Economy and Weather Keeping Golfers off the Links in Woodridge

Woodridge has not been immune to the decline in golf course revenues other area suburbs are facing due to the economy and rash of bad weather.

“We’re down significantly from last year and our historical 16-year average,” said Brandon Evans, general manager for Village Greens.

The 18-hole golf course, located at 1575 75th St., is owned by the village and maintained by the Woodridge Park District.

Through May 31 of last year, the total rounds of golf played were 11,638. This year, that number is 8,027—a 31 percent decline.

Memorial Day weekend was especially hard on the Village Greens course, Evans said.

“We were completely rained out Sunday, and the resulting flooding from Sunday affected Monday,” he said. “We weren’t able to get golf courts on the course so we saw a 40 to 50 percent decline in play for that day.”

Mike Adams, executive director of the Woodridge Park District, said the economy is forcing people to cut back on luxuries such as a round of golf.

“The discretionary income is not there,” he said.

Avid golfers are also using technology to find the best golf course rates.

“There are third party vendor sites golf courses can post their rates on,” Adams said. “People can go to those sites and shop for the best rate.”

Woodridge officials frequently check those sites to see how they compare to other area suburbs.

“On a daily basis we monitor what the market is doing,” Adams said.

In order to increase patronage, a number of initiatives have been initiated at Village Greens, including the “4 for $44” where a patron and three friends only pay $44 after 4 p.m. on the weekends and the nine holes for $9.99 deal.

Evans is optimistic business will pick up.

“We’re a fun golf course to play,” he said. “When we do get a nice day, the course is packed. If we can catch a little break with the weather, we’re going to do just fine.”