Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/134956
Sector Check known as the state with the strictest emissions laws. Up in Michigan, Weingartz is balancing his equipment business with his personal ownership of the Whispering Pines Golf Club in Pinckney. He bought the course four years ago and has had to persevere with making course improvements before he can concentrate on being profitable. "The course had been rundown," Weingartz said. "It needed some work to get it back in shape so, when we started [operating it], the rounds played were very low. Last year was probably the first year we saw the number go up. In Michigan things bottomed out in about 2008'09, and things picked up the last couple of years." Promotions are a two-edged sword for a course owner, according to Weingartz. "We have [tried promotions], but part of the problem is that it's hard to get your rates back up to where they need to be," Weingartz said. "It seems like, in general, courses are doing less of that." According to the Whispering Pines website, weekday greens fees are $20 and the weekend rate is $25. There are periodic online specials with reduced rates for tee times booked on the website. While these are lean times in the golf construction industry, Boylan does not see only gloom and doom. "The challenges we face are also our opportunities," Boylan said. "By that, I mean we have to look at the vast knowledge we have in being a specialty contractor that really requires us to do several different types of construction all in one project. For example, we do clearing, excavation, drainage, irrigation, landscaping and finish work. I know several [companies] have adapted themselves into doing utility work, parks, sports fields, roadwork and storm remedial work. "Our company, for example, has downsized our equipment in regards to large excavators, bulldozers and scrapers to much smaller equipment like tractors, mini-excavators, skid steers and dump trailers." And that just may be the prevailing trend in the golf construction industry until the economy fully rebounds. n Larry Coffman is a freelance writer based in Phoenix. The Illinois native has been an avid golfer for five decades. He can be reached at coffman@hardrockers.com June 2013 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 25 20_Golf_Sector_Feature_KP.indd 25 5/31/13 2:35 PM