During USGA Course Consulting Service visits, questions often arise about course conditions and maintenance budgets at nearby courses. A common opinion from golfers is that some course down the street has just as good or better greens, bunkers or fairways and has a smaller budget. While this update will provide a few insights into comparing golf course operations, it is important to point out that such comparisons are difficult to make and often unfair for many reasons, including these listed below:

• Green size, method of construction, microclimates and turfgrass varieties vary from course to course.
  
  
• Golfer expectations at public, private and semi-private courses vary significantly.
  
  
• The number of bunkers and bunker design plays a significant role in labor hours and the necessary maintenance budget.
  
  
• Attention to naturalized areas varies widely from course to course. While a superintendent may only maintain 70 turf acres, they may also be expected to maintain 70+ acres of naturalized areas at a high level. The budget necessary for this course will be considerably different than a course with similar turf acreage and little or no maintenance in naturalized areas.
  
  
• Water and soil quality can have a big impact on the products, equipment and labor hours needed to grow healthy turf in challenging conditions.
  
  
• Water costs vary widely, especially in the Southwest. An annual water budget may differ by $1 million among courses within a few miles of one another.
  
  

This list is not comprehensive, but it does give a few examples of why comparisons from course to course are difficult at best. However, in some instances budget comparisons can be useful. The list below, developed with information from the 2024 GCSAA Maintenance Budget Survey, provides a few indicators that can be used to compare and contrast courses and think about the right budget range, using the example of courses in the Southwest.