This industry classification covers sports and recreation clubs that are restricted to use by members and their guests. Country, golf, tennis, yacht, and amateur sports and recreation clubs are included in this industry. Health clubs and other fitness facilities are classified in SIC 7991: Physical Fitness Facilities.
713910 (Golf Courses and Country Clubs)
713940 (Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers)
713990 (All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries)
An estimated 15,100 membership sports and recreation clubs were in operation in 1998, generating revenues of more than $7.5 billion. These numbers represent a 15.5 percent growth in the number of clubs and a whopping 61 percent increase in revenues from 1990. Employment grew nearly 23 percent since 1990, totaling about 297,300 in 1998.
American country clubs were born in the late 1880s — a creation of the wealthy upper class as an exclusive social setting in which to enjoy various athletic and recreational endeavors. The clubs flourished until the late 1920s, when the Depression forced many of them to close. A renaissance took place in the late 1940s and 1950s, spawned by post-war affluence and the increased interest in golf (a sport that has enjoyed a tremendous amount of growth across the nation for the past several decades); and, as a direct result of this heightened popularity, many country clubs were built during this period. In the late 1990s, private country clubs have become a major pastime for many Americans, with nearly 12,000 such facilities in operation.
Golf Clubs. The National Golf Foundation estimated that more than 26 million golfers played roughly 520 million rounds of golf in 1998, up about 6 percent from the 490 million rounds played in 1994. The United States boasted nearly 16,400 golf courses by the end of 1998, the majority of which were either municipal or private courses that were open to the public. Many private golf courses offered a variety of different memberships, with the most sought-after and expensive membership being a full-equity membership, in which members have full use of the golf course and share of stock in the club and with which they are able to share with any approved member. Other, more restricted memberships included dining room privileges only, while some full memberships gave members use of all facilities except the golf course.
Because of new tax laws passed in 1994 eliminating the business deduction for club dues and reducing deductions on business meals, many of which were eaten in private clubhouse dining rooms, clubs struggled in the mid 1990s to retain current members and to attract new members.
Club Corp International, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is the world's largest private club and resort operator. In 1999, Club Corp owned or managed approximately 230 clubs, resorts, public fee golf courses, and real estate developments worldwide. In 1998, the company garnered revenues of more than $850 million.
Other Membership Sports and Recreation Clubs. Americans support a wide array of athletic and recreational clubs offering a variety of sports and recreational activities, such as yachting, archery, and tennis. Many of these establishments are independent clubs with no other affiliations, privately owned by the club membership. Others operate as subsidiaries of larger corporations.
In the late 1990s, other major players in the industry included American Golf Corp., the world's largest golf management company, and Golf Trust of America. American Golf, based in Santa Monica, California, operates more than 250 public and private golf courses and country clubs. The company reported 1998 sales of more than $575 million. Golf Trust, headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, has a stake in more than 30 upscale U.S. golf courses, the bulk of them located in the Sunbelt. It posted 1998 revenues of $44.5 million.
Darnay, Arsen J., ed. Service Industries USA, 4th ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 1998.
National Golf Foundation, 1999. "Frequently Asked Questions." Available from http://www.ngf.org/faq/ .
Tuscana, Joe. "It's a Buyer's Market Out There." Executive Report, 1 March 1996.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1997 Economic Census. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1999.
U.S. Department of Commerce. Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1996.
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