Country Clubs Fight an Exodus according to the Wall Street Journal: ...a study of private clubs by the National Golf Foundation, released last spring, determined that 10% to 15% of clubs are in financial distress. At these clubs, memberships are down 29% from their peaks (whenever that was for each club), rounds are down 22%, and 57% are operating at a loss. "When guys from the industry sit around talking, the word is that something like 20% of private clubs won't be here in five years," said Dana Garmany, the chairman and chief executive of Troon Golf, the country's largest manager of golf courses, many of them private.