Not sure what things are like in the rest of the world, but in Southern Ontario golf courses are having a tough go. Private clubs are losing members to old age, and consequently they are willing to waive the entry fee to get new members. I played a Stanley Thompson gem in St Thomas Ontario on Sunday. Out of town membership is down to $1500, and no entry fee. There is a bar bill of $300/mth, but you can treat guests on that, or take your wife out to dinner once in a while. Another course that is private, CraigGowan in Woodstock is going through the same thing, and they are offering tees times on golf now for $55 with a cart. Another course that was private, another Stanley Thompson in Ingersoll is offering great deals on Golfnow.
It was a rough winter here, with several courses around London losing most of their greens. The LPGA is coming to London in a couple weeks, and that course, the Hunt Club, I am told lost 14 greens over the winter. They have been working like crazy to get the course up to speed. In Kitchener-Waterloo, we were much more fortunate. My course Foxwood has 27 holes, and only 3 greens did not open on time.
So combination of hard winter, limited entertainment dollars, and older members dying off, has created a great opportunity for golfers to play incredible courses at a very good price. The downside to this is that golf courses are going broke, or having to cut back on maintainance.