The new Four
Seasons being planned as
part of the new Costa Palmas development in Los Cabos, Mexico, has
been described as a luxury resort of the future, with organic farms, its off
the crowded tourism corridor location and a host of top amenities, including
adventure concierges.
It also represents a
new generation of golf, according to Chris Fair, the president of Resonance
Consultancy, which
is working with Four Seasons and developer
Irongate Capital to envision, position and brand Costa Palmas as a destination.
The
planned 18-hole Robert Trent Jones II golf course, Fair said, follows a trend
of “kinder, gentler golf,” which he said is part of the resort industry’s
response to the continued decline in U.S. golfer numbers.
“The difference
between today’s courses and those in resorts built before the downturn is that
they’re more playable and enjoyable now than they were a decade ago,” Fair
said. “People play less often at home, and they don’t have an appetite to play
difficult, ‘Tiger-proof’ courses on vacation,” a reference to Tiger Woods, a
14-time major tournament winner.
The latest numbers from
the National Golf Foundation show participation levels have dropped from 30 million in 2003 to
24 million in 2015, prompting some to declare golf as a dying sport. Despite
those figures, however, several surveys show it remains a top interest among
travelers of all ages.
According to a survey last year by the U.S. global investment
banking firm Jefferies, golf’s popularity with baby boomers and retirees is
trending up. Jeffries found that 80% of boomers surveyed plan to spend the same
or more on golf equipment and accessories after retirement.
“With approximately 15 percent of boomers playing
golf, there will be around 7 million golfers moving toward retirement
which will more than double the 3 million golfers currently there,” said the
Jeffries report.
Other studies show that while golf’s popularity in general is declining, it’s
still a top-ranked vacation activity for travelers of all ages.
A recent Resonance survey of wealthy travelers, or the “Top
One Percent,” showed that 67% ranked golf as the top preferred activity. It
beat out tennis at 56%, cycling at 64%, jogging at 61% and skiing and snowboarding
at 60%. Even U.S. millennial travelers prefer golf over extreme sports, 49% to
47%. And among millennial travelers with net worth between $250,000 and
$999,000, that increases to 63%, compared to 40% among millennials with a net
worth below $250,000.
A recent report from Spafinder Wellness
365
also found younger travelers remain interested in golf. In a survey that asked
200 North American and European travel
agents to rate, on a scale of one to 10, the importance of 16 different
wellness components and programs to their clients, respondents gave traditional
activities like golf and tennis a 7.3 for Gen Xers and millennials. That
compared to the 7.2 ranking they gave that category for boomers and older
travelers.
While few new courses are being built in the U.S., Fair said
the development of new, more relaxed resort courses is evidence of golf’s
continued popularity with American travelers. Among them, he said, are Dreams
Los Cabos Suites Golf Resort & Spa and Secrets Puerto Los Cabos Golf &
Spa Resort, both of which opened in late 2015. Fair also pointed to a new
course being developed in Belize by legendary golfer Greg Norman, as well as
the Irie Fields Golf Course being developed in St. Kitts by former Masters
champion Ian Woosnam.
“As the pendulum now
swings, developers and designers must bring people back to the sport by
creating friendly, fun courses that can be enjoyed on vacation,” Fair said. “After
all, fun and friendly is what the game was always about in the beginning.”