Three golf courses have opened recently in western New York. All are positioning themselves as upscale, daily fee tracks. There is a lesson to be learned in the manner in which they opened. Course A opened first, pushing its start date to the Spring, and opening nine holes to the public. Although the layout is attractive, the conditioning is below standard, with weeds still to be killed, low-grade sand in the bunkers, and not much delineation between fairway and rough. They got it wrong. Course B opened nine holes to rave reviews in the fall, and then pushed up the start date for the second nine to August of the following year. A green and a few fairways were not up to snuff, and the grumbling transitioned from “when is the second nine going to open” to “why did they open it so soon?” You can’t please everyone, but they almost got it right. The third course, much like the brick-laying little pig, waited until conditions were right, then moved ahead to an early Summer start date. The media and the paying public were thrilled with the conditioning of the course, and it prospered beyond its wildest expectations. I’ll let you draw your conclusions about How To Open (or not) A New Golf Course.

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