14 MUNICIPAL GOLF public? New private courses are cropping up all over the United States to accommodate the increasing popularity of golf, but does the trend relate to public facilities too? Richard Humphreys speaks with ASGCA members to find out more. Photo: Patrick Hughes, Jr Going According to recent data from the National Golf Federation (NGF), on-course golf participation in the United States is at its highest level since 2008, with over 26 million Americans playing golf on a course in 2023, and over 14 million more engaging with the sport on a simulator, range or similar. This boom in popularity has led to a spike in new golf course development. The NGF reports that there were more new courses being developed in 2024 than there has been at any time since 2011, with this upward trajectory starting from mid-2020. Among the more high-profile pockets of development are South Florida – where new clubs include Panther National, Miakka, the three-course Apogee Club and twocourse The Ranch development – and Texas, where the Omni PGA Frisco Resort has opened its two Fields Ranch courses and at least ten new courses are expected to follow elsewhere in the state. Much of this new development is, however, firmly focused on the private market, or to people who can afford green fees at the top end of the scale. Is there, flying somewhere under the radar of mainstream golf media, a similar boom in accessible and, in particular, municipal golf? The power of investment If the project list of Todd Schoeder, ASGCA, is anything to go by, golf’s boom definitely extends to the public sector. He has five muni projects in planning or at the design stage, with budgets ranging from $8-$40 million. Schoeder has already demonstrated the power of investment in public facilities with his highly regarded 2020 transformation of City Park Golf Course in Denver, which revitalized the course and also improved its flood detention capacity, reducing the risk of flooding for the nearby community. Working alongside ASGCA Past President Forrest Richardson, Schoeder has also completed the renovation of Los Alamos Golf Course in New
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