Golf Courses and Country Clubs (U.S.) — NAICS 71391

An investor's primer. NAICS = North American Industry Classification System, the U.S. government's standard code for an industry. This is a rollup page for a five-digit NAICS industry that contains a single six-digit child. Written for both public-market and private investors.

1. Overview

NAICS 71391 is the business of operating golf courses and country clubs — the "green-grass" venues where people play golf, together with the clubhouses, dining rooms, pools, and racquet courts that come with them. It is a large, intensely local, and highly fragmented service business that blends recreation, hospitality, food service, retail, instruction, and — underneath it all — real estate. No single owner controls even a tenth of national revenue [3].

Because this five-digit industry has exactly one six-digit child (713910), 71391 and 713910 are the same industry — the codes describe the identical set of establishments at two levels of the same hierarchy. This page gives the rollup's own federal figures and the shape of the opportunity; for the full treatment — operating models, the investable universe in detail, unit economics, demand drivers, the regulatory stack, and the private-equity roll-up story — see the 713910 primer.

2. What's inside — and why this level equals its one child

The five-digit NAICS industry 71391 contains a single six-digit national industry:

When a NAICS industry has only one child, the two are definitionally coextensive: every establishment counted under 713910 is counted under 71391, and vice versa. There is nothing in 71391 that is not in 713910, so the rollup adds no aggregation — it is a pass-through. The scope, exclusions, and economics are therefore identical to the child's. In brief, the industry covers operating golf courses (except miniature) and country clubs, including the food-and-beverage (F&B), equipment-rental, and golf-instruction services those venues sell [4]. It excludes driving ranges and miniature golf (NAICS 713990, which is where standalone ranges and tech-enabled venues like Topgolf sit) and golf resorts where lodging is the primary business (NAICS 7211) [4]. See the 713910 primer for the operating-model and ownership-mix detail.

3. Size (this level's rollup figures)

These are our ground-truth federal statistics for NAICS 71391. Because the level equals its one child, they match the 713910 figures.

CBP = County Business Patterns; F&B = food and beverage.

Undercount caveat — read before quoting these numbers. They understate golf's true footprint. County Business Patterns covers employer businesses, and both CBP and the Economic Census largely exclude government establishments [6] — so municipal courses run directly by city or county parks departments, plus most nonemployer and volunteer operations, fall outside the counts. That matters here because public-sector and small/individual ownership is common in golf: the National Golf Foundation (NGF — the industry's data body) counts roughly 14,000 golf facilities (about 16,000 courses) nationwide, versus the ~10,076 employer establishments above [7][8]. Separately, the $31.3 billion receipts figure is only the course-operations slice of a much larger golf economy (estimated at ~$101.7 billion in direct impact for 2022, but that headline bundles equipment, apparel, real estate, and hospitality that live in other NAICS codes) [11]. Use $31.3B for the industry proper. For context, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) sets the "small business" ceiling for this industry at $19.0 million in average annual receipts — a federal classification, not a market-size estimate — under which the overwhelming majority of the ~9,100 firms qualify as small [5].

4. Investable universe (where value concentrates)

Because the level is a single industry, the investable landscape is exactly the child's. The essential point: there is no meaningful pure-play, publicly traded U.S. golf-course operator. The largest owners and operators are private or private-equity (PE — investment firms that buy whole companies) owned. Value concentrates in three places:

• Private / PE owner-operators — the real industry. Invited Clubs (150+ private clubs, ~300,000 members; acquired by KSL Capital Partners in 2026 for ~$2.6–3.0B), Arcis Golf, Concert Golf Partners (Bain Capital), and Heritage Golf Group are owner-operators; Troon (900+ managed locations), KemperSports, and Landscapes Golf Management are largely asset-light managers that run courses for a fee without owning the dirt [16][21][25].
• Public-market (indirect) exposure. Reached only through diversified companies: VICI Properties (real estate investment trust, or REIT, that owns four U.S. championship courses — the cleanest listed direct-ownership exposure), Acushnet and Topgolf Callaway (equipment/apparel, which sell to golfers), EPR Properties (a landlord REIT whose largest tenant is Topgolf entertainment), Vail Resorts (golf inside a much larger resort platform), and BrightView (course maintenance and irrigation) .

Tickers, market caps, and multiples for the listed names are in the 713910 primer.

5. How the money works

Identical to the child. The central variable is putting a fixed, perishable capacity — tee times — to productive use; an unsold tee time is revenue lost forever. High fixed costs (land, water, turf, labor) mean the incremental round is close to 100% gross margin once the course is open and staffed — operating leverage that cuts both ways. Daily-fee/public courses earn per round (green fees, cart, F&B, pro-shop). Private clubs earn a one-time initiation fee (a capital inflow) plus recurring annual dues that fund operations (averaging roughly $10,700 a year, with dues supplying 50–60% of a healthy club's revenue) [14]. Capital intensity — greens, irrigation, drainage, clubhouse, and cart-fleet renewal — is the hidden variable that can make a superficially profitable course unattractive to own. See 713910 for the full metric set.

