OK enough with the borderline condescending “you don’t understand business…”

YES I DO – so let’s go to school. I understand that the courses have a very simple profit motive/business model. Over the past decade, many local public courses have been snatched up by companies like I.R.I. and Ratcliff(ie. the Carolina Trail bought up all local competition) Birkdale, Skybrook, Highland Creek…consolidation for profit/survival just like in the airline industry.

Birkdale went from a solid B+ “Arnold Palmer” course to a C- “Carolina Trail public track” because they bought out all the competition and simply rather have profit than fix the bunkers.

Charlotte public golf has 2 interrelated problems:

1)Too many golf courses; and
2)IRI and Ratcliff own too much of the market.

I guarantee in the next 5 years we will see 2 or 3 $75-90 price point courses (like Ballantyne Resort/ Red Bridge/ Carolina Lakes?) separate themselves from the morass and we will be back to the good place we were at circa 1995-2005.

Just my “B-School” back of the napkin case study.