Perfect Putt Staff

Private club waitlists may be one of the most overlooked indicators of where affluent Americans are heading next. A standard club application captures a rare combination of information: income, family structure, future residence plans, professional networks, and long-term intentions. More importantly, it captures those details voluntarily and often years before

Golf course maintenance appears to be moving toward lower-input, precision-managed systems. The operators and investors who understand the transition early may own a structural advantage. TODAY'S SPONSOR Before we get into it. This week's Perfect Putt is presented by The Club by Old Tom Capital. The

Sweetens Cove evolved from a modest former golf property in rural Tennessee. Sand Valley emerged from central Wisconsin sand barrens long overlooked by developers. Bandon Dunes sat on a remote stretch of the Oregon coast far from traditional golf demand. None appeared conventionally investable. The insight was recognizing that exceptional

Water is repricing faster than golf revenue is growing. Courses that deploy the full agronomy technology stack now will build a compounding cost advantage over those that wait. Welcome to Perfect Putt, a twice-weekly newsletter covering the business and economics of the golf industry. If this was forwarded to you,

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund confirmed on April 29 that it will end its financial backing of LIV Golf at the conclusion of the 2026 season. Two days later, LIV announced the formation of a new independent board led by a pair of turnaround specialists. The sequence tells

More than $4.3 billion in private club enterprise value has changed hands in the last six months. KSL Capital Partners is paying approximately $3 billion to re-acquire Invited Clubs, a company it previously built and exited. Bain Capital closed a $1.3 billion-plus deal for Concert Golf Partners. The

Golfers don't spend like sports fans; they spend like luxury consumers. The consumer base has more in common with luxury goods buyers than with traditional sports audiences — and for decades, capital has priced the industry as if the opposite were true. That mispricing is starting to correct, and

The golf industry's biggest equipment makers are budgeting well over $100 million in tariff costs for 2026. That is real margin being extracted from an industry still finding its footing after years of pandemic-era volatility, supply chain disruption, and consumer price fatigue. The 10% Section 122 duty runs

An estimated 9 million Americans played golf on a simulator last year — more than double the figure from five years ago. Add in tech-enabled ranges, covered bay concepts, and putting entertainment venues, and off-course golf has become one of the sport’s fastest-growing economic engines. But demand is not the