Chicago, IL – Greenlight Advisors, developer of GolfClubBenchmarks.com, today announced the release of its 2025 Municipal Golf Study and Ongoing Benchmark Report, the industry’s most comprehensive, data-driven analysis of financial and operational performance across U.S. municipal golf courses.
Now in its third consecutive year, the national study aggregates anonymized financial and operational data from hundreds of municipal golf courses across every major region of the United States. The study provides municipal golf operators, city leaders, and policymakers with objective benchmarks to evaluate performance, justify budgets, and plan for long-term financial and operational sustainability.
Turning Data into Decisions for Municipal Leaders
Municipal golf courses face increasing pressure to operate efficiently while remaining affordable, accessible, and community focused. Rising labor costs, escalating water expenses, aging infrastructure, and heightened public scrutiny have made it more important than ever for operators to understand how their courses compare to peers.
The 2025 Municipal Golf Study benchmarks 20 core financial metrics and 20 operational and key performance indicator (KPI) metrics, segmented by region, industry averages, and profitability quartiles. Each participating course receives a proprietary Best-in-Class Report Card™, grading performance as Top Quartile, Median, or Bottom Quartile.
Key Findings from the 2025 Study
Courses in the top 25 percent for profitability generated average net income margins exceeding 35 percent, more than double the median course. Operational efficiency, particularly labor productivity, tee-sheet utilization, and cost controls—emerged as the defining performance differentiators.
Industry and Member Perspectives
“We lean into our data a lot and compare year-over-year within our eight courses, but being able to compare those KPIs at a regional and national level has helped us understand whether our expectations are realistic.” — Andrew Peterson, Owner and President, Alamo City Golf Trail
“Benchmarking has always been about using data more efficiently—seeing where the best of the best are and figuring out how we get there.” — Eric Rein, Director of Golf, Palm Beach County
From Annual Study to Ongoing Benchmarking
Beyond the annual report, the 2025 Municipal Golf Study serves as a gateway to ongoing, cloud-based benchmarking through GolfClubBenchmarks.com, enabling courses to track trends, visualize performance, and identify actionable next steps.
Looking Ahead to the 2026 U.S. Golf Study
Registration is now open for the 2026 U.S. Golf Study, beginning March 1, 2026, inviting public-municipal, public-daily fee, resort, private and multi-course operators nationwide to participate. If interested, you can sign-up here https://signup.golfclubbenchmarks.com/
About Greenlight Advisors
Greenlight Advisors, developer of GolfClubBenchmarks.com, pioneered municipal golf benchmarking in 2022 by aggregating standardized financial and operational data from hundreds of U.S. golf courses. The firm helps operators make informed decisions, identify opportunities, and strengthen long-term sustainability. The 2026 Golf Study begins March 1st, 2026!
Media Contact
Mike Suglich, CPA
Founder & CEO, Greenlight Advisors
Email: mike@greenlightadvisors.com
Phone: 312-719-0308
Website: https://golfclubbenchmarks.com
