Cartpi Expenditure Surges to 1.1 Trillion Won Last Year

Golf Course Total Revenue Accounts for 16%
Annual Spending per Golfer 211,000 KRW
Charges Should Be Collected per Person, Not per Team

Expenditures on golf cart fees by golfers have surged, according to a recent investigation.

According to the "Leisure White Paper 2024" recently published by the Korea Leisure Industry Institute, the total golf cart fees spent by golfers reached 1.148 trillion KRW last year, which is 2.27 times higher than in 2011. The Korea Leisure Industry Institute analyzed that this increase is due to continuous hikes in cart fees as well as a significant rise in the number of golf courses and users.

Looking at cart fees per team, member-only golf courses raised their average fee from 79,400 KRW in 2011 to 98,000 KRW last year, a 23.4% increase. Public golf courses also saw a 26.3% increase over the same period. Even after the COVID-19 special demand ended this year, member-only cart fees rose by 1.9% and public golf courses by 2.0% compared to the previous year.

The proportion of cart fees in total golf course revenue stands at 15.7%. Considering the golf population of 5.44 million, the annual expenditure per golfer increased by 32.1%, from 159,700 KRW in 2011 to 211,000 KRW last year. This amount is equivalent to the cost of one round at a public golf course. As of May this year, among 399 golf courses with 18 holes or more, 261 courses (65.4%) charged 100,000 KRW per team for cart fees. Until 2017, 80,000 KRW was the norm, but since 2020, the number of courses charging 100,000 KRW has increased.

There are 64 golf courses in total that have introduced 6-seater limousine carts: 25 member-only and 39 public courses. The average cart fee for limousine carts was 218,000 KRW at member-only courses and 187,000 KRW at public courses. Since COVID-19, most golf courses have been charging cart fees per team. The number of golf courses charging per person decreased from 16 in 2020 to 6 this year. Director Seocheon Beom pointed out, "They continue to raise cart fees ignoring the complaints of 5.44 million golfers. It is questionable whether introducing limousine carts will benefit the development of the domestic golf course industry."