What is a Muni Golf Course
A muni or muny (the abbreviated term often used by golfers) is a municipal or city golf course that most often does not offer any type of membership option. These golf courses are owned by governments (municipalities or districts). They are sometimes operated by the government entity itself. Or in other cases, in whole or in part, leased to a private operator. The term muni is primarily used in North America. Traditionalists may consider muni’s as a second tier golf course, which they are not.

Change of Perceptions
Recently I was having a discussion with an old friend who changed jobs from working for a Provincial Golf Association to overseeing golf operations for a municipality that owns, and either operates or leases out, 12 golf course properties. He has a traditional golf background. Prior to joining the municipal world he was first a private club Assistant Pro then the Executive Director of a Provincial Golf Association overseeing their many ‘Championships’. In his first month at his new municipal job he played a round of golf at one of the ‘muni’ courses they operate. This was a course he had never been to, never mind played before. I asked him what his impression was. He commented that his observation was that golf was in a good place and that ‘muni’s’ play an important role that he did not really consider before.

Breaking Down Barriers
Our discussion continued about the accessibility of muni’s. No tee times (just show up), no memberships and no dress code can lead to busy golf courses. There are a good portion of golfers playing the game that want to do just that, PLAY the game. They don’t need or want dress codes and handicaps. Breaking down barriers was the name of a previous blog we had written (which you can read here).

We work with and have worked with several different municipal and district golf courses over the last 10 years. They are some of the best conditioned, public access golf courses around. A step in the right direction for the golf industry would be to remove the word muni from our vocabulary and call these courses what they are, public golf courses open to anyone and everyone.

We, Jeff and Tara Ciecko of CK Golf write two blogs, one is our 19th Hole Blog where we share personal experiences and the other an Industry Blog where we comment on general business and internet marketing best practices, sales strategies and give golf industry related opinions. We have owned CK Golf  for 9 years and provide marketing, social media and business services to the golf and other industries. As of August 2016 our life and our business will be ‘location independent’. Our 19th Hole Blog is about the places we visit and the things we do. If you have any questions or comments, or happen to be in the same location as us please reach out and contact us anytime.

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