Walk into most club boardrooms today and you’ll hear some version of the same refrain: “Why is the maintenance budget going up again?”
The truth is, golf course maintenance budgets aren’t “going up” so much as they’re catching up. They’re adjusting to the market realities that every superintendent and club leader faces: higher wages, increased input costs, and infrastructure that demands more—not less—attention.
This isn’t a matter of indulgence. It’s a matter of survival.
According to the GCSAA’s 2024 Maintenance Budget Survey, labor costs have risen 17% since 2022. That jump is staggering when you consider that labor already makes up 55–60% of most golf course maintenance budgets.
Think about it this way: if your course spent $2.5 million in 2022, that same level of staffing and service now costs closer to $2.9 million in 2024. And that’s without hiring additional staff or upgrading your service standards.
Why? Because the market for entry-level workers has shifted. Jobs that once paid $12 an hour now demand $18–20 an hour in many markets. Superintendents aren’t inflating wages—they’re competing with construction, landscaping, and even fast-food employers who pay more for less demanding work.
It’s not just labor. Fertilizer, fuel, parts, and pesticides have each seen 20–40% cost increases since 2020. Supply chain volatility hasn’t gone away, either. Clubs that hesitate to adjust now face a double hit: higher unit costs and unpredictable availability when demand peaks.
Even capital projects—like new irrigation systems or drainage upgrades—often lead to higher operating costs, not less. Sophisticated infrastructure requires specialized maintenance and higher-skilled labor.
Each of these cycles runs on its own clock, but together they create a constant baseline of capital pressure. Pretending they don’t exist doesn’t change the timelines—only the cost of addressing them. Here are some common issues we have seen in our recruitment and business consulting projects:
- Deferred bunker rebuilds mean more hand-raking, more washouts, and more complaints.
- Aging greens demand more inputs just to maintain baseline conditions.
- Old irrigation systems don’t just fail—they waste water, energy, and staff time.
- Deteriorating cart paths causing more cart traffic to turf
The biggest mistake boards and general managers make is treating course maintenance as a fixed cost line item. It’s not. It’s a dynamic operating budget that flexes with:
- Regional labor markets
- Agronomic input costs
- Infrastructure lifecycles (greens, tees, fairways, bunkers, irrigation, drainage, and equipment)
- Member expectations for course quality
Instead of thinking about these as “budget increases,” boards should frame them as market adjustments. Every business adjusts to market forces—clubs aren’t exempt.
Failing to make these adjustments isn’t neutral. It leads to deferred maintenance that becomes more expensive capital work down the road. Declining playability, which members notice immediately.
If you’re seeing annual maintenance costs spike, part of the reason is your infrastructure has aged past its efficient lifecycle.
Not surprisingly, these increased operational pressures put a strain on staff, as workers leave for better-paying, less demanding jobs. Peer clubs keep pace with market rates and your course falls behind.
Clubs should stop asking, “Why are we spending more?” and start asking, “How do we stay competitive in today’s market?”
Superintendents and GMs can help by shifting the framing:
- Replace “budget increase” with “market adjustment.”
- Benchmark against peers using GCSAA and regional data.
- Link investment directly to member experience: faster greens, healthier turf, more reliable playability.
The golf course is your club’s most visible and valuable asset. Treating its maintenance as a static cost center ignores the economic reality of today’s labor and supply markets.
Adjusting isn’t optional. It’s strategic. It’s how you ensure your course remains playable, competitive, and aligned with member expectations.
The question isn’t whether budgets should rise—it’s whether your club is willing to make the market adjustments required to protect the experience your members demand.
Ready to align your maintenance budget with market realities? Bloom Golf Partners helps clubs build smarter budgets, optimize staffing, and make strategic investments that protect course quality and member satisfaction.
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About The Author
Tyler Bloom is the leading expert on workforce development in the golf and private club industry. He has worked with hundreds of leading golf and private clubs in the United States including The PGA of America, Top 100 golf courses, public, municipal to professional sports teams, universities, and national historic landmarks.
As a talent management and consultation executive, he leverages deep relationships locally, regionally, and nationally to help businesses secure and develop premier talent.
His insights have been featured by Golf Digest, USGA, Boardroom Magazine, Club+Resorts, GCSAA, SFMA, PGA of America, CMAA, and British International Greenskeepers Association.
Are you ready to build a top-performing team that drives results? Our proven framework, methodologies, and implementation is based on our personal track record of developing world-class teams. In addition to talent acquisition, we provide leadership development and ongoing consultative services for the golf course and club industry. Our team has personally coached and mentored dozens of future golf course superintendents across the United States.