Increased Demand, Aging Infrastructure, Rising Costs, And Higher Expectations Make An Experienced Team Working For You Even More Important
Golf is experiencing a construction boom. Most of the work is renovation: rebuilding aging irrigation and drainage systems, greens, bunkers, cart paths, and bridges, while meeting members’ and golfers’ higher expectations for playing conditions, design, and shorter closures. A simple renovation today can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. A comprehensive transformation can cost as much as $30 million.
Perfect Putt counted about 1,750 reconstructions and major renovations since 2006, compared with just over 600 new 18-hole equivalents. Renovation has become the dominant segment of golf’s construction market.
Higher costs do not make renovation any less necessary. Approximately 2,350 18-hole equivalents opened between 1995 and 2001, and much of that infrastructure is now approaching or exceeding its expected life.
That range makes one principle especially important: you should never begin without defining the problem, developing a detailed cost estimate with a generous contingency, and creating a prioritized master plan. This will give you clearer choices: repair, replace, phase, bundle, or defer with a clear understanding of the funds needed.
Recently published estimates can help you get a sense of the higher costs. For example, the USGA reported that a new irrigation system alone commonly starts around $2.5 million to $3 million, with West Coast projects beginning at $4 million or more. An April 2026 NGCOA analysis offered a planning figure of roughly $2,500 per irrigation head—about $2.5 million for a 1,000-head system—before the full effect of pumps, wiring, controls, design, site conditions, and regional labor.
A recent edition of the Perfect Putt reported that top-tier remodels, which cost $10 million to $12 million before 2020, now run $20 million to $30 million. Since January 2019, federal producer-price indexes cited in the article show plastic pipe up 63%, pipe fittings up 109%, sand and gravel up 63%, and construction wages up 41%. High expectations and limited contractor capacity add further pressure.
The most expensive renovation mistake is committing to a design before everyone has agreed on the objectives, priorities, operating constraints, and funding. Scope, or “project creep,” the budget killer, can grow when stakeholders and decision-makers add attractive features, make late discoveries, and pursue competing agendas after construction begins.
A sound process begins with an independent assessment of irrigation, drainage, turf, bunkers, greens, paths, bridges, trees, maintenance infrastructure, and environmental or permitting issues. The master plan should distinguish between immediate infrastructure failures and strategic improvements, with phased alternatives.
Before approval, the budget should include professional fees, mobilization, temporary operations, grow-in, contingencies, escalation, financing, lost revenue, and reopening costs—not just construction. Early contractor input and realistic bid timing turn a conceptual estimate into an executable plan.
With at least $400 million in new construction and renovation experience, we help club owners and boards align renovation plans with their club’s type, market position, member or customer expectations, and long-term capital capacity. Our agronomy, operations, finance, procurement, development, and project management resources evaluate the property together, so the plan isn't developed in departmental silos.
The result is a club backed by the expertise and resources of a highly experienced team, resulting in a renovation built around what your club truly needs, what it can responsibly afford, and how it must be maintained once it is completed.
If your club is considering a renovation, Bobby Jones Links can help you develop a comprehensive, financially responsible renovation plan and provide the oversight you need to make it happen.
