WEBVTT

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 Watch a busy course on a Saturday, and it looks like one of the

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 great businesses on

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 Earth.

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 200 people arrive, hand over $50 each, rent a cart for 20 more,

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 buy a beer at the turn,

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 and then leave.

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 Nobody takes anything with them.

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 The product does not need restocking.

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 The inventory is grass, and grass grows back for free.

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 Now look at what actually happened to those businesses.

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 America has lost about 13% of its golf courses in 20 years,

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 somewhere near 2,000 of them

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 shut.

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 Here is the number that explains the confusion.

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 According to industry survey data, a mid-range American course

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 charging $30 to $60 a round

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 brings in roughly $1.31 million a year and spends about $1.06

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 million running itself.

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 That is a 19% margin, which would be a perfectly good business.

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 Move up a tier, and it looks better.

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 A premium course charging $60 or more.