Golf courses in the Czech Republic: Analysis of the development and socio-economic characteristics

This paper aims to analyze selected socio-economic aspects of golf courses (GC[s]) in the Czech Republic (CR). The analysis strives to determine what aspects affect the development and dynamics of the golf market. The analysis revealed that the construction and development of the GCs are related to the socio-economic type of territory. Most GCs are built in the developed areas (65), followed by a stabilized area (44), while only three GCs lie in peripheral areas. The GCs differ in the variety of services provided to the players. Based on the cluster analysis, the GCs fall into three various groups, where the first cluster comprises standard playgrounds, whereas the third cluster includes rather luxurious properties, which is also reflected in the quality and variety of the services provided. The subsequent economic analysis unfolded that the costs exceeded revenues for approximately 60 % of the analyzed GCs resulting in a negative economic result. The loss per hectare (ha) is up to -0.5 million CZK, and for those GCs that are profitable, these gains are only in the tens of thousands CZK. Moreover, the equity of GCs ranges from thousands (at least 1) through hundreds of thousands to millions of CZK (maximum 1.5-2.5). It seems that the motives of the holdings of the GCs are of a different character, i.e., not only financially, but also of a specific nature (owner prestige, depositing money into the assets, other uses of the acquired property and pursuing a sporting interest as a hobby). Although the paper focuses on the Czech GCs, the results could be generalized as the CR golf market is similar to other countries (i.e., saturated, stagnating membership base, low operating profitability, sustainability issues). The conclusions are beneficial not only for GCs owners or managers but also for researches concerned with socio-economic aspects of GC’s construction, development, sustainability, and management.