Monroe County is riding the wave of golf's surge in popularity with lots of new investments

Keith Mayfield considers himself an average golfer.

He started playing about 15 years ago at Genesee Valley Golf Course, which is just a few minutes from his house.

“So when I first started, you could come out and you can get a tee time anytime you wanted it,” he said. “There was no backups on the course. It was just easy.”

All that changed with the pandemic.

Since 2019, the number of rounds played at Genesee Valley has nearly doubled, records show. Monroe County owns and operates the golf course on the southernmost edge of the city. Churchville and Durand Eastman, the other two county-owned courses, also have seen significant gains.

“Coming out on the weekends? Insane,” Mayfield said. “It's like everybody in Rochester is here so ... I don’t even bother coming on the weekends.”

And it’s not just here.

Last year saw a record number of first-time players tee off on courses across the United States — and a record number of total rounds played, according to the National Golf Foundation.

“The steady flow is what has been insane. It doesn't stop,” said Greg Klem, superintendent of county parks and golf courses.

"Everybody's rounds have been up since COVID,” he said. “And if yours are down, there's something else wrong.”

'People caught the fever'

To hear Klem tell it, “COVID was probably the best thing that ever happened to golf.”

It's even bigger now than when Tiger Woods' popularity pushed participation to new highs in 2000.

“Because during the pandemic, golf was the safest ... activity to participate in,” said Bob Sansone, president of Oak Hill County Club. “And then people caught the fever once they were able to engage.”

People who had given up the game came back. Young people picked it up — like Catherine Smith, a rising eighth-grader in Spencerport who plays on the varsity team for her school.

“It's a lot of fun because you meet new people,” she said. “And, like, for golf ... it doesn't matter what age you are.”

The county saw a 47% jump in rounds played in 2020. And numbers have continued to climb since, jumping another 10% last year.

The boom is seen everywhere from the Big Oak Driving Range and Golf Shop in East Rochester to, it would seem, historic Oak Hill in Pittsford.

Golf had hit a lull before COVID, and many courses and clubs were struggling to stay afloat, pivoting to events and other options to bring in revenue.

“Now, every country club is full, there's waiting lists.” said Nico DiPrima, who manages Big Oak. Dues are back to earlier levels. And “they're getting initiation fees again, which they were giving you free initiation.”

Big Oak’s business is up 30% to 40% over the past few years, DiPrima said.

Oak Hill’s Sansone said the private club doesn’t disclose its membership numbers: "Suffice it to say that the game of golf is strong — and it's strong at Oak Hill as well.”

The club will soon undertake its largest construction project in nearly a century. Plans are to expand and renovate the clubhouse built in 1925, keeping the look and feel but modernizing the facility. The ballroom will expand and be able to accommodate year-round bookings for weddings and events. And there will be more dining choices, including a sports bar and casual and grab-and-go options.

While the surge in golf’s popularity isn't driving the project, Sansone said it is “based on the demand of our events, and the demand of the membership, the amenities that members in today's environment are looking for.”

Changing the game

It wasn’t just the pandemic that triggered this rise in participation and investment.

Technology around the game has also changed. DePrima described it “almost like a perfect storm.” Because just before COVID, virtual game systems hit the market — allowing novices to enjoy the sport in more of a social setting.

One of those is Toptracer, which Big Oak added three or four years ago, allowing golfers to play a variety of virtual games, aiming for targets on the range.

“We built a whole facility for it,” DiPrima said. “So we have a state-of-the-art building outside, we have a bar outside, too. ... It's fully heated in there. So you can play year-round, in the winter.”

It’s the same technology that Topgolf deploys in its facilities — like the one it plans to open in Brighton at the end of next year. County parks Deputy Director Bob Kiley thinks that is only going to add to the momentum.

"It's like a big snowball that just keeps coming,” Kiley said.

Young adults played at off-course venues like Big Oak and TopGolf in staggering numbers last year nationwide — almost as much as on actual golf courses.

Not wanting to miss out, the Strong Museum of Play opened a golf exhibit last month — complete with a miniature golf course.

The bottom line

When Monroe County took back maintenance of Genesee Valley and its other courses in 2015, county golf operations were in the red. Golf still was losing money when the county assumed full control of course operations — concessions, cart rental, the whole deal — three years later.

The county’s golf courses finally turned a profit during the pandemic. But while still in the black, the numbers are falling, records show. Because while rounds played have climbed, so too have expenses, for everything from seasonal workers and overtime to fertilizer to gas.

“In 2019, we rented 50,000 (golf carts) for the season, all three golf courses,” Klem said. “Last year, we did 90,000. That's gas. And gas hasn't gone down in price.”

This season has seen more rain than last year, and the number of rounds played reflects that — down nearly 6% year-to-date, according to the county — but it's already approaching season totals from a decade ago.

While the county doesn’t plan to add any high-tech games or expand its clubhouse anytime soon, Klem says they, too, are investing — in continuous cart paths, improved drainage, and regrading areas to improve playability. A new pitch and putt practice area opened this spring at Genesee Valley.

"So, you know,” Klem said, “we're riding the wave as long as we can.”