Pricing of a round of golf in European markets: a comparative study

ABSTRACT

Using the largest sample of European golf clubs, this study examined different attributes that affect green fee prices to better understand the stagnated European golf market. First, we identified different European sub-markets. We derived a hedonic pricing model from previous research and then calculated log-linear OLS regressions. We selected different prices for a round of golf as dependent variables and considered twelve objectively measurable golf club attributes as well as market or country variables. The dispersion of green fees among European golf clubs can primarily be explained by differences in the age of the club, the length of the golf course, three infrastructure and service attributes, environmental certification, top placement in the ranking of the best golf courses and the golf club's market or country. The findings clearly illustrate that the European golf market cannot be considered a single market and thus that different stakeholders within this market have to consider these differences in their golf management.

KEYWORDS:

• Golf sports
• hedonic pricing
• green fee
• European golf market
• log-linear OLS

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.