The Case for Spending Big on Municipal Golf

Welcome to the Two Down Press golf newsletter!

Is it too late in January to say new year, new me? Excited to debut a fresh look! Huge thanks to Hannah Faye Elster for the creative support.

Packed newsletter this week - we’ve got Part 3 of our Improving Municipal Golf series, a profile of a rising star in Carolinas golf media, and some quick news and notes. Let’s jump right in.

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IMPROVING MUNICIPAL GOLF

Part 3: Why Investing in Charlotte Municipal Golf Might Actually Work

Part 1 and Part 2 of this series appeared in previous newsletters.

If you thought my no-budget plan for improving Charlotte municipal golf was crazy, then you might want to sit down for this one. Not only do I think this plan is full of fun ideas, I think it would be a huge success.

It’s easy to chuck takes from the cheap seats and call for your city to throw money at your favorite hobby, but this isn’t a blanket request - there are tangible, Charlotte-specific reasons why this type of investment makes sense. Here’s are 3 reasons the Queen City is uniquely positioned for a municipal golf renaissance:

Location, Location, Location: With 4 municipal courses within 12 miles of Uptown, Charlotte’s muni dilemma (solid quantity, poor quality) is actually far better than the inverse. Quality is a solvable problem - it takes time, money, and leadership, but it’s achievable. Lack of quantity, when it comes to affordable public golf in a city like Charlotte, is an incurable ailment. It doesn’t take much real estate expertise to realize there isn’t going to be new public golf development inside the 485 Beltway.

Charlotte’s golf footprint would be the envy of many other fast-growing cities. It’s an asset that shouldn’t be taken lightly, and one that increases the likelihood of significant investment yielding a thriving muni scene. Without it, this type of project would be dead on arrival.

Decreased Competition: Demand for affordable urban golf has never been higher, but Charlotte golfers have less options today than they did a decade ago. Gone are the country club initiation fees of pre-pandemic times, and public options like Charlotte Golf Links and the Golf Club at Ballantyne have made way for townhouses and mixed-use development. Charlotte’s golf market dynamics bode well for municipal golf - if the courses improve, people will show up in droves.

Real ROI: I’m not naive enough to think we’re going to turn a huge profit by investing millions in our city golf courses, but there are financial justifications for renovation work. Research from the National Golf Foundation highlights several renovation-related factors that can improve a course’s P&L, including increased food & beverage revenue, higher numbers of rounds played, and more optimized maintenance spend.

The latter is especially relevant in Charlotte, as a series of recent “spending” announcements (see Part 1) strike me as allocations to address deferred maintenance issues not covered by the typical operating budget. Large-scale renovations at facilities like Harry Jones and Charles T. Myers would allow these courses to stop throwing good money after bad and create course conditions and infrastructure set up to be maintained more easily.

In Conclusion

The first step is admitting you have a problem, so we’ve started the process if nothing else. Troon Golf assumed the lease for the Mecklenburg County courses in January 2024 (a move not very well publicized) and is saying all the right things. There have also been plans to renovate Harry Jones on the County Parks and Rec website for several years, though the actual work is marked as “not currently funded.” Regardless, the concept of doing something to change the trajectory of municipal golf is on the city’s radar.

I’ve laid out the case for why I think this type of project would be a “success,” but what does success mean in this context?

It would mean seeing our city courses offer high quality, interesting, and fun golf experiences at a reasonable price. It would mean presenting a product that drives more demand for these courses - one all golfers are excited to play and one even private club members seek out a few times a year. It would mean having municipal courses that make Charlotte proud - Charlotteans aren’t a crowd typically content with mediocrity. If you can do these things while creating a sustainable business model and modestly increasing revenue, that seems like a huge win to me.

GOLF BIZ

Charlotte-Based Golf Apparel Brand Palmetto & Pine Garners 18K+ Followers on Instagram

Playing 9 holes at Tradition Golf Club on an October afternoon, something clicked for Ryan Cummings. He felt like he was home - a rare feeling for someone who grew up in a military family and relocated frequently in his youth. Within a year of that twilight round, the idea crystalized for a new brand focused on showcasing golf in the Carolinas. That brand is Palmetto & Pine.

For Cummings, apparel and social media go hand in hand. When he launched in 2023 (originally Cackalacky Golf), he attempted to post on Instagram every day for a year (and almost succeeded). Fast forward 15 months, Palmetto & Pine is closing in on 20K followers and continues to grow rapidly.

Strategy: “I don’t want my content to just be ‘here’s my polo, go buy it.’” said Cummings. “I just want to highlight Carolinas golf - I want to make content people want to see and apparel that supports it.”

Day Job: “I work full-time for an accounting firm, specifically in audit. I’ve always been an analytical, numbers-based person. The brand is where I get to let my creative side loose.”

Goals: “The big goal would be having a retail space at some point. For now, I want to continue expanding the content - things like documentaries or other longer-form stuff. I love the idea of telling stories about Carolinas golf and showing it in a cool way.”

My two cents: Ryan has done an awesome job highlighting unique, affordable, and accessible golf courses across the Carolinas, something we’re very aligned with at 2DP. If you’re into that kind of thing, check out Palmetto & Pine on Instagram.

STORIES TO TRACK

Carolinas Mid-Am Qualifying Open Now: Registration opened Monday for the championship at Waynesville Inn & Golf Club. Two Charlotte-area qualifiers - Highland Creek (3/17) and Warrior GC (4/2). Handicap cutoff is 9.9.

First Tee - Western North Carolina Auction Live Through 2/2: The First Tee - Western North Carolina and National Links Trust are teaming up to support youth golf programming in the hurricane-ravaged region. Serious line up of courses on the list, so go bid for a good cause.

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