6. Demand drivers

Same as the child: participation is at a generational high — a record 545 million rounds in 2024 (a fifth straight year above 500 million) and 47.2 million total participants — with growth broad-based across youth, women, and players of color, fed by an off-course funnel of simulators and entertainment venues [12][13]. Demand is discretionary and skews affluent, so it tracks household wealth and the cycle; Sun Belt population growth anchors destination play. Crucially, new-course supply has stopped growing (an 18-hole build now runs roughly $8–40 million before land), so well-located existing courses capture the growth [21]. The most attractive demand is local and recurring; a national boom does not rescue a course in a weak or oversupplied local market.

7. Regulation

Regulation bites at the property level, not the national-industry level, and is identical to the child's stack: water and environment (state water rights, drought restrictions, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permits, and Clean Water Act Section 404 wetlands review) ; labor and immigration (seasonal grounds crews lean on the lottery-capped H-2B temporary-worker visa) [15]; access, alcohol, and land use (Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility, liquor licensing, and zoning — especially when an owner wants to close a course and redevelop the land) ; and tax status (member-owned clubs typically operate as Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(7) tax-exempt social clubs, with limits on non-member revenue) [10].

8. Consolidation

This is one of the most fragmented industries in the U.S. economy. Federal 2022 concentration data show the top 4 firms holding just 9.0% of revenue, the top 8 11.6%, the top 20 15.0%, and even the top 50 only 19.4%, with a Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI, a standard concentration score) of 29.7 as reported — far below the ~1,000 level antitrust agencies treat as even "moderately concentrated" [3]. Into that fragmentation, PE is consolidating hard (KSL/Invited, Bain/Concert Golf, Leonard Green/Topgolf), and management consolidation is outrunning ownership consolidation — Troon, KemperSports, and Landscapes professionalize operations without owning the real estate [16][19][21][25]. Detail in the 713910 primer.

9. Risks

The child's risk set applies unchanged: cyclicality (discretionary spending hits initiation-fee pipelines first); weather and climate (rain, drought, heat, hurricanes, turf disease against a fixed cost base); water availability (most acute in the West); capital intensity (deferred irrigation/greens/clubhouse/cart spending); local oversupply (a national boom does not protect a weak local market); membership affordability; a possible demand plateau after the post-pandemic surge; leverage in PE roll-ups; regulatory/land-use conflict; and data quality — federal statistics do not fully capture government, nonprofit, nonemployer, and very small operators, so size the market accordingly.

10. How to invest & outlook

Because 71391 is its one child, the playbook is 713910's. Public-market routes are indirect — decide which exposure you want (course-ownership real estate via VICI; equipment via Acushnet or Topgolf Callaway; a landlord REIT or resort operator via EPR or Vail; maintenance via BrightView) and apply standard equity analysis . Direct operating exposure is a private-market game, splitting into three theses: buy a cash-flowing course and improve utilization/pricing/membership; buy or build an asset-light management platform; or buy the underlying land and treat golf as an income-producing use with real-estate optionality. Due diligence centers on course-level financials — rounds by month, utilization, realized pricing, membership churn, water and labor costs, deferred capital, and competing facilities within the drive-time market.

Outlook (forward-looking judgment). The setup is unusually favorable — record rounds, a widening off-course funnel, and a flat-to-shrinking course count because new builds are prohibitively expensive — which is exactly why PE keeps bidding and further consolidation is expected [12][21]. But returns are likely to be highly bifurcated: premium private clubs, destination courses, efficient munis, and well-located assets in growing markets look far better positioned than aging courses with weak demographics, high water costs, heavy deferred capital, or excessive leverage. Structurally the healthiest in two decades — but superior returns will depend on paying a sensible price and executing locally, not on the game simply growing forever.

→ For full detail, see the primer for NAICS 713910 (Golf Courses and Country Clubs), of which this level is a single-child pass-through.

