SIC 7992 Public Golf Courses

SIC 7992

This industry includes establishments primarily engaged in the operation of golf courses open to the general public on a contract or fee basis, commonly called a greens fee. Membership golf and country clubs are classified in SIC 7997: Membership Sports and Recreation Clubs. Miniature golf courses and golf driving ranges are classified in SIC 7999: Amusement and Recreation Services, Not Elsewhere Classified.

NAICS CODE(S)

713910

Golf Courses and Country Clubs

By definition, public golf courses are open to the public on a contract or fee basis, a pay-to-play format commonly called a greens fee. There were over 18,600 golf courses in the United States as of 2006, about 2,250 more than there were in 1999, according to the National Golf Foundation (NGF). There were 16,052 golf facilities in 2005, with a facility defined by the NGF as a complex containing at least one golf course. There were 11,680 golf facilities open to the public, representing nearly 73 percent of all golf facilities.

Golf experienced a boom during the second half of the 1990s, due in large part to the surging economy. Golf equipment typically costs several hundred dollars (most of which is an investment in golf clubs that can be used for several years), and the median fee for playing an 18-hole round of golf at public golf courses in the United States was $34 in 2006. Golfers spent $4.7 billion in 2002 on equipment and $19.7 billion for public and private green fees and dues. The group of golfers aged 18 and older who play at least eight times per year, which is estimated to be 12.5 million adults, are responsible for 91 percent of rounds played and 87 percent of golf-related spending. About 10.2 million of them are male and 2.3 million are female. Adults playing less than eight times per year are estimated to number 15.5 million. The rise to popularity and prominence of golfer Tiger Woods, who turned professional in 1996 and won his first professional major golf championship in April 1997, also contributed to the boom in golf in the 1990s.

Florida had the most golf courses in 2006 with 1,075, followed by California with 928, Texas with 848, Michigan with 843, and New York with 824. Of states with over 10,000 public golf holes (the equivalent of roughly 555 courses), Michigan ranked first with 83.6 percent public over private; followed by Ohio with 75.3 percent, Illinois with 73.6 percent, and North Carolina with 70.5...

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