to the links lifestyle. When the U.S. housing bubble burst in the mid-to-late 2000s, the golf market followed suit — exacerbated by the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent Great Recession.
That led to more than 2,000 courses being culled from the U.S. supply total during the nearly two-decades-long ‘course correction.’ According to the latest NGF report, the number of U.S. courses and facilities at year-end 2024 were 15,962 and 13,952, respectively.
As the NGF described it, the “current momentum suggests the trend in supply stability has legs,” and this “balanced state is an indication the industry has matured beyond its boom-and-bust cycle into a more sustainable phase of measured growth.”
SHORT-COURSE LAYOUTS KEEP LINING UP
The short-course development trend taking off across America is one of the main reasons the golf industry is experiencing a significant net gain in new course openings over the past couple years. And one of the most popular venues for these alternative golf experiences is high-end or large master-planned golf course developments.
Two Florida communities slated to open new short-course layouts are Calusa Country Club in Lakewood Ranch and BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens. At Calusa, homebuilder Lennar Corporation recently announced the community’s new 12-hole course will be open for play during peak season this winter. Meanwhile, BallenIsles announced in May that the private club approved construction of a new 10-hole short course being designed by Rees Jones.
In February, Lennar opened a more traditional 18-hole, par-72, 7,400-yard championship course at the company’s Sarasota-area residential development designed by Gordon Lewis. Now, Lakewood Ranch, which placed second among America’s top-selling communities in 2024 with 2,210 homes sold, according to real estate consulting firm RCLCO’s annual rankings, will feature another Lewis-designed course that takes a unique approach to the standard 9-hole layouts by offering a mix of par-3, 4 and 5 holes that can play to par-48 and 4,895 yards.
According to Lennar, the company’s new “social golf concept” is one way the homebuilder is “redefining what the golf experience can look like.”
“The new 12-hole course caters to the growing demand for faster, more flexible play without compromising variety or challenge,” said Matthew Koratich, director of community management – Lennar Southwest Florida, whose courses are managed by Troon’s ICON Management division, which is geared toward large-scale community associations. “It’s a forward-thinking design that makes the game more accessible, especially for juniors, newcomers, and time-conscious players, while still delivering the strategic elements experienced golfers appreciate.
“As part of Lennar’s commitment to creating vibrant, connected communities, we are proud to pair this innovative course with amenities like our expansive putting course, golf simulator, and junior golf programs. We are not just building a course; we are helping grow the next generation of the game.”
At BallenIsles, a prestigious South Florida club that once served as the former home of the PGA of America and played host to the 1971 PGA Championship and several PGA Seniors Championship, the new $6 million Jones-designed short course and putting course is scheduled to be open for member play in fall 2026.
These new alternative golf destinations will only add to BallenIsles’ reputation as one of the most golf-rich private clubs in America. For instance, the club’s membership already has an impressive array of golf amenities that include three championship courses — the East Course, renovated by Nicklaus Design in 2022; the South Course, redesigned by Jones in 2020; and the North Course, designed by Kipp Schulties when redone in 2013.
Additionally, BallenIsles features an innovative ‘71 Golf Learning Center, a new 3,000-square-foot central location for custom fittings, club repairs and golf instruction, and the newly redesigned practice grounds, which has a 65-bay, two-sided 12.5-acre Long Game area complete with Toptracer technology and Flagd Golf digital yardage boards.
“We are so proud of the work that Rees (Jones) and Bryce (Swanson) did with us in 2019 that we could not wait for the opportunity to work with them again,” said Jeff Fitzherbert, BallenIsles’ director of golf. “The short course land abuts the South course, that is so popular with our members, so the fit was natural. We are eager to get to work and see what the Rees Jones design team will come up this time.”
DEALMAKERS, CLOSINGS AND GROUNDBREAKINGS
After decades of recording more annual golf course closings than openings, the National Golf Foundation reports that golf’s course correction is over. At least that’s the prediction in the NGF’s most recent “U.S. Golf Facility Supply Trend” study.
Indeed, for the first time since 2022, there were overall net gains in both the number of new golf facilities (6) and courses (17) that opened in America. Meanwhile, according to the NGF, the number of annual course closures decreased for the fifth consecutive year, with the “number of shuttered courses dipping to its lowest levels since 2004,” when 63 U.S. courses went out of business.
That same year, during the peak of the residential real estate development boom, America opened 150.5 new courses boosting the country’s number of total facilities above 16,000 (16,057) for the first time in history. Two years later, the industry hit another milestone when the NGF reported 146 closings and 119.5 openings, the first time the industry experienced negative net growth in new courses since the late 1940s. …
As luxury resorts continue to reinvent their spa and health/wellness experiences, architect Agustin Piza and his namesake Piza Golf firm is bringing a more mindful approach to the course design business with a pair of new international projects that will feature what Piza calls his “Wellness Golf” concept.
Designed to blend art, nature, and human well-being, Piza says Wellness Golf is transforming the traditional game into a more holistic experience of relaxation, connection and play. Call it the modern-day version of the Zen of Golf.
First unveiled at the Chable Resort in Mexico, Piza’s most recent commission is now underway at the ultra-luxe Residences at St. Regis Papagayo Resort in Costa Rica.
So, what exactly does Wellness Golf mean?
For Piza, it’s a course where compact footprints are reimagined as grass sculptures, he said, or an overall course aesthetic designed to “meet guests where they are.” For instance, Piza’s designs are sculpted landscapes where golfers might meditate under the trees, walk barefoot on grass to connect with the earth or play a sociable round that finishes in under 90 minutes.
Guests can choose their pace and level of challenge, from the avid player seeking distinct shot values to the beginner experiencing golf for the very first time.
“Wellness Golf represents a new way of experiencing the game,” Piza said. “It is inclusive, social, and restorative. Golfers and non-golfers alike can enjoy it, whether through meditation, playing barefoot to connect with nature, or sharing a fun round with family or colleagues. At its core, it is about well-being in dialogue with the land.”
In some respects, the 120-room St. Regis Papagayo resort course where a limited 143 residential units will start in the multi-millions, is Links Living at the highest level imaginable.