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Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau, "County Business Patterns: 2023," NAICS 713910 (establishments 10,076; employment 324,224; annual payroll ~$13.28B; Q1 payroll ~$2.72B), 2025. https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/2023/econ/cbp/2023-cbp.html
2. U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Census 2022, "Sales/Revenue Size of Firms," NAICS 713910 (firms 9,126; receipts ~$31.3B), 2025. https://data.census.gov/table/ECNSIZE2022.EC2200SIZEREVFIRM?codeset=naics~713910&y=2022
3. U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Census 2022, "Concentration of Largest Firms," NAICS 713910 (CR4 9.0%, CR8 11.6%, CR20 15.0%, CR50 19.4%; HHI 29.7 as reported), 2025. https://data.census.gov/table/ECNSIZE2022.EC2200SIZECONCEN?codeset=naics~713910&y=2022
4. U.S. Census Bureau, "2022 NAICS Definition: 713910 Golf Courses and Country Clubs" (definition and exclusions: driving ranges/miniature golf → 713990; golf resorts → 7211), 2022. https://www.census.gov/naics/?details=713910&input=713910&year=2022
5. U.S. Small Business Administration, "Table of Size Standards," NAICS 713910 ($19.0M average annual receipts), 2023. https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards
6. U.S. Census Bureau, "County Business Patterns Methodology" (employer-only coverage; government exclusion), 2026. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/technical-documentation/methodology.html
7. National Golf Foundation, "Golf Facilities in the U.S. — 2024" (~14,000 facilities / ~16,000 courses; ~75% public-access, ~25% private), 2024–2025. https://www.ngf.org/member-publication/golf-facilities-in-the-u-s-2024/
8. PGA of America, "Minutes from the 108th PGA of America Annual Meeting" (facility breakdown: 3,674 private, 2,551 municipal, 7,808 other public — 14,033 total), 2024. https://resources.pga.org/uploads/108th-2024-pga-annual-meeting-minutes.pdf
9. Internal Revenue Service, "Examples of Tax-Exempt Social and Recreational Clubs" (501(c)(7) status and non-member-income limits), 2026. https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/other-non-profits/examples-of-tax-exempt-social-and-recreational-clubs
10. Forbes / American Golf Industry Coalition & National Golf Foundation, "Golf's Economic Impact In U.S. Topped $100 Billion In 2022" ($101.7B direct; $226.5B total), 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikmatuszewski/2023/05/09/golfs-economic-impact-in-us-topped-100-billion-in-2022/
11. National Golf Foundation, "Golf Participation in the U.S. — 2024" / 2025 Graffis Report (545M rounds in 2024; 47.2M total participants), 2024–2025. https://www.ngf.org/member-publication/golf-participation-in-the-u-s-2024/
12. United States Golf Association, "Golf's New Narrative" (since 2019: youth on-course +40%; people of color +27%; females +25%), 2025. https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2025/03/golfs-new-narrative.html
13. Private Club Marketing, "How Country Club Initiation Fees Really Work" and 2024 Club Leaders Perspective Report (avg dues ~$10,700; dues 50–60% of revenue), 2024–2026. https://privateclubmarketing.com/how-country-club-initiation-fees-work-equity-non-equity-refundable-deposits/
14. Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) & Global Golf Post, "H-2B Visa Program" (golf H-2B requests ~10,000 in 2019 → ~15,000 in 2022; lottery-capped), 2022–2024. https://www.gcsaa.org/what-we-do/advocacy/priority-issues/labor-and-immigration/h-2b-visa-program
15. Forbes / KSL Capital Partners, "KSL Acquires Invited Clubs" (150+ clubs, ~300,000 members; ~$2.6–3.0B), 2026. https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2026/04/22/ksl-invited-clubs-golf-course-acquisition/
16. Golf Digest, "Callaway sells Topgolf for $1.1 billion" (Leonard Green & Partners; Callaway retains 40%), 2025. https://www.golfdigest.com/story/callaway-topgolf-1-billion-private-equity-2025
17. Front Office Sports / PE Hub, "Golf expected to draw PE interest in 2026" (Concert ~$1.3B; new-course cost $8–40M), 2025–2026. https://www.pehub.com/golf-expected-to-draw-pe-interest-in-2026-after-topgolf-acquisition/
18. Troon, "Golf Club Management Services" (900+ managed locations worldwide; largest management platform), 2026. https://troon.com/management-services
19. Yahoo Finance / MacroTrends, "Acushnet Holdings Corp. (GOLF)" (~$6.9B market cap, mid-2026). https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/GOLF/
20. VICI Properties, "VICI Golf" (four championship golf courses operated by The Cabot Collection), 2026. https://viciproperties.com/portfolio/vici-golf/
21. Nareit / EPR Properties investor materials (39 Topgolf venues; ~14% of rent), 2025. https://www.reit.com/news/articles/epr-properties-broadening-opportunities-under-reits-new-leadership
22. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "Vail Resorts 2026 Form 10-Q" (resort segment including golf), 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/812011/000081201126000014/mtn-20260131.htm
23. BrightView, "BrightView Expands Golf Course Management Partnership" (commercial landscaping, irrigation, golf-course maintenance), 2026. https://investor.brightview.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2026/BrightView-Expands-Golf-Course-Management-Partnership-with-The-Villages/default.aspx
24. U.S. Department of Justice, "2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design" (golf-facility accessibility), 2010. https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/design-standards/2010-stds/
25. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)," 2026. https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/federal-insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act-fifra-and-federal-facilities
26. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activities" (NPDES construction permits), 2026. https://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater-discharges-construction-activities
27. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Permit Program under Clean Water Act Section 404," 2026. https://www.epa.gov/cwa-404/permit-program-under-cwa-section-404