How much does golf course maintenance cost?

That’s a significant outgoing and got us thinking, can you make the spend work harder and the pound go further? How should you be allocating your operating budgets? And how can you streamline golf course maintenance?

Find the answers in this insightful article and inspire your strategy with practical tips and ideas. 

How much should you spend on golf course maintenance?

Keeping your golf course in top condition is a costly and time-consuming endeavour. However, it’s exactly what club members and guests have come to expect. They are, after all, paying for membership and they want to perceive that as value. For golfers this translates into the aesthetics and playability of the course – and that’s why golf clubs should treat the course as their biggest asset.

Cutting corners to reduce maintenance costs can give the illusion of increased revenue in the short term, but can ultimately be outweighed by a sub par course that’ll in time struggle to maintain its reputation and membership levels. With this in mind, what expenses should you expect for your golf course? And what instead can be avoided or mitigated? 

The short answer is: it depends. For golf-only clubs, prioritising course maintenance is critical as there aren’t other sport facilities or amenities to counterbalance an under-par golf course. On average, golf-only clubs spend 45 percent of their fixed operating expenses on course maintenance while full-service clubs spend less, at around 30 percent.

Knowing how other clubs are investing can help you understand your members’ expectations and adjust your expenses accordingly. However, that’s only one part of the picture.

How most courses spend their operating budget

Regardless of the category your golf course falls into, there’s always a way to flexibly rearrange expenses and optimise your resources. But to be effective, it’s important to have a general understanding of where other clubs usually spend their money. For instance, it is estimated by sources in the industry, the average golf club allocates over half of its maintenance budget on labour and 10 percent is for materials (and that’s without any special projects). 

How can you learn from others and replicate proven successful working practises? Here you’ll find a few considerations for this important calculation that can inspire the maintenance budget for your golf business.

Water costs

Cost may vary depending on the region you are in, but there’s also the possibility to remove this expense completely by accessing wells, boreholes, reservoirs and rivers to minimise the cost of irrigation. Can you do the same?

A GCSAA survey revealed that only 26 percent of clubs pay for water in America, while 65 percent of UK clubs use mains water. This should be an area of focus for UK clubs going forward – and not simply to minimise costs but to improve the sustainability credentials of the club too.

Equipment: Lease or buy? 

Maintenance equipment is typically purchased or leased and will be guided by your specific needs, budget preference, team set up, and all have distinct advantages.

Leasing has a smaller upfront cost and comes with the knowledge that you can upgrade and make the most of technological advances after a certain time. It is certainly a very popular option thanks to the flexibility of Reesink’s finance options which are bespoke, flexible and cash-flow friendly. They allow you to buy more of what you need for less and turn one new Toro into a fleet for the same budget. It’s the cost-effective way to get the latest and best quality machinery you need, now, with a choice of either lease purchase or operating lease. You can find out more here. 

Purchasing pre-owned high-quality equipment is an investment and comes with resale value. And if you choose Toro machinery, Reesink offers a Ree.Own service where you can browse, compare prices and match budgets on a range of genuine, quality pre-owned turf machinery. Everything is guaranteed to have less than 3000 hours use on the clock, won’t have been used for more than seven years and will have received a multi-point check by trained technicians. Find out how this proved a successful route for Braehead Golf Club and Kilspindie Golf Club, among many. 

How to reduce running costs in golf courses

Optimising your golf course maintenance is critical to have an impact even with a limited budget. But once you identify all necessary expenses, what can you actively do to keep costs down? Here are a few tips to start: 

Focus on the essentials first

The greens are the most important elements of any course, where every detail matters. 

If the quality of cut dips, members will notice and their gameplay will be negatively affected. It’s important not to let that happen. So, to justify the cost of a green fee or club membership, the course must play well. That means that your team should spend most of their time here to ensure your course meets the highest standards with impeccable maintenance.

Invest in cutting-edge equipment

Another seemingly counter-intuitive way to lower maintenance costs is to spend more on high quality equipment. There is so much more to the purchase than just the price, which is where Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) comes into play. It provides a data driven perspective for determining the total economic value of an investment which is comprised of three main components: acquisition, depreciation, and operating costs. We did a deep dive on the subject here.

Savings in efficiencies can also be applied to irrigation too. A classic example is Barton-on-Sea Golf Club who optimised its water management with Toro and benefitted from 87.5 percent reduction in watering time and 30 percent decrease in water consumption. Read more here. 

Choose genuine

At times we worry we sound like a broken record when we say will-fit parts are a false economy, but they simply are! Choosing genuine when it comes to parts is the best decision for your finances and your machinery. They are engineered specifically to ensure peak performance and keep your equipment running like it did when you first bought it, delivering more value for your money. 

Keep your machinery fleet in optimum condition

When you choose machines that are built to last, you equip your team with tools that can often serve you for 10+ years depending on the brand and require minimum maintenance, delivering remarkable value for your investment. The reliability of Toro’s products also means less downtime and enhanced productivity around the golf course. 

Removing the guesswork from fleet maintenance budgeting allows you budget and control costs, a fixed fee means there’s no hidden extras or unwelcome surprises. And really the peace of mind of having dependable, high-quality support meaning your machines are always optimised and ready to work is priceless. Reesink can offer you all this and more through its ReeAssure maintenance schemes. Find out more here.

Last thoughts

We’re big advocates for promoting the benefits of successful working relationships, which stands to reason when you consider our partnership with Toro is 40 years long. And just as we partner with Toro, we partner with our customers to provide them with the equipment they need to do the best job possible and deliver the results their customers want. 

Discover how a Reesink partnership can help elevate your golf course and achieve unmatched productivity.