Is a '100,000 Won' Cart Fee Appropriate at Korean Golf Courses?

The most common golf cart fee at domestic golf courses was 100,000 KRW.

It was found that 220 golf courses in Korea charge a cart fee of 100,000 won.
[Photo by KGBA]

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The Korea Golf Course Business Association (KGBA) recently released the 2023 National Golf Course Cart Comprehensive Report. A total of 533 golf courses nationwide participated in the survey. The cart fee of 100,000 KRW was the "main trend." As many as 220 golf courses set their cart fee at 100,000 KRW. For a group of four players, this amounts to 25,000 KRW per person. Looking at it by region, Gyeonggi-do had 103 golf courses charging 100,000 KRW for carts, ranking overwhelmingly first. Gangwon (35 courses), Jeju (28 courses), Chungbuk (25 courses), Gyeongnam (15 courses), Chungnam (10 courses), and Gyeongbuk and Jeonnam (1 course each) followed.

There were 168 golf courses charging 90,000 KRW for carts, and 122 courses charging 80,000 KRW or less. A total of 290 golf courses set their cart fees at 90,000 KRW or below. Jeonnam and Jeonbuk had the lowest cart fee burdens. Among 41 courses in Jeonnam, 40 charged 90,000 KRW or less, and among 28 courses in Jeonbuk, 26 charged 90,000 KRW or less. Golf courses charging 110,000 KRW or more were surveyed at 23 locations, including 15 public courses and 7 membership courses. Some golf courses have introduced 6-seater electric limousine carts. According to the Korea Leisure Industry Research Institute, 15 courses use limousine carts. The limousine cart fee ranges from 160,000 to 360,000 KRW, which is up to four times more expensive than regular carts.

Although cart fees, which had sharply increased after COVID-19, have slowed down, they are still considered expensive. The cart fee per team at public golf courses was 73,000 KRW in 2010 but rose by 29.7% to 94,700 KRW in 2022. Membership golf courses also increased from 78,900 KRW to 97,900 KRW during the same period, a 24.1% rise. The number of courses charging 80,000 KRW dropped sharply from 177 in 2019 to 41 as of July last year. Conversely, the number charging 100,000 KRW surged from 29 in 2019 to 220.

The purchase price for a 5-seater electric cart is about 13 million KRW. The investment can be recovered in 6 to 7 months. The Korea Leisure Industry Research Institute pointed out, "The total cart fee revenue for all golf courses in 2022 is estimated at approximately 1.1509 trillion KRW, accounting for 14.9% of total sales." They added, "The increase in cart rental fees is a method chosen by golf courses that find it difficult to raise green fees further to maximize profits."

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