1 WELCOME Given the state of golf development since the world economy imploded in 2008, the post-Covid boom in golf and its subsequent increase in new course construction is more than pleasing for everyone in the industry to see. For more than ten years after 2008, new courses only came into existence when circumstances all got neatly in line. The growth of the destination golf resort that Bandon Dunes had prompted continued, with places like Streamsong and Sand Valley, but it is hard to see either of those as part of any kind of trend. However in the last few years, the combination of increased golf participation numbers has prompted a flood (well, a small flood) of new golf developments, especially in the United States, and especially in some of the low-tax and warmer states such as Florida and Texas, which are proving attractive to affluent Northerners keen to escape cold winters and keep their hands on more of their wealth. In some of the ritzier parts of Florida, getting into any of the older-established high end clubs is well-nigh impossible for new arrivals, and so quite a few new ones are being built to accommodate them: names like Panther National, Apogee and Miakka will soon be familiar to golf industry observers, if they aren’t already. And in the renovation market, golf architects are busier than they have been for quite a long time. The inflation of recent years has meant that the materials needed to build or rebuild courses – sand, drainage pipe, irrigation systems – have gone up considerably in price, resulting in wild stories circulating in the industry of frankly eye-watering budgets for some high-end renovation projects. It is unarguable that the presence of a lot of work is good news for golf architects. But economic cycles are always, well, cyclical. What goes up must come down, and the industry will not always enjoy these good times. If I were a golf architect, I would be watching the economic numbers very carefully. Easy does it ADAM LAWRENCE
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