“We need to find about $2.5 to $3 million in savings somehow,” stated Doug Breen, regional VP and chief agronomist at GolfNorth Properties, in reference to the 1,000 seasonal employees who earn minimum wage at his company’s 30-plus courses. “It’s not just that — it’s the payroll taxes on top of that, and the OT on top of that, and once you add vacation pay and this new holiday pay structure — by the time it’s all done, it’s almost a 37 to 38 per cent increase to go from $11.60,” he explained. Also, a part-timer’s shift now can’t be cancelled without 48 hours of notice, an issue when a storm hits suddenly.

HIKES, YIKES Ontario businesses are still reeling from its steep minimum wage hike, but all provinces are dealing with the issue on some level.

While GolfNorth owns two-thirds of its clubs and leases the other third, ClubLink, with the 28 Ontario-based clubs it operates and approximately 3,500 seasonal employees in the province, is in a similar position. It is expecting a total labour cost increase of at least 10 per cent. It did not disclose what that percentage amounted to but it is surely seven figures too.

Factor in the trickle-up effect of wage increases for experienced staff, who were already earning above the minimum, and then the necessary purchases of fuel, fertilizer or food from Ontario vendors who are also trying to combat the minimum wage increase — one Atlantic Canada source said the cost to stitch his club’s logo on polo shirts has increased five per cent — and that’s left golf facilities big and small scrambling for ways to rebalance their books.

There are really only two ways to do so: increase revenue or decrease expenses. And while the aim is to maintain the quality of course conditioning and service, there’s no doubt jobs will be lost in every department. From the pro shop and back shop to the restaurant and grounds crew, “non-seasonal staff are going to have more on their plate than ever before,” said Chris Bratten, director of golf at Silver Lakes.

The ripple effects of these staff changes will force golfers to adjust to new realities — not at every course and not for every round — but at a growing number of facilities. Mowers can shave the time to cut tee decks by more than a third if they don’t have to get off their machine some 150 times to remove and replace markers. If fewer than 150 golfers are booked on a tee sheet, leaving the pins in the same position for consecutive days saves almost a half-day of work for a turf employee who can then be assigned elsewhere. Same goes for beverage carts. That investment will surely turn into a net loss if hardly any golfers are expected to play. Instead, place your order into the clubhouse — one club is exploring an app — and a marshal will drive it out to your location. And with a substantial chunk of maintenance time devoted to raking bunkers, a ‘Lift, Rake and Place’ rule may be instituted at some venues on low-traffic days. Ball in a footprint or divot? No problem. Simply walk in, pick it up, rake your spot, place the ball back and play. Oh, and be sure to rake again before exiting. That can save half of someone’s daily work. Even closing an hour or so earlier, which will happen this year at New Brunswick courses Kingswood Park and Mactaquac, owned by Kingswood Ventures Inc., saves bucks.

These are just some of the many creative solutions golf clubs are exploring in order to do more with less. Even private clubs are feeling the effects of this minimum wage hike. One source from a Mississauga-based club shared that he’s slid the earliest tee time on non-holiday Mondays farther back to prevent maintenance interruption, allow crews to finish sooner and the halfway house to open later. The decision saves a few hours in labour without significantly disrupting the membership.

While expenses can be tightened, generating revenue is much trickier. Private clubs can simply assess a two-and-a half to 10 per cent increase in dues to their members, as most have done, or raise the price of food and beverage, but pay-for-play courses are hesitant to adjust pricing.

“Our customer is very sensitive to price and so, for instance, our weekend morning rate is $69. That includes cart and includes tax,” explained Adam Wagner, director of golf at Ambassador, rated No. 1 for Value in SCOREGolf’s 2017 Public Courses Ranking. “We could not adjust that rate up any higher because we didn’t want to get to that $70 threshold.”

When it comes to public memberships and passes, the cheques are larger but the situation is no different. Golfers are still seeking value for their dollar, especially seniors who live off a fixed income, by buying in bulk. GolfNorth spent months strategizing the cost structure of its multi-course memberships — consumers commit to a cost that fits their budget and are afforded tee times at every course at that pay level and below — which included a 10 per cent raise in its highest membership fee to $2,400 in 2018.

“In order to stay in business, we’re going to have to increase our revenue,” explained Breen. “The only real way we have of increasing revenue is by increasing green fees and increasing membership rates. If people revolt and people refuse to play, then we’ll end up making less revenue and we’re going to be in trouble.”

Breen’s message to outraged customers, which began calling GolfNorth “GreedyNorth” and ClubLink “GougeLink” on social media, is to understand what the groups are doing and why they’re doing it. The profit margins for courses are narrower so they must get creative to stimulate sales.

At Silver Lakes, for example, Bratten was able to generate $4,000 to $5,000 in revenue selling tee time packages in the off-season at a lower rate. That pre-paid business is important to his bottom line and locks in a baseline of play with no third-party taking a cut, which allows him to relay some savings to the consumer. Meanwhile, The Foodhouse at Mount Elgin Golfers Club, under the same ownership as Tarandowah, was kept open this past winter to launch a new pizza business. More than $120,000 in revenue was generated from the homemade pies, with delivery available up to 15 kilometres from the club, and saved general manager Bryan Row from having to lay off his executive chef and two other staff. “I’m viewing (the wage hike) as an opportunity to do a better job with the resources I have and not affect my customer service. We’re looking at higher profit margin items in the golf course to get our money back,” he said.

“With minimum wage going up, it does have an effect on us. But right now, the biggest part of it is holding on to the competent, qualified people that you do have rather than losing them,” stated Chris Billings, director of golf at Kingswood Park. “We’ve increased some wages this year anyway, just for the fact that we want to make sure we keep the good people that we do have. To me, right now, there’s a lack of talent in the industry a little bit.”

The looming changes may result in some upset golfers who’ll have to dig a bit deeper into their pockets to tee it up. But every facility is facing the same money crunch. And though there are no obvious solutions, there is one definite way golfers can help out.

“If you want to see green fees not go up, see conditions stay the same or get better, we just have to get more people playing golf,” said Breen. “If you played five rounds last year, just play six or seven. If you played 20 last year, play 25 or 30. We don’t really need to create a lot of new golfers, we obviously want to do that, but we just got to get people back to the golf courses.”

This story appears in the Spring 2018 Issue of SCOREGolf Magazine.