Jim Keegan, a consultant, took a look a the financial health of golf courses and concluded that it is a “disheartening picture.” He said there are two benchmarks that provide a good understanding of the financial potential for a golf course: the number of golfers per 18 holes within 10 miles and the number of golf courses whose annual revenues are less than $1,000,000. He concluded that 34 percent of all courses earn les than $1 million a year, and that 41.8 percent have fewer than 1,000 golfers per 18 holes within 10 miles. For more.