Green fees for weekdays jumped by 30,000 to 50,000 won (US$25 to $42) with the inflow of reservations. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Golf courses are keeping a low-profile despite a surge in the number of golfers coming to enjoy the outdoors in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Golf’s popularity is soaring as an ‘untact’ outdoor sport with relatively low risk of infection that doesn’t require physical contact.
Golf courses in the Greater Seoul Metropolitan Area are being overwhelmed with reservation requests both on weekdays and weekends.
XGOLF, an online golf reservation platform, saw a 20 percent increase in the number of reservations, compared to last year. “Reservations for 7 or 8 a.m. are filled for the next month,” XGOLF said.
Green fees for weekdays also jumped by 30,000 to 50,000 won (US$25 to $42) with the inflow of reservations. “Golf courses are seeing a boost in profits thanks to the coronavirus,” a local employee said.
Golf courses are trying to keep a low profile despite their growing popularity due to concerns that it may invite outside pressure to pay taxes.
As golf courses in the Greater Seoul Metropolitan Area are fully booked, golfers are ‘trickling down’ to golf courses further away. Oak Valley in Wonju, Gangwon Province saw a 3 percent increase in reservations on weekends this year.
Ananti Namhae, located in Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province, also saw a more than 5 percent increase in reservations last month.
Experts argue that the sales boost is largely due to the significant number of golf fans ‘incubated’ by screen golf that has become extremely popular across the country and the coronavirus outbreak that left people craving outdoor activities.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
